Cultural eras don’t precisely follow the calendar. The creative renaissance in Los Angeles did not begin on January 1, 1974 (or even January 1, 1967). It did not abruptly end on December 31, 1974. But the dynamics that rejuvenated culture and politics in Los Angeles reached their fullest expression through 1974. And as the year transitioned into 1975, forces gathered momentum that would end the city’s revival in movies, music, television, and politics. The most important of these was a shift in cultural preferences that reduced America’s appetite for popular entertainment that relitigated the
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