"Oh my gosh, do you know the Kardashians?!"
I decided to kill two birds with one stone this weekend as I ventured home in efforts of traveling to my first location. I’ve lived in Calabasas, CA, roughly 20 miles away from UCLA my entire life, but I attempted to adjust my perspective on that particular ride home. I used my familiarity for an initial jumpstart, then toured my hometown as if I was a complete stranger. Below are some pictures I took as I drove around the city one afternoon.
Nestled
between the hills of the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains,
Calabasas is an affluent upper-middle class suburbia with quite the
reputation. It has become a popular
A-list city with some notable residents including: the Kardashians, Justin
Bieber, Britney Spears, Cameron Diaz, Derek Fisher, Paul Pierce, Drake, Dr.
Dre, Tori Spelling, etc. The list is
never ending, but my main point is that it is not the city these celebrities’
residence makes it seem. I lived there
18 years and never saw a single one of these celebrities (not even the
Kardashisans, I swear). They all reside
in their gated communities far away from the rest of us middle class
people.
Celebrities
are only a small fraction of what Calabasas really resembles. According to the 2012 Census, Calabasas has a
population of roughly 25,000 people, allowing for much diversity within the
city. As I drove around that day I made
sure to see all parts of the city, from the older areas to the newer. It was interesting to see the difference, for
the older neighborhoods of Calabasas resemble that of a “traditional” suburban
area- mid-sized uniform houses, mixed ethnicities, young families and elders
neighboring each other, etc. On the
other hand, the newer communities were the complete opposite- large, unique
mansions, luscious landscaping, predominantly Caucasians families with both
young and old children, at least one Audi, BMW, Mercedes, or Range Rover parked
in the driveway, etc. I personally don’t
think an outsider would notice such a contrast, but because I’ve lived here and
know which communities have what, I feel I was able to make a fairly accurate
assessment. Another thing a non-local
may not be able to perceive is that the dominant religion in Calabasas is
Jewish. Although I am not personally
Jewish, I have been able to see how the majority religion is able to sway local
politics.
On
an average day the whole suburb is bustling with activity. People jogging along the scenic roads, kids
out playing in the beautiful L.A. weather, teenagers hanging out at The Commons,
and both residents and tourists shopping in the many designer stores. I enjoy walking around my city because the
aesthetically pleasing landscapes are what give me a sense of home. I always feel safe and constantly find my
self getting lost in the serene environment Calabasas creates for me.
While touring the city, I reflected on Durkheim’s viewpoints
from The Division of Labor in Society. I began to think that Calabasas emerged as
this homogenous suburbia, in the sense that the dominating demographic is upper-middle
class Caucasians with Jewish religious beliefs, because of humans’ need for closely
related social bonds. People are drawn
to other people who share similar social components with themselves, which Durkheim
suggests as a need for “social togetherness” in which then leads to a division
of labor. In return, the initial need
and social ties are reinforced through the specialization and reliance on other
laborers. The division of labor within
Calabasas is a rare exception, for the CEO who owns the company may live a
community away from the middle-aged employee making six-figures, who may live
in the gated community across the street from the upper scale apartment complex
that houses the graduate school intern who lives with his newlywed wife.
-Britt
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