Browsing Category CULTURAL ECONOMY PROJECTS

Publishing in New Orleans

Posted on December 18, 2011 by speedblink

Whether it was the streetcar immortalized in Tennessee Williams’ play or the memorable characters of John Kennedy Toole’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel, New Orleans has long had an attraction to those of literary merit. But where does the author turn once he has found the literary inspiration to get his book “out there?” How does a writer in New Orleans become a published author? In the wake of the I-pad and the Kindle, self-publishing over the internet might be an option to consider, but ebooks aren’t for everyone and depending on which website you use, internet publishing can run you between anywhere between $500 and over $1000. While one might be tempted to consider one of the big six publishing companies, the markets there are incredibly difficult to enter, especially for a writer without any previously published work, and often requires the services of an agent. Independent publishers are more ideal in case since they tend to be more focused on the quality of the work submitted rather than the marketability factor. New Orleans has plenty of these, but for the purposes of this article I’m going to focus on three in particular.

Morgana

Located on Royal St., Morgana Press is a royalty-based publishing company that was founded in August 2005 in the aftermath of Katrina, however within a short period of time the company began to see its publications spread across the nation. However, although reaching national readership we still specialize in the extraordinary voices, visions and stories of the people and places of New Orleans With our focus on Louisiana-based authors, themes and/or subject matter.

At the start of BookExpo America 2007, Morgana Press and our debut title Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré won two of the Benjamin Franklin Awards’ highest honors, in a celebration of excellence in independent publishing, winning the prestigious and highly coveted “Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book-Nonfiction” and “Best New Voice-Nonfiction.” Its second title, Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints, won the National “Best Books” 2009 Awards (“General Poetry”) and its third release, nonfiction, Ruins of Grandeur won the IPPY Awards Silver 2009 Medal for best Mystery/Thriller/Suspense.

Submissions to Morgana should describe the project in detail, including the nature of its content, anticipated length, intended audience, author’s bio, and promotional ideas and may have to wait four to six weeks before receiving any correspondence. If they should request manuscript submission it must be previously unpublished work and cannot be submitted to another publisher for the 12 weeks that it will take to process and should be bound. A Publishing contract will be drawn up following the acceptance of the manuscript.

Pelican

Pelican Publishing is the oldest, most well-known of the greater New Orleans publishing companies and largest independent book publisher in the South. Pelican started in 1926 and has had several owners since. Currently, the company is owned by Milburn Calhoun who purchased it from Betty and Hodding Carter in 1970. Since its founding, Pelican has acquired and sold more than 1,500 titles worldwide and currently publishes an average of 70 a year. In 1985, Calhoun founded the subsidiary company, Pelican International, locating its headquarters Saipan. It is represented in the United Kingdom and Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. A regular attendee at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Pelican has enlarged its growing market of foreign rights sales and purchases.

As a general trade and children’s publisher, Pelican produces travel guides, art and architecture books, Christmas books, local and international cookbooks, motivational and inspirational works, as well as a growing number of social commentary, history (especially Louisiana/regional), and fiction titles. Pelican has recently started publishing ebooks though paper still dominates it sales. Hardcover and trade paperback originals make up about 90% of the sales and reprints, including hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market, make up the other 10%.

Writers are not required to have an agent representing them. In order to submit, a query letter should be sent that addresses the book’s content, its anticipated length (in double-spaced pages or in words), its intended audience, the author’s writing and professional background, and any promotional and any ideas and contacts the author may have. Books intended for children age five to eight should not be in excess of 1,100 words. Proposed books for readers ages eight and up should be at least 25,000 words. Adult books should be more than this. Cookbooks require at least 200 proposed recipes.

Pelican pays its authors a royalty based on sales. Manuscripts usually take about a month to be processed, as they are carefully scrutinized by the editors, and on occasion may be examined by our sales and/or promotions departments to gauge their marketability. They are then passed on to the publisher for preliminary and final consideration. If acceptance is recommended, the author will be asked to sign a contract with Pelican Publishing Company.

Trembling Pillow

2011 marks the 14th year of Trembling Pillow Press, a New Orleans based publishing outfit founded by Dave Brinks in 1997, and welcoming poet Megan Burns on board as co-publisher in 2001. Trembling Pillow works with the 17 Poets! Literary and Performance Series, the New Orleans School for the Imagination and the Poetry Never Sleeps Foundation to support the New Orleans writing community and aid in the development of its young writers. It focuses on publishing works relevant to the art and culture of New Orleans and, in addition to books, Trembling Pillow has also published three issues of YAWP: A Journal of Poetry and Art, three issues of Solid Quarter Poetry Magazine, poetry chapbooks and seven collections of poetry. In 2011, Trembling Pillow Press introduced the publication, Entrpôt, a monthly collection of articles and essays focusing on poetics, history and specifically New Orleans’ place in the world of letters and creative endeavors.

Generally, most of the books published by Trembling Pillow Press have been solicited manuscripts and we will continue to solicit manuscripts. There is no fee for sending in submissions; however, Trembling does hold a fee-based contest in order to help defray costs for publishing. For these contests, all entrees are read.

As a small operation, the staff of the Trembling Pillow Press is largely uncompensated for its as funds from book sales, events, orders, and online purchases usually go towards backing the next project. Authors receive 10% royalties for their work and are provided with a number of copies upon publication. Books are placed online and in bookstores to ensure sales and while Trembling Pillow does not provide any marketing products, it does maintain a website where each author receives their own web page updated with their news and events.

References and Links

Trembling Pillow Press
Pubmatch
Morgana Press
Cynsations
The Chronicle
Pelican Publishing

Environmentalism in the Edible Economy

Posted on December 16, 2011 by mosands

Since hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has taken center stage on many discussions of environmental impact and the future of a world engrossed in climate change. Non-profits, government agencies, and businesses have all begun to recognize New Orleans’s critical need for adaptation in this quickly evolving world, unfortunately much of this recognition has manifested itself in the form of outside interference, something the city does not often respond kindly to. Now however, green businesses and non-profits are growing from within the city itself and finding their place in this unique cultural economy. A tell-tale sign of this immersion and adaptation is the changes happening in the New Orleans food culture.

New Orleans is plastered with billboards, t-shirts, koozies, and posters declaring: “We Live to Eat.” Although at first this statement seems like a somewhat sad way to justify the life of a couch potato in a country plagued with obesity, it doesn’t take much time in the Big Easy to realize just how true it is. New Orleans is known for its countless fabulous restaurants and celebrity chefs, and the dangerous richness of the cuisine that leaves some visitors regretting that last crawfish beignet with Cajun cream sauce. A visit to the Crescent City would be incomplete without charbroiled oysters from Acme, 2 am beignets from Café Du Monde, or a cup of gumbo perhaps made complete with alligator sausage. Beyond the everyday restaurants, there are constantly festivals celebrating the art of eating in New Orleans. Seafood Festival, Blues and BBQ Festival, Roadfood Festival, and the Treme Creole Gumbo Festival are just a few of the annual culinary carnivals New Orleans has to offer. Just a few weeks ago, Oak Street hosted the Po-Boy Preservation Festival, but if the hundreds of vendors and thousands of consumers were any indication, they are far from endangered. Although the city’s love for fried things on French bread may not be at risk, some of the ingredients that go in the fryer may very well be.

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, sending 205.8 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and a major shock through the city’s seafood loving system (NOAA). New Orleans restaurants and chefs are proud of their culinary prowess, but a major part of that is their pride in being able to feature homegrown ingredients. Bumper stickers around town say things like “Friends don’t let friends eat imported shrimp” or “Demand Local Seafood,” in support of the 2.4 billion dollar seafood industry of Southern Louisiana (seafood). By law, any crawfish served in Louisiana must be local unless otherwise specified on the menu (crawfish) When the oil spill threatened those local ingredients restaurants sprung into action. The executive chef of classic New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s bought and froze 3,000 pounds of local shrimp to last him at least ten weeks through the spill rather than buying imported. Though these and other innovations saved the tradition of New Orleans dining through this disaster, it came with a realization that this will not be the last test of this crucial branch of the New Orleans cultural economy.

Eating with ecological consciousness is not entirely new to the edible industry of New Orleans, but it is now evolving and expanding to reach all levels of consumption, not just restaurants that favor local ingredients. Many would trace the start of this trend back to May of 1988 when Whole Food Company of New Orleans on Esplanade became the sixth Whole Foods Market in the country. Whole Foods states that their values include “selling the highest quality natural and organic products available” and “caring about our communities and the environment.” They have made natural and sustainable ingredients readily available to those who are willing to pay extra for them. However, this availability does call into question some of the store’s practices and values. Is it really sustainable to be able to buy tomatoes from Chile in January simply because they are organic? Whole Foods also came under scrutiny in 2008 when it was revealed that many of the products being sold under the label of “organic” in the U.S. were being sourced from China and certified under much laxer standards. In response to this criticism they ceased sourcing their store brand food products, save edamame, with products from China. But this scandal leaves the lingering question, how can we truly know what we’re buying, where it’s coming from, and if it’s truly “green”? (Whole Foods)

One way to remedy this is for consumers to take on a larger role in the industry of food. This year the New Orleans Food Co-op opened to do just that. They are a community owned grocery store whose members “believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others.” Members take a hands-on role in the business, by investing, consuming, and sometimes even working in it. Their investment earns them voting rights in election of board members as well as some business decisions. Members of the New Orleans Co-op prioritized the “sustainable development of our community” including promoting “local and regional food production” and practicing “environmental responsibility and sustainability.” These principles have manifested themselves in the availability of over 5,500 local and regional products at the store in the Healing Arts Center. The current 1,000 members are able to contribute their input and actually be heard in a way that is nearly impossible with a large corporation like Whole Foods, but again, such a privilege is pricey. (Co-op)

An even better way to be confident of the practices and processes that went into the food you eat is to help to grow it yourself. This is the idea behind urban gardening, a movement built on the belief that city dwellers should not be excluded from the process of produce or the experience of fresh food and that space should not be wasted when so little can yield so much. One local example of this is NOLA Green Roots which began in 2008 with the goal of providing the community with fresh food but also with much needed education about gardening and ecological consciousness. They have managed to bring botanical life to some of the seemingly harshest environments in three locations throughout the city. Although these lots are not particularly large and do not have very deep or rich soil, and are even paved in some spots, the raised box method that this organization uses eliminates that as a problem and produces incredible yields. At Wise Words in Mid-City, the chicken house hosts 40 laying hens each laying about an egg a day. The house sits on a piece of land that’s approximately 10 x 15, yet these chickens still have room to walk around, their beaks are intact, they have several places to roost, access to clean water, and are fed organically. Perhaps most significantly, they live in plain view of the consumers of their eggs so that there is no question about what is meant by “free range” or “vegetarian fed.” Members of this community garden can pay $35 a month and work an hour per week in the garden to receive a large basket of fresh vegetables every other week. NOLA Green Roots also provides produce to some area restaurants and any excess is offered for free to the community via the website at the office. (Nola Green Roots)

Fostering a tradition of gardening and ecological thought in a community requires education to be initiated early on so that children can grow up knowing where there food comes from and what it takes to grow it. This is the mission of the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans which has programs at five public charter schools throughout the city that incorporate gardening into the schools’ curriculum. Giving the children a role in the growth and preparation of fresh food fosters an interest in nutrition that is often lacking in modern youth. Network gardener Denise Richter tells stories of children hanging over the garden fence during recess begging for some kale to snack on. Without involvement in this program it’s likely they had never even heard of kale, let alone eagerly pursue a leafy green snack. The students also have the opportunity to experience the industry behind food when they run a produce stall at local forums like the Freret Street Market. This way they are exposed to the financial opportunities that edible environmentalism affords them. Those opportunities could one day include vending at one of the city’s farmers’ markets which offer yet another occasion for consumers to inquire about the ecological impact of their food by opening direct communication with local farmers when they come to sell their products. (ESYNOLA)

However, the economy of eating in New Orleans oftentimes involves going out to one of the thousands of restaurants in the city and letting someone else cook for you. This of course means that someone else is in charge of the ingredients, where they come from, how they’re grown, and what happens to the excess. In addition to providing local produce to area restaurants, NOLA Green Roots also runs a composting service that picks up pre-consumer waste from eleven area restaurants and will soon be adding the Loyola University cafeteria to their list of partners. Large scale composting of this nature saves thousands of pounds of waste from filling valuable landfill space and instead lets it degrade back into soil so that it may restart the process. Many restaurants around the city are taking steps to green their establishments in various ways. Commander’s Palace won’t buy seafood harvested from more than a hundred miles away; Reginellis now prints their menus on reused pizza boxes, and the Bulldog uses pint glasses over plastic and offers an exchange program for their free pint glass night. Eco-conscious consumers must be wary though of the growing phenomenon of green washing which takes advantage of consumer concern with superficial “greening” that serves only for publicity. One way to avoid this is to ask questions and stay informed about what impact various actions really have, another is to let professionals ask the questions and relay that information to the consumers. An Idea Village grant funded an entrepreneurial endeavor to meet this need in New Orleans and it resulted in Life City, an organization that helps businesses meet their sustainability potential and connect them with consumers. This is accomplished through various social events aimed at gathering people in the field of environmentalism and through the sale of “Green Cards” for $20 dollars each that earn consumers special deals and savings at participating businesses including more than ten restaurants. (Life City) This organization’s mission of open communication and the spread of sustainability is crucial for the citizens of New Orleans to take ownership of the greening of our city. The encroachment of environmentalism in to the edible economy of New Orleans is proof that New Orleans is finally embracing the efforts to defend and preserve our ecosystems and our pride in our resources. As always, the Big Easy joined the trend of environmentalism in its own time, its own way, and with the addition of its own flavor.

Sources:

http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2008/06/is-organic-from-china-possible/

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/07/gulf-oil-spill-louisiana-fish.html

http://mylifecity.com/pages/detail/71/About-the-Platform

http://neworleanshealingcenter.org/health-wellness/new-orleans-food-co-op/

http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/festivals/culinaryfestivals/index.html

http://www.nolafood.coop/the-new-orleans-food-co-op/

http://nolagreenroots.com/

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/new_orleans_chefs_forced_to_ge.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2006/03/is_whole_foods_wholesome.html

http://www.wwltv.com/news/Local-industry-to-launch-advertising-campaign-134232328.html

Sex Tourism, Culture, and Scandal: The Many Faces of Prostitution in New Orleans

Posted on December 16, 2011 by clodonn0388

In September of 2011, the New Orleans Police Department developed “Project HEAT,” a task force created in response to an unusually high amount of violent crimes perpetrated by prostitutes. The result of this was the arrest of 67 sex workers, only 15 of whom were locals. This wave of prostitution could be a new phase in the city’s relationship with sex workers, because violent crimes such as these threaten tourism, which is New Orleans’ bread and butter. Tommie Taylor, mother of infamous Mid-City madam, Jeanette Maier, has said, “It’s just like gumbo. It’s all over the city.” Prostitution has been part of New Orleans culture since the infamous Storyville days. Like the city itself, the Big Easy’s relationship with sex work is always changing and developing.

In the past, prostitution had a symbiotic relationship with the city. Even when the government was approached with questions of morality the city did not destroy the industry altogether; instead, the red light district was moved to an area called Storyville. This area became so organized that a Blue Book was publish, advertising over 700 prostitutes that a tourist could chose from. Prostitution may have been the main event in this district, but burlesque dancing and jazz music also benefited from its presence.

Storyville was not the last instance in which Louisiana politics and sex work have diverged. In 2007, there was a widely publicized scandal between a Washington D.C. prostitute and a Louisiana State Senator. Gerry Sheets, a writer for NOLA.com, reported that Republican State Senator David Vitter had been having an affair with a Louisiana prostitute while he was a state legislator. Jeanette Maier, the “Canal Street Madam,” has admitted that the Senator was a regular in her Mid-City brothel. Even though this 2007 sex scandal was a devastating blow to Vitter’s career, the media coverage following this incident did not portray a disgusted or appalled public as much as head-shaking disdain for the idiocy of the situation. It is clear that sex work is not widely endorsed in Louisiana, but its presence in New Orleans is accepted.

The people of New Orleans are no strangers to the exploitation of sexuality. Between the tourism industry, the summer heat, and the enormous bar scene, the Crescent City has supported bare-chested bead throwers and strip clubs alike. While these acts do not necessarily involve sex for money, they certainly make for a liberal, if not jaded, culture. Sex is part of this, which allows the public to have at least a passive acceptance of prostitution as well. In Las Vegas, a city that counts on tourism like New Orleans, a dancer’s union has been created. The way these performers see it, when one is taking her clothes off in an environment that promotes binge drinking, it is important to have someone around that will defend your rights. It is in cities like New Orleans and Las Vegas that sex work thrives and the workers have the opportunity to organize, furthering their social and legal acceptance among community members. It seems that a first step in garnering rights for all sex workers is proper organization for those whose jobs are already legal.

Burlesque, which grew symbiotically with jazz in New Orleans, is another form unabashed sexuality has taken in the city. Though completely separate from stripping and prostitution, burlesque provided (and to some extent, still does) a venue for tourists and locals alike, to drink, and take in a show of beautiful naked women. It is clear that burlesque represents old world New Orleans, a phenomenon that people hunger to experience. One of the draws of coming to this city is the appreciation and preservation of its original charms. Many have a romanticized image of sitting in a dark bar by a river port, drinking with Jean LaFitte, and laughing in a slow, Louisiana drawl. A sexualized woman, prostitute or otherwise, is always part of this scene.

There is no debating whether or not prostitution is an antiquated element of New Orleans culture. However, the real question is if sex work is harmful to the women, to the community, and to the customers. According to Emily Hansen, a travel writer, “Many sex workers wish to provide services without judgment or police interference, and continue to fight for better protection within the industry.” It could be argued that sex work in a safe environment between two consenting adults makes no one a victim. “I ran a clean, tight business. If it can be said to be proud about what you’re doing, I made sure it was run right,” says Taylor of her days managing her daughter’s brothel. The stance that prostitution is a victimless crime has been long held by many sex workers, feminists, and other liberal-minded people. “We weren’t going out and grabbing 14-year-old girls off of the street, making them hookers. These were professional women who booked in with us,” said Maier of her days as a madam. “We’re not hurting anybody. I don’t see why this is such a big deal.” As long as there are intelligent, rational adults participating in this industry, the push for its legalization and protection of its workers will always be present.

To contrast this liberal position on sex work, many believe that prostitution is not only immoral, but also dangerous. The proliferation of “sex tourism” has led to slavery and child prostitution in many countries. Even though the economic climate and the stability of the U.S. government prevent this from becoming widely-accepted, the opportunity is still there. According to Shane Brown, a travel writer for Have Pack, Will Travel,

The sex trade is a thriving business – and it’s not specific to one country or region. Human Trafficking is the worlds fastest-growing criminal industry – children and women abducted and transported to foreign lands, forced into the sex trade, often against their will. Others from poor and struggling regions turn to the sex trade to earn money to support their families. We all know that this happens – It’s a horrifically sad and regretful situation exacerbated when cashed up foreigners – people from our own cities – travel to poorer nations and prey on these victims.

Of course, one would not walk down the Bourbon Street openly soliciting sex from a child or enslaved individual. However, just because you do not see it, does not mean it does not exist in some form. The Steven Seagal sex slave incident alone is enough to make a person feel uncomfortable about the sex industry, especially in New Orleans. An important question to ask is whether prostitution is in the city because of the tourism, or if many tourists are here for the prostitutes. Those engaging in “sex tourism” find it necessary to travel to faraway places when seeking sex. It logically follows that one who goes to such great lengths to do something available virtually everywhere may have cruel and hurtful intentions in mind. “Some say that sex tourism is about sex, but I think it’s about power and opportunism. I am not sure we are reaching our human potential, as tourists and ambassadors of our nations, by contributing to additional social gaps in the world,” wrote Brown. The debate over prostitution in the city of New Orleans is long from over; the ethics and humanity of this act is based upon who is participating and if she is a consenting adult of sound mind, and if all parties are treating each other with respect. Sex work has a great potential to be a seedy, unhealthy industry. However, it is up to the individuals involved, directly and indirectly, what the nature of the industry is to be.

Prostitution has a high potential to harm its participators. It is clear that, worldwide, sex industries run rampant causing pain, suffering, and dependence. However, here in New Orleans, people have a unique relationship with sexuality and are less likely to disregard people who do this work as social deviants. Since the time of Storyville, prostitution has had a home in New Orleans, and has been received with at least a passing acceptance. As has happened in the past, the authorities are taking new, more severe measures to rid the city of this storied profession. Will New Orleans suffer a great loss if all the working girls are run out of town? Probably not. Is there enough room for everyone to coexist here peacefully? Without a doubt.

Photo Credit:

Blue Book – nola.savagexmedia.com
David Vitter – MSNBC.com
Canal Street Madam - thecanalstreetmadamfilm.com

Sources:

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/david_vitters_prostitute_scand.html

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/09/police_fbi_detail_french_quart.html

http://www.nola.com/175years/index.ssf/2011/10/1903_new_orleans_red-light_dis.html

http://blog.nola.com/updates/2007/07/former_prostitute_confirms_vit.html

http://www.havepack.com/sex-tourism-around-the-world/

http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/the-shameful-truth-about-sex-tourism/

Marketing a Culture: Imitation, Replication, and Cooking Spicy Food

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Madeline

New Orleans cultural economy incorporates the merger of two immensely positive concepts: cultural identity and money. Marketing and franchising this specific cultural identity has become a clear initiative for the state. With a $9.4 billion tourism industry and hosting the average of 24.1 million visitors annually, one of Louisiana’s most lucrative sources of revenue is tourism. Ironically, tourists want to visit a state with the highest murder rate in the nation. It happens to be the same state ranked 49^thin the Kids Count Data Book child welfare survey for the tenth year in a row. The main attraction of Louisiana—New Orleans—had a city violent crime rate 80.93% above average in 2009. Comparing the statistics of tourism to crime rates in Louisiana illustrates the cultural identity’s existence. This identity is difficult to describe without being filled by certain cultural clichés, such as “the birthplace of jazz,” Mardi Gras, laissez bon temp rouler, or Hurricane stories. That quality which makes New Orleans so prominently idolized has been the source of much imitation. Looking at locations modeled after New Orleans helps to better define the authentic city’s appeal.

New Orleans Square at Disneyland Park

“Raise a mint julep to celebrate the Mardi Gras all year round in this place of mystery, magic and jazz music.” -New Orleans Square

http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/toppicturegallery/ig/Disneyland-Rides-New-Orleans/Haunted-Mansion.htm

The Haunted Mansion

This New Orleans imitation opened as a Disneyland attraction in the summer of 1996. It was the first grand-scale area addition built in the park, ten years after Disneyland’s opening. There are two current attractions, including Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion—a ride within a house based on New Orleans architecture and antebellum plantations, complete with mausoleums in the yard and ornate ironwork fences. Also featured is the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, beginning in a staged Louisiana bayou, with houseboats and homage to the pirate Jean Lafitte—whose name is currently still misspelled in the ride as “Laffite.” Other attractions in New Orleans Square include live entertainment, such as “the tasty tunes of [the] Jambalaya Jazz Band” and the “traditional jazz and blues of the Royal Street Bachelors.” A tie-in feature with Disney’s The Princess and the Frog has introduced “Tiana’s Mardi Gras Celebration.”

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67oUUd2JKCY']

Of course, Disneyland focuses attention on its New Orleans’ imitation cuisine and the promotion of alcohol consumption while still keeping things Disney appropriate. The imitation could not be complete without some form of a bar, so the Mint Julep Bar—minus any alcohol—solved problems of promoting New Orleans culture. The square also promotes restaurants such as the cafeteria style French Market Restaurant. This restaurant’s menu includes “Plantation Citrus Chicken, Roast Beef Royale, Salmon Creole and jambalaya.” It is slightly daunting that the restaurant’s Citrus Chicken is considered “plantation” style. Were the chickens farmed at a plantation? Blue Bayou is the Square’s finer dining alternative, set inside a mild section of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. While the dining room remains indoors, the staged environment creates an area where guests can dine “in perpetual twilight, surrounded by winking fireflies and the soothing sounds of the bayou’s crickets and frogs, while boats filled with Guests heading into pirate-filled Caribbean waters drift past.” The most New Orleans inspired restaurant of the square might by the Café Orleans, which encourages guests to “celebrate the spirit of Mardi Gras every day of the year” with the café’s Creole-inspired cuisine…[and] authentic food and atmosphere [which] just might make you think you’ve taken a trip to the French Quarter.” The restaurant’s menu offers “’Crescent City’ salmon salad and gumbo to crepes and the restaurant’s famous Monte Cristo sandwiches” as well as “signature Mickey-shaped beignets.” In an effort to recreate authentic Creoloe-inspired cuisine, one must question how salmon salad got onto the menu,–say, over blackened fish—or if anyone eats Monte Cristo sandwiches in New Orleans.

The effects of a New Orleans themed area in this Disneyland theme park have highlighted several tropes: plantations, spookiness—or the idea of New Orleans being haunted,—historical figures such as Jean Lafitte (but not enough interest to get his name right), the bayou, architecture, Mardi Gras, Jazz, mint juleps, and apparently salmon.

Disney World’s Port Orleans Resort—French Quarter and Riverside

“Inspired by the romance and pageantry of the historic French Quarter in New Orleans, and where every day is a celebration. Step through a wrought-iron portal into an alluring world of delicious Cajun food, jazz music and dazzling parades.” -Resort Website

These resorts were opened at Disney World in between early 1991 and 1992. The pair are connected, one built to reflect the architecture of the French Quarter, the other has a more Antebellum South inspiration. Both were constructed along the man-made Sassagoula River, which bears a made-up name as an imitation of “Mississippi.” The French Quarter resort (pictured left) implies guests should “Bring your carnival attitude to this lively quarter of the Big Easy and “let the good times roll”. Stroll cobblestone walks and gaze down ornate iron railings as you imagine a jazz backdrop and the sweet smell of magnolia blossoms in the air. Have a rollicking good time among the colourful characters, relish wonderful food, and enjoy some watery fun at Doubloon Lagoon.” The Riverside resort (pictured right) provides guests with opportunities to “amble past lush, manicured walks that wind through the stately Magnolia Bend Mansions, down to the quaint Alligator Bayou. Enjoy the tranquillity and hospitality of a picturesque waterfront Resort that embodies the traditions born of steamboat travel, garden parties, mint juleps on the front porch and life along the mighty Sassagoula River.” The two resorts share dining options. The French Quarter cafeteria—the Sassagoula Floatworks Food Factory—is designed to look like a Mardi Gras float warehouse. Riverside’s cafeteria option—The Riverside Mill & Market—is a food court designed to look like a cotton mill, complete with a “35 foot water wheel that operates a working cotton press.” Riverside’s sit down restaurant—Boatwright’s Dining Hall—is designed to look like a boat constructing warehouse. The resorts also offer recreation activity such as a two-hour “Bayou Pirate Adventure” ride—once again featuring Pirate Jean “Laffite”—a horse-drawn carriage ride, or Doubloon Lagoon, a swimming pool pictured here. And yes, that water slide is King Neptune riding a serpent.

The effects of recreating a New Orleans themed area in this Disneyland theme park have highlighted several tropes: bayous, the French Quarter, the Mississippi River, steamboats, cotton mills, Mardi Gras and float warehouses, alligators, Jean “Laffite”, horse-drawn carriage rides, and King Neptune. At least (this recreation has bars.)

River Ranch

A “commercial development here that is a virtual re-creation of much of historic residential New Orleans, meticulous in detail and substantial in size, with a growing population of more than a thousand on about 300 acres.” -Replica of New Orleans: A Study In Urban Cloning

In Lafayette, Louisiana, about 130 miles east of the actual New Orleans, a village community is attempting to replicate New Orleans styled neighborhoods. River Ranch was founded as an experiment in urban replication, drawing much of its style from several districts and neighborhoods in New Orleans. The village was designed by architect Steve Oubre, and proudly states that it is “representative of the New Urbanism movement as well as the rich heritage and culture of Louisiana.” The community has developed on over 300 acres of land and is home to over 2,500 people. The village is complete with both an “Uptown” neighborhood, and a “Garden District” neighborhood, a lake front neighborhood called “Lakewood” (a partial imitation of Lakeview), a massive apartment complex deeply reminiscent of the French Quarter, a set of eighteen Creole cottages named “Rosewalk” and also an imitation of the French Quarter, and the Mill House condominiums which were inspired by the Warehouse District. Other neighborhoods of the village such as “Parkside” and “River Oaks” are designed without a specific neighborhood inspiration, but are modeled with New Orleans style architecture and set upon a certain code of building rules. These rules include that “the shutters must be functional. Ceiling heights are to be 10 feet on the ground floor, nothing less. Bricks must be old.”

The village is also known in the surrounding area as a hub for boutiques (there are at least sixteen listed on the village’s website) as well as several upscale restaurants. Surprisingly, only one of these restaurants—the Village Café—seems even remotely Creole-cuisine related, whereas the rest advertise Mediterranean and Italian cooking. There does seem to be an emphasis on a variety of beer and liquor, specifically The Tap Room, which advertises “over 30 different beers on tap from all over the world with a large variety of import bottles also.”

Although the project had been running for several years before Hurricane Katrina, River Ranch became a concept of interest to many former residents of New Orleans and even city planning committees. After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans residents regarded the village with both awe and disgust; some, like former New Orleans resident Hortense Reine, found the village a flattering imitation and believed “its mirror-image designs should be used to rebuild the ruined neighborhoods of New Orleans.” Others felt the imitation to be too fake, or “the design equivalent of cubic zirconium” compared to diamonds. The village’s development has merited considerable qualities to be considered in the rebuilding of destroyed New Orleans communities, most notably sections of Gentilly. “New Urbanism”, a concept used when planning River Ranch, stresses “densely packed housing, green town squares, easy access to transportation, and architecture with a historical theme.” The points are practical to consider, however, not all of the points New Urbanism embraces are applicable to rebuilding communities in New Orleans. For instance, one citizen of Gentilly pointed out that she would not feel comfortable having to walk everywhere.

This replication of New Orleans’s cultural identity is reminiscent to The Stepford Wives. It has copied the city based on the beautiful aspects, such as the architecture, but without major factors like crime and poor city planning development. Every building is new—made with old bricks, of course—but freshly constructed and polished to imitate a city that it is not. The pictures paint a happy community, but the feeling is uncanny. The unnatural newness of the village clashes with the antique aura it tries to embody. Although it avoids restaurants designed to look like float warehouses and cotton mills, this imitation still tries a little too hard because it exists as a working community. This is not some resort or theme park attraction that anyone can visit, but sustainable village that lives an act and attempts to force the New Orleans cultural identity a bit too far.

Perhaps the creepiness that is River Ranch is rooted in its lack of boundaries between replication and imitation. The Disneyland New Orleans Square as well as Disney World’s Port Orleans Resorts exist as imitations of New Orleans; both imitations used several qualities of the New Orleans cultural identity and highly stylized these features. The result is a bit over-the-top and campy, but both areas are affective this way. While emanating New Orleans culture, both the New Orleans Square and Port Orleans Resorts remained functional for their uses—an entertaining attraction and a leisurely resort space, respectively. River Ranch exploits the New Orleans culture by coming too close to it as a functioning community. This is not a space tourists visit, but a village where people live. This space inherently straddles the line between imitation, such as the theme park spaces, and replication. Replication done right will copy the original for a specific task. For instance, in early 2011, the team behind HBO’s Treme needed to recreate Jazz Fest from 2007. To do this, the team staged a replication in City Park, using New Orleans residents as extras—termed “festival-goers” for the shoot. The replication was used temporally, and dissembled after the event. By imitating New Orleans French Quarter architecture down to the fine details of brick age, River Ranch stretches itself out too far as a replication. The same goes for naming neighborhoods after districts in New Orleans, or having a street named Elysian Fields. The village does not replicate the city fully, of course. But for a much smaller replica with a layout inspired by New Urbanism, the attempts are too forced, causing some New Orleans residents to feel disgust for a community trying too hard to copy another.

Beyond these grand scale attempts, small details have been noted to imitate and recreate New Orleans culture. This article on New Orleans themed interior decorating lists ways for non-locals to get “that quintessential New Orleans style” in interior design. The highlights include antique French furniture mixed with more primitive “country” antiques, gate and fence ironwork as wall art, hardware store molding in an attempt to look like crownwork, fake voodoo artifacts, and Mardi Gras beads. This article advertises a class instructing non-locals how to “fake” being a New Orleanian, mostly by how to pronounce street names like Burgundy or give directions based on relation to bodies of water. Or how to “costume.”

New Orleans cultural identity is not something exploited only by non-local factions, but by New Orleans based franchises. New Orleans art has seen George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog as a cultural icon since the 1980’s. Originally illustrated for a book collection of Louisiana ghost stories, the Blue Dog was a mix of the loup-garou legend and Rodrigue’s pet terrier, Tiffany. The Blue Dog has since spawned into a massive cultural symbol for New Orleans and Louisiana. According to Rodrigue’s wife, this is due to the pop nature of the image, combined with the fact that it is an image Rodrigue completely invented. The originality, spookiness, and simple style of the Blue Dog symbolizes New Orleans nicely, although many residents have grown tired of its presence on just about everything. This includes the sixteen foot, three sided sculpture placed in front of Lakeside Mall on Veterans Highway. Other symbols of New Orleans cultural identity have included slogans, such as the “Who Dat” scandal and resulting in an explosion of clever ways to use the “dat” trope, such as “We Dat,” “Believe Dat,” and most recently “Don’t Trash Dat!” The tremendous increase in the fleur de lis as a symbol of New Orleans—on everything from earrings to tattoos—has also proved to be a symbol of cultural identity. Jewelry makers such as Mignon Faget have capitalized on the symbol.

New Orleans cultural identity is difficult to define without intuitively feeling as though something is missing. As one of the most dangerous cities in the world, on paper, New Orleans would never seem like a place Disney World would want to model a resort after. And yet, the city is being imitated, replicated, even franchised.

Food franchising has chosen to incorporate the cultural identity as well, both locally and nationally.

In 1946, Owen Edward Brennan “took up the challenge to serve fine French food without being French” by buying the property across from the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street. Ten years later, he moved his restaurant—Brennan’s—to its present location on Royal Street, shortly before his death. His children and siblings took over the restaurant, forming a family business that would eventually divide into separate branches such as Commander’s Palace, Palace Café, Cafe Adelaide, Mr. B’s Bistro, Bourbon House, and Ralph’s on the Park. The chain of fine dining restaurants embodies the cultural identity with mostly Creole inspired cuisine and an emphasis on seafood. The atmosphere at most of the restaurants create the mood of being “like a well run party given by old friends.” The popular New Orleans dessert, Bananas Foster, was even created at the original Brennan’s.

Al Copeland similarly built restaurant chains and a fast food company by marketing New Orleans’ cultural identity. His endeavors included Copeland’s of New Orleans, Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, and the popular Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits—also known as Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen—founded in Arabi, Louisiana. Here’s a commercial for the chain which undeniably exploits Louisiana cultural identity.

Zatarain’s, currently a spice and food company, began in 1889 with Emile Zatarain, who made root beer before expanding into extracts and seasoning. Now owned by McCormick & Company manufacturer, the brand is known for producing seafood boil spices, mustards, fish-fri, prepackaged dinners, and seasonings. The tagline for the company—“A Louisiana Tradition Since 1889”—hardly applies to the company anymore.

What these food franchises all have in common is the essential New Orleans-ness to their identity. For the Brennan family restaurants, this exploitation is in the name; the Brennan name carries the concept that these restaurants are the only fine dining, locally owned restaurants started in New Orleans. For Popeyes, the identity is associated with spice, cheapness, and fast service. Zatarain’s identity encompasses both of these concepts, tradition and spice. The latter two examples are marketed throughout the world. Brennan family restaurants is a staple for tourism. This New Orleans-ness, or the qualities of the cultural identity taken for marketing is major factor in the cultural economy. It serves as promotion for the city and marketing for an identity which makes people want to come to New Orleans.

It might sound as if all of these factions that use the cultural identity are exploiting the city, but by building an image of a culture—even the bare basics of clichéd spicy food and Mardi Gras—it is garnering the city attention. To people who are not from New Orleans, this cultural identity looks like something desirable—to the point that they might try to recreate a little piece of it.

Sources

http://louisianatravel.com/about-louisiana-office-tourism

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/08/louisiana_ranks_49th_nationwid.html

http://www.cityrating.com/crime-statistics/louisiana/new-orleans.html

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/new-orleans-square/

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/port-orleans-resort-french-quarter/

http://www.portorleans.org/

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/us/16replica.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.riverranchdev.com/

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2011/04/29/treme-needs-you-for-fake-jazz-fest

http://www.wendyrodrigue.com/2009/10/blue-dog-in-beginning.html

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/01/giant_metal_dog_ready_to_guard.html

http://www.brennansneworleans.com/dininglesson.html

http://www.commanderspalace.com/about_us/

http://popeyes.com/story.php

http://www.zatarains.com/About/History.aspx

Blue Dog Featured Picture from http://izismile.com/2010/04/23/blue_dog.html (I’m pretty sure this site gave my computer a virus, so I wouldn’t click on it.)

Angola Rodeo

Posted on December 16, 2011 by AmandaJ25

Mission Statement: Philosophy
The philosophy of Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) is to provide services in a professional manner so as to protect the safety of the public, staff, and inmate population. Consistent with this, it is LSP’s responsibility to provide meaningful opportunities to enhance, through a variety of education, work, social service and medical programs, the individual’s desire to become a productive member of society, while providing a safe, stable work environment for employees. The Warden formulates goals for the institution at least annually and translates these goals into measurable objectives.
Goals for Louisiana State Penitentiary
Maintain re-accreditation through the American Correctional Association and the Commission on Accreditation which will further LSP’s goals to:
(1) Improve LSP’s overall operation, programs, and effectiveness, and
(2) Maintain and improve credibility with the general public and local community.
Utilize all available resources to maximize the effectiveness of the LSP mission and programs.
Improve the ability to recruit, hire and retain high quality, professional managers and staff.
Research, develop and implement plans to establish, expand, enhance and/or maintain appropriate programs and services.

A Glimpse Into The Past
The land that has become Angola Penitentiary was purchased by Isaac Franklin from Francis Routh during the 1830s with the profits from his slave trading firm, Franklin and Armfield, of Alexandria, Virginia and Natchez, Mississippi as four contiguous plantations. In 1869, the lease of Louisiana’s first prison was purchased by Maj. Samuel James, who also leased the 8,500-acre cotton plantation, Angola, from the widow of Isaac Franklin, the Southern slave trader and planter. The name of the prison, Angola, is said to have come from the country in Africa where many of the plantation’s former slaves were from. These plantations, Panola, Belle View, Killarney and Angola, were joined during their sale by Franklin’s widow, Adelicia Cheatham, to Samuel Lawrence James in 1880. When James died suddenly in 1894, his descendants continued the lease until it expired, and on Jan. 1, 1901, the state regained control of the prison system.

Moving toward the future
N. Burl Cain was named Warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) in January 1995 by Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Richard Stalder. Cain is known for his approaches in prison management and he holds a degree from Louisiana State University as well as a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Grambling State University. Cain has had more than 30 years experience in corrections. Before working at Angola, Cain served as the warden of Dixon Correctional Institute located approximately 34 miles away from Angola. After accepting the job at Angola Cain decided to still live on the grounds of Dixon Correctional Institute. Cain promotes a Christian-based message and he believes that religion can help change an inmates life for the better. Other states have used Cain’s religious model for their prisons.
Angola occupies 18,000 acres of the richest farmland in the state and similar to many older prisons in the South, it is run like a big farm. “I think that there has been more human suffering in this place than in any place in the world,” said Cain in an interview with the Advocate. Cain has been credited with reducing the number of violent offenses that take place among inmates.

Life at Angola
According to Angola’s website, the prison houses 5,108 prisoners and employs a workforce of 1,740 with an annual operating budget of 98,128,497. The numbers were recorded in ’03/’04 so I’m sure there has been some change. Of those 5,108 prisoners, 86% are violent offenders, 52% are serving life and will never be released from prison. The prisoners at Angola also serve as workers on the grounds, because of the work of the prison staff and inmates, the grounds at Angola are immaculate, crops are thriving, workers participate in numerous prison industries, and there are a variety of educational opportunities. Freedom is a far cry away, but things are seemingly better than they were in Angola’s past.
Keeping with warden Cain’s religious ideology, the prison provides many outlets for prisoners to aid them with rehabilitation. One outlet, Wheels for the World, provides inmates the opportunity to repair old wheelchairs and ship them to needy people all over the world. At a vocational school, inmates can learn a variety of skills including culinary arts, graphic arts and auto mechanics. A Bible college, a mop and broom factory and a fabrication shop are all places for inmates to release inner frustrations and begin the healing and rehabilitation process. Another outlet for prisoners in the Angola Rodeo Show.

The History of Angola Rodeo
The Angola Rodeo is the longest running prison rodeo show in the nation, others take place in Texas and Oklahoma. The rodeo began in 1965 and the first arena although small was built by inmates and prison employees. In 1967 the prison was opened to the public but on a limited basis; there were no stands so if the audience wanted to sit down they had to sit on apple crates or on the hoods of their cars to watch the rodeo. Because the rodeo was such a success the prison began construction of a 4,500-seat arena for the 1969 rodeo. As the rodeo continued on it grew it size and eventually added events and sponsorships. In 1972 the official Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rules were adopted and became permanent.
The Angola rodeo is professionally produced and the prison established contracts with professional rodeo stock contractors to provide the rodeo stock used in events. Professional judges are included in these contracts to objectively judge the events. To ensure inmate safety, professional rodeo clowns are always present in the arena during events and emergency services personnel are on-site to provide medical assistance to inmates and spectators.

The Cultural Economy of Angola Rodeo
In a video placed on Angola’s rodeo website, warden Cain states that the rodeo is the most unique show or performance anyone will see in this country or maybe the world. It’s uniqueness is the reason people come from all over the world; in Germany, the Angola rodeo was #38 on top 100 things to do. Cain believes that once a person visits the rodeo that they will want to come back and see it again. The inmates are amateurs who are doing nothing but trying to win, Cain says “you see them with their arms up happy they rode to the end. It’s crazy, it’s funny, it’s really good.” The rodeo includes 3 parts: 1) the rodeo itself 2) the concessions which generate revenue for the club and organizations within the prison and to pay missionary prisoners to go to other prisons 3) Hobby/Craft which the warden says he’s proud of the inmates to make art because he believes it to be high quality.
There are a few different ways prisoners are able to make some money from the rodeo. One way is to play convict poker. The game consists of 4 inmates who sit at a table with a protective vest on, 3 rodeo clowns make the bull come to the table and the last one sitting in the chair wins. Guts and Glory is another game inmates can play to win money, all inmates who want to participate are given a chance. The inmates are required to walk up to the bull and take off a $500 chip from the horns and hold it up in the air to win the money. The money that the prisoners win goes back to them which allows them to send it to their families. 20% of the money won is used for taxes.
The hobbies and crafts that prisoners make are available for sale the days of the rodeo. In the Angola rodeo video on the prison’s website, one prisoner shows a helicopter he made out of 7840 matchsticks in 128 hours. The inmate describes the process as an escape and a challenge, something that he enjoys and looks forward to. One prisoner didn’t realize he had the ability to paint until given the opportunity at Angola. On the day of the rodeo when their art work is available for purchase they enjoy the recognition, the rodeo allows them to be around “real people,” which provides as a stress relief for many of the inmates.

Rehabilitation or Exhibition?
In 2010 the racial composition of the inmates was 57% black and 24% white with 71% serving a life sentence and 1.6% were sentenced to death. Angola is still operated as a working farm and warden Cain stated, “You’ve got to keep the inmates working all day so they’re tired at night.” Most prisoners begin working in cotton fields and it may take years for them to work their way to a better job within the prison. I find it to be eerie and somewhat strange that the Louisiana State Penitentiary finds it ok to have people living on the prison grounds as “free people,” to have prisoners picking cotton and doing manual labor. In 2009, James Ridgeway a writer for Mother Jones magazine said Angola was “an 18,000 acre complex that still resembled the slave population it once was.” I agree.
The Angola rodeo is seen as an outlet for prisoners, the prisoners sign up for the rodeo but do the prisoners realize they are being exploited? One could argue and say prisoners who willingly sign up for the rodeo and receive monetary rewards are not exploited because this is not against their free will; they are incarcerated but why make a spectacle of them? The warden believes that the inmates are selfish and they only think about themselves (in relation to committing acts of violence) but with rehabilitation like hobbies/crafts and the rodeo the criminals are able to think about someone else and that it helps break the mold.
If the prison takes 20% of the money awarded to prisoners and uses it for taxes, that money goes back into the prison fire station, the prison chapel and the prison golf course. Prisoners performed most of the labor that was used to build the golf course. When the majority of the inmate popuation is of a minority group and those inmates are used for physical labor and encouraged to participate in an activity where they could lose their life it sends a twisted message to the public.

Other ways Angola makes money
In 1998, the Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum was opened to preserve Angola’s historic past. Among the items on view are the original electric chair, homemade contraband weapons, old records, photos from past floods, a wall of tribute to officers who died in the line of duty and the new
hearse which is used to transport deceased prisoners to the graveyard.
Serving Life is a documentary that was shown on Oprah’s OWN Network showcasing the hospice program at Angola where hardened criminals care for dying fellow inmates. Narrated and executive produced by Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker, the film takes viewers inside Louisiana’s maximum security prison at Angola.

http://doc.louisiana.gov/LSP/

http://www.prisonviewgolf.com/

http://www.angolarodeo.com/

www.angolamuseum.org.

New Orleans and the Cultural Economy: Economizing the Culture of St. Claude

Posted on December 16, 2011 by samdelucia

The cityscape of New Orleans has changed significantly since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Neighborhoods have been torn down and rebuilt, bearing little resemblance to what used to stand in their place. Seeing the change in buildings and streets is certainly interesting, but what truly strikes a nerve is the front row seat we as New Orleanians are given to the change and meshing of cultures. The “revitalization” of St. Claude and the surrounding neighborhoods brings insight into the delicate balance in which residents of these changing neighborhoods exist.

The existence of bars and venues on St. Claude, in the Bywater, Marigny, and St. Roch neighborhoods, has always been known, yet its popularity seems to have skyrocketed in the past few years. Prices for rent have almost doubled since before Katrina, and longtime residents who have lived in their homes for generations are seeing changes that are difficult to ignore. Scores of young, white musicians and artists now live in what had been historically black neighborhoods, and the feeling of uncertainty is palpable as the neighborhood and its residents try to decide exactly what it will become. Plans for a streetcar line to run down St. Claude and the brand new Healing Center (which offers yoga classes and an organic food co-op, among other things) are juxtaposed against the decrepit food markets and Family Dollar buildings. This mixing of cultures brings about an air of absurdity that seems to only be able to exist in New Orleans.

“Moving to the Bywater won’t make you cool; it will just get you shot.” This is a quote comes from a New Orleans business owner, who has lived in the city his entire life and seen his fair share of changing neighborhoods. Though it seems blunt and simplistic, it touches upon a serious issue which can be easily overlooked: crime. This influx of people can translate into an influx of targets; offenders prey upon victims who seem out of their element, and the element on St. Claude is presently undefined. Another component to this theme of easy and constant crime is that it is not hard, under certain circumstances, for people to forget exactly where they are. The garage-rock band playing inside the venue does not make this neighborhood any safer outside; it only makes this neighborhood more bizarre. Coming home to find houses broken into, bicycles stolen, and blocks shut down because of shootings should not be so surprising. It is not ridiculous that one’s car was stolen while one watched L.A. Guns perform; it is slightly ridiculous that L.A. Guns performed in the Ninth Ward. The failure to recognize what is going on is what makes this neighborhood dangerous to those who prefer to stay unaware.

Incidents of crime are obvious repercussions of the clashing of cultures, and they fall squarely on the negative side. Yet, when one looks on a more personal level, the culture clash affects more than just crime, and is not always negative. It is present in daily interactions between neighborhood residents, and at times it makes itself so apparent one simply cannot look away. It is difficult to ignore the older lady with three teeth when she’s kidnapping you into a bathroom with her “to protect you,” or when she’s jumping up on stage to sing with a well-established and popular band in her bra. This is why the revitalization, gentrification, renaissance, or whatever one wishes to call it on St. Claude cannot be ignored. It is in your face, and it is working itself out in strange ways which affect all who venture into these neighborhoods. It truly displays just how peculiar and inexplicable life in New Orleans can be.

“Why do y’all all want to live here?” This question was posed to me by an older black man, around 75, while I stood outside of a show. He went on to explain that he had noticed the new trend in his neighborhood, and the ones adjacent to that, and he could not grasp it. “Don’t y’all want to stay Uptown?” he asked. He had some decent points. Why does it seem as if entire groups of people have begun a mass exodus from Uptown to the Bywater? What is it about this neighborhood that holds such a draw? For one, there are the venues. This neighborhood has become especially appealing for musicians since some of the best venues presently in New Orleans line St. Claude. These venues are in close proximity not only to one another but to the surrounding neighborhoods. Another reason may be the opportunity for art, as the Marigny/Bywater has become the hot spots in the city for galleries, installation art, and performances. Though it may be confusing to some, all of these elements are attracting a different group of people than longtime residents are used to.

If St. Claude had no appeal, there would be no street car plan. If property owners did not see an opportunity for money to be made out of this new, changing culture, there would be no Healing Center and the plans for re-development in the neighborhood would never have come about. All of these plans and changes may be successful, and ten years down the line St. Claude may be a thriving, prosperous community without blight. Or, developers may tire of trying to change a community which has strong roots and even stronger will. Either way, in this strange, interim period, it is important to witness the aforementioned absurdity. If the images of graffiti condemning “Black Metal Fags” next to long-abandoned buildings and residents on their porches across from signs that call all to “Support Local Art” aren’t an apt enough display, perhaps the feeling must be experienced. The atmosphere can be described over and over, but some things you just have to see for yourself.

St. Claude/Neighborhood Slideshow:

[Show as slideshow]

Photo Credit: Sam DeLucia and Briana Hobbs

The Cultural Economy of Alternative Music Genres in New Orleans, LA

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Justen Cheney

This essay explores the relationship between New Orleans and the music produced, performed, and inspired by and in the Crescent City. The content presented is based wholly on personal experience, research conducted within the city of New Orleans, and interviews conducted with musicians currently residing in or originally from New Orleans. The examination is intended to represent a modern glimpse at the cultural economy of, and trends concerning, alternative genre music within the city of New Orleans, specifically following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Introduction:

New Orleans, one of America’s original and greatest Bohemian cities, has a musical history that is rarely matched elsewhere in the United States. Commonly regarded as the birthplace of jazz, the city of New Orleans, in modern times, would seemingly cater to, accept, and appreciate all types of music, no matter how eccentric or aberrant.

Storyville courtesy of GNOCDC.org

Imagine, for instance, walking into a ramshackle speakeasy or brothel in New Orleans red-light district, commonly known as Storyville, sometime during the early 20^th century (before it’s closure by the federal government in 1917) to find a small group of musicians – the forefathers of jazz – huddled in a corner playing their acoustic instruments. This was a setting which has been described as the “unofficial American capital of vice,” where “prostitution flourished openly and a seductive new sound called jazz was coming into its own.” Legend even has it that “Louis Armstrong delivered coal to the district as a boy, [where he] lingered to hear the great jazzmen who performed in elegantly appointed bordellos and scruffy saloons.” (Powell)

Why then is the city of New Orleans, a destination once so readily willing to claim and even praise unique forms of music, so reluctant to do so in modern times? A typical night in one of New Orleans’s greatest musical institutions may evidence that the city and her inhabitants are hesitant, and oftentimes blatantly opposed, to accepting fresh genres of music – even ones that have commonly evolved from prior musical traditions just as jazz did in the late 19^th century. This phenomenon, perplexing as it is, will serve as the driving inspiration as I seek to explain what has become a helpless consistency within the city New Orleans, one often driven by her citizens, to exhibit an unwavering focus on a minimal amount of specific musical genres.

I. A Glimpse at the Scene:

a. Subdivisions of Metropolitan New Orleans and Venues within those Districts

Before an outsider can begin to understand the issues surrounding the cultural economy and musical trends within New Orleans, in relation to the success of live musical performance within the city, one must understand the stipulations that implicate the current scene. In short, one must have a good understanding of the current musical setting within the city including, but not limited to: the cities’ most predominant live venues, the districts in which those venues are located, musical oriented festivals, and radio programming within the city.

Any local mildly invested in the local music culture will know that the metropolitan New Orleans area is subdivided into three or four districts that predominate local music: Uptown, Downtown and the Central Business District, Mid-city, and the Marigny/Bywater. All of said districts typically offer slightly different styles of music, and some more than others.

Tipitina's Uptown courtesy of Jeffrey P. Dupuis

Uptown is limited, for the most part, to the legendary music hall Tipitina’s. Save Tipitina’s uptown location, almost all venues located in this district cater to younger college bands, and audiences that follow them. In the scope of this piece, college bands are often an exception to the typical music trends of New Orleans, as it likely is in most cities throughout the United States. While musical education within the city of New Orleans often places a heavy emphasis on jazz, other musical genres, as expected, flourish among college students within in the city; this is something that I will discuss later.

Mid-city, much like Uptown is a very limited district when it comes to live music. Though there are several venues to be found in the area, relevant underground happenings are few and far between. Also, much like Uptown, these bands cater to college bands, but from UNO, as opposed to Tulane and Loyola, which are located Uptown.

Downtown New Orleans, which includes the Central Business District and the French Quarter, is a place to find much of New Orleans’ live music. The French Quarter, as a predominating tourist destination, is home to a handful of bars and venues. While one can’t walk more than 10 steps on Bourbon street without hearing a different band pouring through the open doors of a New Orleans or Mardi Gras themed bar, this certainly isn’t the place to go in search of anything more than background music to accompany a night of heavy drinking and general debauchery; and yet, this is where much of the money in New Orleans music is to be made. Though it may be true that acts performing on Bourbon or in a similar setting aren’t hired to do more than play what the common masses want, or expect to hear, i.e. jazz, covers, or cultural music, don’t think for one second that these musicians aren’t earning their take. For those unfamiliar with the setting, believe that there is something very admirable about possessing the tolerance to do exactly what these musicians are paid to do.

For a more serious musical experience downtown, there is the House of Blues: the New Orleans location for this corporate chain of venues. The House of Blues’ main room, capable of accommodating 843 people, is typically reserved for bigger touring acts and local acts that possess a considerable amount of clout. Bands like these, as this piece will evidence, are acts playing genres of music that tourists and locals alike would expect to find performing in this large concert hall on any given night. A more alternative experience at the House of Blues will most likely be found in the venues smaller concert hall, located above the main room. While it is commonplace to find more underground acts performing in this room, called The Parish, local groups rarely play here, unless opening for a touring act.

Washed Out at One Eyed Jack's by Joshua Brasted

The French Quarter’s other leading venue is One Eyed Jacks, a locally owned an operated venue. OEJ’s is arguably the best venue that the French Quarter has to offer,
boasting a schedule usually catering to local and touring underground acts alike. As a locally operated venue, a more intimate experience is likely to be had at OEJ’s. The setting is very aesthetic and the venue has played host to several groups that travel off of the mainstream, as the past year’s schedule will evidence. Toro y Moi (touring), Washed Out (touring), Sun Hotel (local), and Ty Segall (touring) have all performed in Jack’s concert hall in the past few months alone.

The Central Business District is one of the areas more decent locations for local alternative music. On the same street, in the span of one block, can be found two of New Orleans bigger local venues, the Howlin’ Wolf and the Republic. Though the main room of the Howlin’ Wolf, a huge space, is most typically reserved for touring acts and large local events, the Den, located in the rear of the venue often caters to local alternative groups, typically college students. The Republic, much like the Howlin’ Wolf, often plays host to touring acts, but boasts a “Throwback Night” every Friday. This event features local alternative acts like Jean Eric, Sun Hotel, Vox and the Hound, Empress Hotel, Royal Teeth, and Big History (who have all played in recent times) playing a selection of “throwback,” interspersed with original pieces. The Republic has also become home to “New Orleans’ Bounce,” a monthly event that showcases what is claimed to be the best of New Olreans Bounce.

The Marigny and Bywater are most likely New Orleans greatest alternative and underground music locations. Found in the Marigny is New Orleans’ legendary Frenchman street. Located on Frenchman street, in a matter of only a 3-5 block radius are no less than 13 music venues: the Dragons Den, the Maison, D.B.A., Snug Harbor, Mimi’s, and the Blue Nile are just a few to name. While Frenchman is known as one of New Orleans’ definitive jazz locations, the area has shown a real interest in alternative forms of music as of late. The Dragon’s Den is often home to local punk rock and electronic dub-step acts. On a similar note, the Maison has recently played host to many local alternative acts, as well as electronic DJ’s and producers. Frenchman street will undoubtedly continue to become known as one of New Orleans’ greatest alternative music locations.

If one travels still further into the Bywater, New Orleans’ final frontier, one will find what is arguably New Orleans’ most alternative and underground music scene. Regarded currently as the “cool part of town,” the Bywater serves as New Orleans’ Echo Park. A conglomerate of bars and music venues can be found, all within a short distance of one another: the Hi-Ho Lounge, Siberia, Saturn Bar, and the Allways Lounge are just a few. In addition to “legal” events held in bars such as these, there are also quite a bit of events held in houses or “speakeasies” found (or not found) in the Bywater. The underground venue owned by local swamp tech and noise rock musician Quintron, called the Spellcaster Lodge (no longer active), was the location of music shows, art events, and other weird happenings both before and after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

b. New Orleans Music Festivals

Generally speaking, New Orleans has two predominating music festivals every year: the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Voodoo Music Festival. The name alone of the former says it all. Both of these festivals, like many large festivals, aren’t held to solely showcase local music. Both are in essence, and actuality, held each year as huge corporately funded festivals that draw both local and international crowds.

Jazz Fest, as its name implicates is more than just a music festival. Because the appeal of Jazz Fest is more than just great local and international music, there is room for deviation, and the festival does play host to almost as many, if not more, local acts as it does touring acts. This interesting fact has much to say however about the typical trends of New Orleans music and may be capable of answering, as a microcosm, the anomaly of New Orleans music. The simple fact is that the New Orleans Jazz Festival draws large amounts of external people to the city every year. In 2010, around 375,000 people were in attendance at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, while a New Orleans census report, given the same year indicated that only 343,829 people were currently living in the city. These numbers will prove useful later on.

New Orleans Voo Doo Festival serves as the cities more traditional music festival, comparable to Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival, Chicago’s Lollapalooza, or Austin City Limits. Because this is the case, there tends to be much less local acts at Voo Doo, and quite a number more of national or international touring acts. This festival is almost irrelevant to observe in relation to this piece.

In absence of New Orleans NOIR (New Orleans Indie Rock Collective), Foburg Festival has assumed the role of New Orleans’ leading underground and alternative music festival over the course of the past couple years. The festival, modeled somewhat similarly to Austin’s South-by-Southwest festival, is run by a group of locals and caters to acts both touring and local. Last year’s installment of the festival featured performances by Big History, Brass Bed, Sun Hotel, Caddywhompus, and Empress Hotel. Events like these provide light at the end of the tunnel for the independent New Orleans music scene.

c. Radio Programming

A look at New Orleans radio programming is one of the best ways to learn what is and isn’t popular in the city of New Orleans. Because most radio stations obtain large parts of funding through donations to remain on the air, it goes without saying that they have to play what the people want to hear. While in New Orleans, a quick turn of the dial on an FM radio will leave very few choices besides top 100 country, rap, pop, and rock. The few main exceptions are WWOZ (90.7) and WTUL (91.5). WWOZ prides itself for the broadcasting of what is almost strictly New Orleans music, while WTUL is Tulane University’s radio station. Since WWOZ plays music predominantly from New Orleans, it offers a good reflection of what exactly most people, especially the station’s programing directors, consider as being New Orleans music. So, in 2003, when Davis Rogan was fired from WWOZ for, among other things, his “non-adherence to the music that should be played on the New Orleans Music Show,” a lot was said about what supposedly is, and isn’t, New Orleans music. In this particular instance, the WWOZ management was upset that a rap tune was played on the air, but as Scott Jordan acknowledges in his article regarding Rogan’s dismissal, “New Orleans rock and electronica are also invisible on WWOZ.” Furthermore, when WWOZ’s programing director at the time, Dwayne Breashears, claimed listeners have called in and reported (supposedly) that “’that’s not why we’re tuning in to ‘OZ, and that’s not why we support WWOZ,” as a response to rap music, and no telling what else, he also conceded to what the masses regard as New Orleans music.

On the other hand, WTUL is open to all types of music being played on the air. But, as before, this is not an adequate reflection of common New Orleans music trends because of the inconsistency that typically follows college students

II. The Success of Jazz in New Orleans

a. Cultural Tradition

Anyone familiar with New Orleans will know that tradition is one of its always present and inescapable qualities. Nothing in the city of New Orleans and, in a more general sense, most of Louisiana goes untouched by cultural tradition, both in the professional and personal realms. According to the official tourism website of Louisiana, the state has over 400 festivals every year – that’s more festivals than one person has time for in a year.

Almost every aspect of daily life isn’t just affected by Louisiana cultural tradition, but celebrated somewhere, in some festival. Natives in New Orleans don’t only expect things a certain way, they have learned to love them the way that they are here in New Orleans: spicy, drenched in alcohol, and jazzy. To summarize, New Orleans is a city with a central identity apparent to outsiders and lived, almost religiously, by the insiders. So the anomaly that has subsequently become the driving piece of this study should come as no surprise to anyone. The people of New Orleans love what they know better than any other form of music: swinging, horn-heavy jazz.

b. Tourism

Your run-of-the-norm New Orleanians aren’t the only people that brave the New Orleans nightlife in search of the jazz music that they expect to find. Tourists, visiting the city from external locations around the world are also part of this expectant demographic. Reid Martin, the lead vocalists and rhythm guitarists for the Blue Party, a local New Orleans indie-pop act, said that “the main reason jazz does so well [in New Orleans] is because it’s a central part of our biggest industry: tourism.”

Indeed, tourism is among the biggest industries in New Orleans. In fact, according to the New Orleans Industry Report, conducted by the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation in 2008, the “tourism industry is the largest employer in the metropolitan New Orleans area, and second largest industry in the state of Louisiana…the tourism economic engine accounts for 35% of the City of New Orleans’ annual operating budget.” Additionally, the report itself includes music venues as one the predominating business categories responsible for contributing to this specific industry, an industry often credited for expediting the recovery of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina more than any other industry. Also included in this report are attendance approximations for “record breaking festivals” held during the 2008 fiscal year, four of which (out of seven) are held solely for, or in accordance with, musical attractions.

After acknowledging tourism as one of New Orleans’ biggest industries, if not its biggest, it seems only rational that businesses everywhere within the New Orleans metropolitan area must consider what tourists want, as a huge customer demographic, almost more than any other demographic. This simple fact alone seems to greatly evidence the observation offered earlier by Martin. People come to New Orleans, a place that is often heralded as the birthplace of jazz, with expectations to hear jazz, and probably jazz alone.

c. Education

Yet another controlling factor concerning the success of jazz in New Orleans is education. Musical education is certainly a prevalent area of scholarship at all levels within in the city of New Orleans, and among that musical education, jazz is one of the predominate areas of study. Though there are many institutions of higher education within New Orleans, the University of New Orleans (UNO; public; current total undergraduates: 8,345), New Orleans largest public urban institution, Tulane University (private; current total undergraduates: 7,803), and Loyola University (private; current total undergraduates: 2,922), are all among the cities largest higher education institutions.

All three of these institutions boast undergraduate and graduate degree programs within the field of music, and again, all offer areas of concentration pertaining specifically to jazz. Furthermore, Loyola University New Orleans, one of 28 Jesuit Universities in the United States, is the only one to have a college of music and fine arts. Knowing this, it is safe to assess that high school graduates eager to study music, and often times specifically jazz, will likely consider the city of New Orleans as a serious option for their higher education experience.

Another interesting factor to note of is the effect that student bodies within the city of New Orleans have on the success of cultural economy, especially when pertaining to alternative genres of music. According to statistics given by College Search and College Board, 87% of Tulane Universities’ first year students come from out of the state, while 58% of Loyola University New Orleans’ first year students come from out of state. This means that many university students in New Orleans are pseudo citizens, or part-time citizens of the city, or that they maintain chief residences and billing addresses elsewhere, outside of New Orleans. This paired with earlier observations concerning the implications that university student demographics have on the success of alternative music genres within the city mean that the cultural economy of alternative music oscillates throughout the year, experiencing more success during times of study.

The effects such things have had on alternative music genres within New Orleans are drastic to the point of obvious noticeability. For instance, it is considered unwise, almost to the point of taboo, for show promoters and venues to throw or host certain types of alternative genre events in the city during intermediate periods of typical university sessions, i.e. winter and summer breaks. Furthermore, large portions of New Orleans’ alternative genres music groups, as college students, disband during such breaks, returning to their homes for these periods.

III. Alternative Genres in New Orleans

Of course, New Orleans isn’t a city completely void of alternative music genres. There are exceptions to all of the generalizations that made have been made or implicated throughout this piece thus far. New Orleans has boasted its fair share of non-jazz musical acts to emerge from the city in recent times. For instance, many influential rappers hail from the city of New Orleans: Currensy, Master P, Lil’ Wayne, Juvenile, and Mystikal are just a few to name. But in search of any group that claims New Orleans as their home, influenced by rock or other alternative genres, very few come to mind. In most recent times, one familiar with the genres of music discussed here, will think of indie-pop noise duo Belong, and American indie-rock duo Generationals. Save these two exceptions, New Orleans can lay claim to almost no alternative, indie-rock or pop acts that have gone on to achieve national or international acclaim in recent times.

a. Local Alternative Genre Bands

There are several exceptions to be found in New Orleans when observing music on a more local level. New Orleans does in fact possess a small group of musical acts and bands performing alternative genres. The first places to go in search of these groups is the NOIR Collective and the universities of New Orleans, as most of these groups are found within younger circles of people.

Of course, the large amount of these groups would hope to play music at a national or even international level, but simply haven’t succeeded yet. As a member of one of these groups myself, I have a deep understanding of the two sentiments usually shared among these circles. The first offers a hopeful outlook for New Orleans music: it is one that longs for a dramatic shift of New Orleans to a great cultural center and birthplace for alternative musical genres. Several movements within the city characterize this specific longing. Chinquapin Records, is a “cooperative” of local musicians and advocates, mostly from Loyola University, that “seeks to be an outlet for sharing the music we make and the music we love.” Another similar organization – one claiming itself more explicitly as a record label, is Park the Van Records. With many groups currently receiving representation from Park the Van, it is arguably the leading formal organization within New Orleans to promote alternative forms of music. Finally, there is the media and fans in New Orleans that hope for something similar: music blogs like Art Official and Barryfest are doing their best to make sure groups like these find their way to the rest of the world. On the other hand, there are those currently in New Orleans, possibly against their own will, that would like nothing more than to take their musical talent and abilities elsewhere, believing that New Orleans will never be capable of offering them what they need. These are the skeptics. Those resigned to the fact, sometimes unwillingly, that New Orleans, as it stands, is not capable of offering local musicians the fan bases and venues they need to grow.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I will bring together the observations made previously in one concentrated set of theory concerning cultural economy and the success of alternative genre music, specifically independent rock and similar genres, within the city of New Orleans. The answer to this question can be answered, in large part, with simple mathematics and populace figures.

Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the population of New Orleans was altered dramatically. Prior to the hurricane in August of 2005, the population of New Orleans was situated somewhere approximately around 484,674, a number that hasn’t been reached again since the storm. As of 2010, the U.S. Census bureau maintained that the population of New Orleans was only at 343, 829, almost 150,000 below its figure in 2000. The effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans have therefore been dramatic to say the least; where would New Orleans be today, had the storm never happened? This question obviously implicates every part of New Orleans life, music being included.

The unavoidable truth however is that niche groups and interests, ones like alternative genres of music, simply will not do well in a city lacking numbers. Reid Martin, of the Blue Party, makes this observation: “there are simply not enough people in this city to make it possible for most musicians to make a living from solely playing gigs…[but] for jazz musicians in [New Orleans], the audience travels to you.”

From this springs yet another unavoidable truth: that a predominating number of audiences in search of musical experiences in the city of New Orleans come from outside of the city. And they come in search of what they expect to find. In order to continue facilitating what is currently our greatest industry, the city of New Orleans must provide those things, which are in high demand.

Of course, the audience doesn’t always come from elsewhere, and cultural tradition is yet another major factor playing into the success of jazz within the city. It is a success that almost directly affects that of other musical genres, and most often negatively. The term “cultural economy” alone says an infinitesimal amount about why alternative music and music events, within the city of New Orleans, are almost completely glossed over. The initiative of cultural economy, as given by the office of the Lt. Governor, the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, and the Office of Cultural of Cultural Development, is to “support the development of creative industries as a viable sector of Louisiana’s economy.” The key word of this initiative obviously being viable; meaning that any cultural niche incapable of securing a lucrative economy will most likely be ignored not only by the government of New Orleans, but often times her people as well.

Sources:

Cover image taken from Belong courtesy of Kranky Records

Tales from Storyville by: Eric A. Powell

The Rap on WWOZ by Scott Jordan

New Orleans Tourism Industry Report

U.S. Census Bureau on New Orleans Populace

Cultural Economy

College Board / College Search

Other Relevant Websites:

NolaDIY

Cultural Economy Final Project: Shreveport “Hollywood South”

Posted on December 11, 2011 by margaretlise

Photo Credit: Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation

The primary mission of the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation “is to be a catalyst for the development and enhancement of the distinct cultural industries of Louisiana by promoting the economic health and quality of life of our cultural economy workforce.” The men and women of the New Orleans film industry chose to promote and inact cultural economy when it chose to keep the film industry in the state and move it to a north-Louisiana city after Hurricane Katrina brought its film production to a screeching halt. New Orleans chose to be that catalyst for the greater good of the state of Louisiana.

“Ranked third in film and television production”, Louisiana has rapidly become one of the United State’s largest producers of film (Louisiana Film and Television) . When people think of Louisiana made films they mostly associate them with New Orleans. Although it is true that New Orleans produces the majority of Louisiana’s films, another booming city is at a close second in film production. What city you may ask? No, not the state capitol. Shreveport, Louisiana has become one of Louisiana’s largest film producing cities due to Hurricane Katrina and the wise decisions of the New Orleans film industry.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina temporarily suspended film production in New Orleans, which in turn pushed Louisiana film production to North Louisiana. Out of this tragedy came an opportunity for the New Orleans film industry to boost the economy of a fellow city. An article in the Times-Picayune , released a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina, details the effect of the storm on the film industry in New Orleans: “Dozens of companies, hundreds of workers, and millions of dollars in film production have moved from New Orleans to Shreveport in the two weeks since Hurricane Katrina tore through the area, taking Hollywood South north, at least for now.” Shreveport was the New Orleans film industry’s saving grace in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. According to then director of the Governor’s Office of Film and TV Jeff Schott ”our [Nola Film Industry] focus was to keep the business in the state” and ”Shreveport offered the most attractive option.” Schott also said “the industry chose to relocate to Shreveport in part because Baton Rouge [was] too crowded and didn’t offer enough space for the industry’s businesses and workers.” Malcolm Petal, the firm’s chief executive officer during this time also said another reason for the move to Shreveport was “that unlike Baton Rouge and New Orleans , Shreveport and surrounding cities have [had] not yet reaped the benefits of the growing film industry.” It was huge for Petal to have this insight and to bring film to Shreveport. He saw Shreveport as a city that had yet to reach its potential in terms of film and television.

This move put a enormous amount of money in the city of Shreveport. One New Orleans production company named Lift alone spent 1.5 million to set up a an office in Shreveport after Katrina. Petal also said in the article that about “$80 million in production or post production work scheduled to be done in New Orleans [was] relocated to Shreveport” and the surrounding areas. Petal believed it was important to show everyone that you can make movies in north Louisiana. He even said he planned to keep “Lift’s Shreveport office running after New Orleans is operating again.” Out of this devastating storm came a great opportunity for Shreveport to be seen as a city capable of producing films equivalent to those shot in New Orleans. These two cities were able to take a tradegy and turn it into something valuable for the state of Louisiana. Shreveport has so much to offer the film industry in Louisiana and it has yet to see its best days of film production.

Visual of distance from NOLA to Shreveport Photo Credit: sus.edu

Another major reason why Shreveport is becoming such a popular city for filming movies is because of the city’s diversity. According to Shreveport-Bossierfilm.com diversity is “what allows the Shreveport-Bossier City area to become Anywhere, USA. Whether your story is set in Portland, New York City, or even Senegal, Africa, it can be and probably has been shot here in our area. No matter what kind of location you’re looking for, the Shreveport-Bossier area can make your production feel right at home. That’s because we have a sincere desire to make ever production successful. From the city administration down to support staff, you will find this area is full of just plain friendly, helpful folks.” Aside from its versatility, Shreveport is a close competitor with New Orleans for film production because Shreveport has the architecture and landscape similar to that of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. Surprising to some south Louisiana residents, Shreveport has “antebellum-style plantations, bayous, [and]swamps.” It is home to many notable films including Mr. Brooks and The Guardian, to name a few. Shreveport is able to transform into any location one can dream up. The following locations are placed that Shreveport has doubled for:

New York
New Jersey
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Portland, Oregon
Kodiak, Alaska
Miami, Florida
Amsterdam
Dakar Airport – Senegal, Africa
Bering Sea
Los Angeles, California
Alabama
Maine
Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Iowa
Mississippi

North Pole
New Orleans
New Hampshire
Kansas City, Missouri
Texas
St. Louis, Missouri
Sodom (Biblical City)
Oklahoma
Memphis
Arizona
Washington, D.C.
Maryland
Santa Monica, CA
The Amazon
Camp Pendleton, CA

Shreveport is also one of the State’s easiest and most accommodating places to work with. According to line producer Jeffrey Chernov and Unit production manager Tommy Harper “every film has a particularly difficult location. For Battle: Los Angeles we needed a freeway shut down for a month. When no other city could deliver, Shreveport-Bossier did.” Another movie producer, Michael “Mick” Flannigan, said “I’ve produced 6 films in Shreveport and can’t think of better city to shoot in. The city bends over backwards to help film makers realize their dream. The infrastructure and growing crew base is top notch. It’s a very easy city to navigate and has a diverse look in terms of locations. With the Louisiana tax credit it’s affordable to shoot in the US again!” and “I personally count Shreveport as my second home and look forward to shooting my next project there.” Producers not only love the state’s tax incentives, but Shreveport has its own local tax incentives that make it all the more appealing.

Filmed in Shreveport, La

Aside from the state tax incentives, Shreveport has its own local incentives listed below:

(Chart from shreveport-bossierfilm.com)

2.5% sales tax rebate – based on expenditures within Shreveport’s city limits (application process and rules apply)

Basic Cap – $150,000.00 total to any individual project or production for new productions by a production company which has not previously received any City of Shreveport incentives.
Subsequent Productions- $165,000.00 for a production company which brings a subsequent production to the City of Shreveport within twelve months of completion of the prior project.
The funding cap shall be increased by $10,000 for productions which utilize a Caddo Parish-based post production company.

1.5% sales tax rebate – based on expenditures within Caddo Parish (application process and rules apply)

Basic Cap – $20,000.00 total to any individual project or production for new productions by a production company which has not previously received any Caddo Parish or municipalities lying therein within the last twelve months.
Subsequent Productions- $22,000.00 for a production company which brings a subsequent production to Caddo parish within twelve months of completion of the prior project.
The funding cap shall be increased by $1200.00 for productions which utilize a post production company located within Caddo Parish or any of the municipalities lying therein.
- Resolution passed for the Mayor to suspend certain provisions of city ordinances to grant temporary approval for uses of film production
- Permitting: No charge for film and construction permit fees for set builds (Caddo-Bossier Parish)
- Free Locations for most of our city and parish (Shreveport and Bossier) buildings
- Free water for filming special effects – (City of Shreveport city limits) – exception wave tank
- Easy and simple permitting – no permit fees
- Assistance with DOTD permitting

Photo Credit: Robinson Film Center

The Shreveport area is also committed to instilling education of film and television in its college students. Due to the booming film industry these various schools are offering programs and classes in several aspects of film and television. Louisiana Technical College - Mansfield Campus, a college in the Shreveport area, offers training in hair, special effects, scenic painting, props, sound, set dressing, make up and wardrobe to anyone interested in working in the film industry in Shreveport. The Shreveport branch of the college offers degrees in barber/styling which can be beneficial in a film’s make-up and hair department. Centenary College in Shreveport also offers a track in film, television and video and has a film society for its students. Centenary hopes to “ teach students to express themselves and to communicate with others using various electronic and film media. With a liberal arts perspective and extensive production experience, students will have the opportunity to become creative artists and analysts of the media who have a strong sense of the complex realities of the role of film, television, and video play in communications.” Centenary students in the film society also work closely with the one of the city’s film centers, the Robinson Film Center. The Film Society screens of all its movie at the center. The center also plays a vital role in the education of students in Shreveport and the surrounding areas. It offers a film-making workshop that can be done at any school in the area. The program “is a perfect way to blend an interactive lesson about film production into your classroom. Your class makes its own short film in just 90 minutes!” The Robinson film city is very unique to not only Shreveport, but the region.

The Robinson Film Center is the “region’s only venue for independent, international and classic cinema and community resource for media-related educational programming for all ages. The RFC houses tow state-of-the-art theaters featuring the latest in 35mm and hi-eg digital projection. Private screening facilities for dailies (35 mm and digital) and multi-purpose media rooms are available.”

Shreveport Mayor, Cedric Glover stresses the importance of the Robinson Film Center on the city’s economy.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2CicR-DCkI']

In the end, Shreveport owes a majority of its film success to the people of the New Orleans film industry for making the decision to move its post-katrina industry to Shreveport. These peopla saw a vision for Shreveport and that was a vision of a city booming with film production. Shreveport always had all of the tools and resoucres necessaryto produce an abundance of films, but they needed the help of a fellow city. In a time when New Orleans film needed help the city of Shreveport was there and New Orleans continues to repay Shreveport for its help everyday a new film is made in that north-Louisiana city.

The following clips highlight the amount of space and diversity the city has to offer and also the growing film industry in Shreveport.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ehp6yxhRVI&feature=player_embedded']

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi2ik4w_3OE&feature=player_embedded#!']

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