carcosa:true detectiveSeason 1 shocked many people with the story of this mythical place, which is said to be the source of all corruption and depravity. Or maybe it's just the dilapidated mansion where detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart (Matthew McConaugheymiWoody Harrelson) finally track down the child killer they've been tracking for decades. Season 1 never answers that question, and even after it was revealed that the two beloved main characters wouldn't be returning for Season 2, there was at least some hope that a new generation of characters could finish the job Rust and Hart started: find Carcosa and burn it to the ground. The fans disappoint for the second timetrue detectiveThe second season of told a completely unconnected story set in the city of Vinci, a nondescript industrial town outside of Los Angeles.
However, Vinci has one thing that Carcosa doesn't. He is based on a real place. Vinci was inspired by the city of Vernon and if you felt the historytrue detectiveSeason 2 lacked those Lovecraftian chills, Vernon's true story might satisfy you.
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Vernon's true story
"It started as a trucking port in the early 1900s. In the 1920s it became industrial. Residents moved to the industrial areas." This is how "Vinci" is described in the program by the state detective who is trying to open an investigation for corruption in the city. Vernon itself was founded in 1905 through the machinations of the town's founder, J.B. Leonis, and its original reputation was indeed a "viceport", although by 1905 standards vice only meant that the town had many pubs and sold alcohol on Sundays, and that it was a good place to watch boxing and baseball (while drinking).
But alcohol and sports were always just sidelines. The city should always serve industry first and discourage everything else. The legal minimum number of residents to form a town was 500, and at one point there were that many people living in Vernon, many on farms. Whether they were "replaced" is unclear, but in the decades that followed the farms disappeared and were replaced by slaughterhouses, chemical plants, foundries, and other things notorious for their foul odors. During that time, the population dropped to 100 at the 2010 census. And while few people live there today, tens of thousands come to Vernon to work.
You may be thinking why not have the entire industry in one city while everyone lives elsewhere. The problem is that if there are no residents, there are no voters, and therefore there is no way to account for the city's business tax base. The people who work in Vernon live in neighboring towns and live with politically uncontrollable pollution. That already hasdevastating impact.
Things get a little scarier. The few apartments that do exist in Vernon are owned by the city and rented to city officials at well below market rates. So whoever currently controls Vernon also gets to decide who lives and votes there. In this way, the city remained under the control of its founding families for a hundred years. In 1975, the grandson of J.B. Leonis, Leonis Malburg (yes, her name was literally "Malburg"), became mayor of Vernon. He would hold that position for 34 years, running for re-election mostly unopposed and paying himself an exorbitant salary in the process. His mastery of his power turned out to be in the most ridiculous way imaginable, as we'll see later.
True Detective Season 2 Actual Filming Locations
The locations for this television season are beautiful and diverse, from the hidden tunnels beneath downtown Los Angeles to an oceanfront chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes. Filming on location is not uncommon in Vernon, and in fact, a movie is even being filmed in Vinci.true detectivePlot used by the city to interpret a post-industrial wasteland. Still, taking over the city to play a fictional, nightmarish version of herself is pretty daring, and that's what the show did.
Most Vernon apartments are located on a block directly behind Vernon City Hall, a suburban island in the middle of an industrial sea. Most of these houses are occupied by the Vernon Police and Fire Department. In ittrue detectiveSeason 2,Colin Farrellstars Ray Velcoro, a da Vinci cop, and one of these houses plays his house. In one scene, he can be seen walking straight out the front door to go to work at City Hall. You're unlikely to realize the significance of this scenario unless you know Vernon's true story, but it's surprising that the show paid so much attention to detail.
The mayor of Vinci (Richie Coster) is, like the former mayor of Vernon, the grandson of the city's founder. Like his real-life counterpart, he also doesn't live in his own town, which is illegal. Leonis Malburg actually lived in her family's mansion in the exclusive Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Chessani mansion is in the story in Bel Air, although the actual filming location is Beverly Hills.
Notrue detectiveIn season 2, most of Vinci's illegal activities are run by Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn), a gangster who launders the city's money at a poker room called Vinci Gardens Casino. Most forms of gambling are illegal in California, but cities have the ability to legalize poker (and, if you're creative, a "variant" of poker known ascalifornia shit). However, the town of Vernon does not allow gambling, so in this case the show borrowed history from nearby towns. The name was probably inspired by the nearby Hawaiian Gardens Casino, which has its ownhistory of corruption.
The end of an era in Vernon and Vinci
In reality, the Leoni's political dynasty ended when a group of men began to occupy an abandoned industrial building in Vernon. This was part of aplanned election coup. The raiders ran for Vernon city council, and since most Vernon elections counted for only a few dozen votes, it was theoretically possible that this list of insurgents would take control of the city immediately, along with their millions of dollars in taxes. . The current city government tried to cancel the election, which drew a lot of attention. The subsequent investigation revealed what everyone already knew. The Vernon leaders did not legally live there. malburgo waspleaded guiltyfor fraud and resigned along with many of his colleagues in 2009. His son was found guilty of felonies, ending the dynasty after a century in power.
In the TV show, the mayor of Vinci is assassinated by his son, who takes over as mayor. The state's corruption investigation turns out to be a political stunt, and the city can continue to operate under a new "reform" regime. The reality is a bit more complicated. It was proposed that statewide legislation be passed that would exclude all cities with less than 150 residents. It was clearly intended for Vernon, the only town that would have been affected. However, the Vernon State Senate representative stepped in to save the town, arguing that it should be given a chance at reform. 10 years later not much has changed. Meanwhile, HBO has just started announcingtrue detectiveSeason 4. Yeswill play in alaska, which continues the show's fascination with geographically unique police work. While some are hoping for an eventual return to Carcosa, perhaps "time is a flat circle" really means the show should head back to Vinci's timeline to see how the reformation effort is going.