Venice Beach! Ethnography

What More Could You Ask For?

            The beach is not a complicated place, it is easily described sand in the toes, crashing of the waves, hear the breeze in the palm trees and feel the warm sun on your skin. One could except to see surfers floating in the water waiting for a good set, guys throwing a football, and girl’s sun bathing. If someone has never been to the beach before they can only image what they see in the movies, or pictures of those clear waters and white sand at vacation resorts. It would be easy to describe though, it would be hard to describe a beach like Venice to someone who has never been to the beach or never been to Venice. They would not understand what Venice looks like. It’s has more character then a just the sand, waves and warm sun, it is more than just a beach, it is a place to express oneself, to go relax and even some peoples home.

            I’ve been to Venice beach a few times over the years but recently I took this time to look at it differently. It was a perfect day to go to the beach it was in the mid-seventies with a light breeze. I forgot how it was there when walking on the side walk through the shops. Everyone’s trying to get your attention; either they want you to put their headphones on to listen to their music, buy a CD, jewelry, clothes or little knickknacks. It wasn’t the little shops, or the people forcing you to listen to their music that got the people’s attention. It was the performers, the magicians, the sand sculptor, the dancers, and musician playing his guitar. People would form huge circles around them, the more people that stopped and watched everybody else had to see. Once you leave the shops and head towards the beach you see something unusual, the palm trees have graffiti on them. All of them have different colors, and sayings. At Venice they also have a wall in the sand that is just for graffiti, you can put whatever you want on it. It is interesting to see the different types of art work that people put on this wall; there are also different structures in the sand for people to graffiti. Also there is a skate park, with different types of people staking, and biking all trying to do fancy tricks. After walking through the shops, seeing the graffiti, and watching some skaters, I just sat on the sand and looked out at the water. I personally love the beach, it is my favorite place, it’s not just one beach it’s all beaches. The beach is also a place for me to get away, even if it’s a few hours. It is a calming place to be, to clear my head just go think. If I need to relax and be stress free just going to the beach for a little bit helps me a lot!  

            One reason why I like Venice, is because is it more than just a beach. It has character. It is more diverse than some cities in California. There are all types of people, who express themselves in different ways and they want to share it with everyone. It’s crazy how many different types of talents you can see in a day at Venice. It is interesting to see a homeless man living here, struggling musicians, an artist, skaters, and people relaxing on the sand. Venice has everything. What more could you ask for, entertainment, food, shopping and a beautiful beach all in walking distance. Venice is all of this and more, it represents L.A as a city. Los Angeles is the city where dreams come alive. It is a diverse city, people so many different types of people trying to make. It also is some people’s getaway. Everything that is in L.A is in Venice beach too. It is hard to think that, but if I had to pick one place that would represent L.A as a whole city not just the movie celebrity side; all of L.A the ghetto, the valley, the glamor and glitz side. It would have to be Venice beach.

            Everyone has their opinions on Venice beach. I suggest if you haven’t been there go! And don’t listen to what people say. Everyone has a different experience and everyone comes back with a story to tell.