Week 6 Night Time Traffic

While taking the bus I noticed how the head and tail lights of the surrounding cars seemed obsessive to me. As the bus zoomed past the stopped cars the headlights were hypnotizing and dizzying. Once the Sun sets, suddenly you are surrounded by a world of whizzing white, amber, green. and red lights, blinking and flashing. I find the lights fixating to look at (as a passenger, obviously).

There's also the car culture of Southern California that allows for the high congestion of cars and the hypnotic light show that begins at 5pm every evening. The fast paced life of Southern California is, ironically, defined by rush hour traffic and the idea that every one has an important place to be.

There's also the ideal that people want to move to "the Big City" with all it's "bright lights" - it's an idea people are obsessed with. This concept has written albums, made movies, theatre, been used in photography, marketing, etc. The idea of the "Big City" is defined by the cars rushing around everywhere, especially at night time, going to clubs, art gallery openings, someplace new and exciting.