DANGEROUS ANGELS: THE WEETZIE BAT BOOKS

Abstract

In Dangerous Angels, Francesca Lia Block uses food to intersect the regionalism, history, and physical and cultural geographies of Los Angeles in the1980s. To explore the links among food, setting, and culture, the chapter looks at the particularities of Los Angeles, considering its geography, architecture, the urban histories of Hollywood and the foothills (especially Laurel Canyon), along with the well-documented food culture (restaurant histories, farmers markets, journalism) that marks the region. Block links knowledge, taste, and place as central to the narrative arc of the series. For all the wild eclecticism of Block’s world, the primary food signifier—that also dominates the value of place—is vegetarian home-cooking, providing physical, emotional, ethical, and intellectual support for the series’ heterogeneous community. A comfortable home with a well-stocked kitchen full of healthy vegetarian ingredients—where knowledgeable cooks happily work together making meals—makes the series’ eclecticism possible and sustainable.