revdorothyl: missmurchsion made this (Laputa)
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A friend just forwarded me this "Very Short List" review of a new non-fiction book on the destruction of New York City in popular culture and all that this might imply about our fears and suppressed wishes.

Here's the first paragraph, just to whet your appetite:

Like it or not, New York City’s annihilation — by fire, plague, asteroid, atomic bomb, or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man — has always been a pop-cultural cliché. As Max Page puts it at the start of his new book, The City’s End: Two Centuries of Fantasies, Fears, and Premonitions of New York’s Destruction: “It seems that every generation has had its own reasons for destroying New York.”

Looks like this might actually be worth a read.
There are 2 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 
posted by [identity profile] texanfan.livejournal.com at 06:54pm on 17/09/2008
Hmm. Particularly in film, I'm suspecting one of the prime reasons for destroying New York is the wealth of easily recognizable landmarks. The statue of liberty seems to be a favorite.
 
posted by [identity profile] revdorothyl.livejournal.com at 09:14pm on 17/09/2008
Indeed! I was thinking that, as well: the twin towers (formerly), the Empire State Building, and the rest of the Manhattan skyline are pretty distinctive and easy to recognize, in addition to Lady Liberty and the other tourist sights.

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