Image via Wikipedia
I am very thankful for Hulu right now. I love this city. I do. But, with all the transplants (yes, like me) and our ideals and our fantasies and our 300 steps away from reality, this is good fun. Thank you Fred & Carrie.
I moved here in 2003. In 2004, I believe, a native Portlander wrote into the Oregonian as a guest columinist, asking Portlanders to get over htemselves. she argued that in this green archiplego, Portlanders forgot that there is a wider world out there. She claimed with exmaple after example of how Portlanders don’t realize not everyone in the country wants to go green, eat organic, or boycott Wal-Mart. As sad as it might have been to read, it was refreshing because it’s true!
So, this is the first Portlandia episode, the show that lovingly makes fun of Portland, the place where we want to know the name of our chicken but might be afraid to see the farm.
Related articles
- Watch Portlandia, Indie Sketch Show With Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, And A Washed Out Theme Song (stereogum.com)
- Ears? Burning. Observer Gets a Shout Out on Portlandia (observer.com)
- Fred Armisen inpired by Holys Sons for SNL sketch, pairs w/ Carrie Brownstein for new IFC show ‘Portlandia’ (brooklynvegan.com)
- Portlandia: Portland Dream of the ’90s (laughingsquid.com)
As a New Yorker I have not yet been to Portland. Is it all organic food and healthy lifestyle? Sounds pretty good to me. New York does have a lot of healthy options but they are balanced out by the pollution and consumer driven life style.
I moved to Portland almost 8 years ago, and even then, every food at most restaurants was preceded by several modifiers: organic, natural, local, gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free, dairy-free, whole, vegetarian, vegan, etc. But, it’s a mix to be sure. Portland does a lot of good things, but it tends to forget there is life outside of Portland where different dialogs and priorities exist. For example, a few USCLA professors, Harry W. Richardson and Peter Gordon, like to tout how Portland has more sprawl than LA.
Thanks for commenting and reading!
Sustainable Portland, the Critique, and the Los Angeles Counterpoint
School of Policy, Planning and Development
University of Southern California