Strange Maps

I spent a long time on Strange Maps because it was so interesting to see so many different perceptions of the world, some of them quite humorous. In particular the ones of America were intruiging because of all the stereotypes people tend to have about the people of America, such as the flippant view that they eat too much, and there was a map to show how many MacDonalds restaurants there were all over the country, so in many ways it was fascinating to see all of these interpretations.

One that stood out in particular was this map, showing all the single people in America in 2007. What was really interesting was how split these commodities seem to be; with the majority of single men on the west coast opposing the vast amount of single women on the east side of the country. What I also saw from this map is where the large amounts of these singlepeople seem to be, for example the vast amount of single women in places like New York. This may be due to the fact that glamourised television programmes such as Sex and the City are based there; a show based on strong, independent women, and more recently, reality show 'The City', based around a dominant female character living in New York City. This may have influenced all these independent women in that area. Opposing that is the amount of single males around the West area, home to states like Nevada. The location of Las Vegas may be a contributor to this statistic; as it is world renowned for gambling, drinking and sex, and according to the map, home to a huge number of single men. There also seems to be a huge amount of single men on the Californian coast, and, holding to the stereotype of, opposed to women, men being laid back and chilled, it could be due to the surf culture California is known for. Also Los Angeles, so-called "City of Angels", is known as the centre of business, entertainment culture and international trade, so maybe that has something to do with it too.

This is a map that really shocked me, as I wasn't aware of the amount of gang culture present in America, perhaps a naive thought on my part. It shows part of Los Angeles, quite a different aspect than the usual glitz and glamour of Hollywood that most people seem to have.It shows the competition between the 'Crips' - an African American gang founded back in 1969, they are known as one of the largest and most violent street gangs across America - quite a scary thought! The 'Blood' gang, also primarily African American was founded in 1972, to rival the Crips, both are incredibly violent. Having previously been under the impression that the only gang culture in America was that of 'West Side Story', my eyes have been opened the the seriousness of it, and the fact that it is still very much part of Los Angeles' culture as a whole.