Chapter 142, The Glitter of Hollywood (Part 1)
West Coast of the United States, Los Angeles, Hollywood
In the howling cold wind of winter, Luisa, a French girl with long flaxen hair, wrapped in an old brown coat that was slightly faded and linted, stumbled out of the studio exhausted, her eyes so tired that she almost opened her eyes. Without opening it, her walking posture was like sleepwalking or walking on stilts - in order to shoot the night scenes, she and a bunch of small characters and extras worked all night without sleeping, and now it was really too much.
But there is nothing that can be done about it. In the United States during the war era, it was really difficult for ordinary people without any special connections or skills to find a job that was easy and filling. God - Louisa knows clearly that there are many more delicate than her Today, due to the pressure of life, girls are working in factories to build machines like men, and even digging coal in mines. Moreover, they still have a horrific workload of fourteen hours a day, all year round, which is simply worse than a sweatshop... In comparison, the actor's hard work is really nothing.
This is urban life in the war era. The entire country revolves around the war. Men go to the front lines to bleed and fight, while women work behind the scenes. All factories are producing munitions, all ships are transporting military supplies, and everything in the east and west is used for fighting. From food, toilet paper, soap, daily necessities, and electricity, nothing is in short supply. There is a lack of smiles on everyone's faces, and the social atmosphere is so cold that it is almost suffocating.
In fact, the reason why the Hollywood film industry has not shut down yet, and the reason why third-rate actors like Luisa can still get that meager salary without having to work as coolies in factories, mines and farms, is because Hollywood is still here. Receive orders from the Pentagon and the White House, and continue to shoot various "main theme" videos to promote the spirit of war and patriotism, to encourage this war that is increasingly declining. For example, Louisa at this moment had just left the filming set of a heroic propaganda film called "Captain America vs. Dr. Manchuria", which advocated the white muscle hero to single-handedly defeat the short yellow evil scientist - she only played a role in the film. A small role with only three or four lines, so I have already finished filming all my scenes, and I have to go to the filming location of the "Heroes of Air Combat" movie tomorrow to play the role of a female nurse in a field hospital...
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Despite being so busy, Luisa's salary was barely enough to make ends meet and pay the rent, and she couldn't even afford a bicycle for transportation.
Although Los Angeles has always been famous throughout the United States for its warm climate and spring-like weather all year round, it is far from comparable to the traditional large cities on the East Coast that turn into a hell of ice and snow when winter comes. But in this tragic year of global climate anomalies, it still snows one after another in Los Angeles. Within Louisa's field of vision, there was still dirty old snow that had not been swept away on the street corners and under the street trees not far away, and the sky was like old tattered cotton wool, shaken from the gloomy cumulus clouds. New snow is coming. The cold wind carrying snowflakes blew against her body, making Louisa shiver even more violently, but she was also sober from the cold.
So, Louisa, a third-rate actress whose tiredness was temporarily suppressed by the cold wind, rubbed her forehead and thick dark circles with her fingers that were blue from the cold, then picked up her handbag and hurried to her residence. Go, it seems that you want to use quick exercise to add some heat to your body.
At this time, although the sun was already rising, due to the increasingly tight fuel rationing and the suspension of production of civilian vehicles for many years, there were very few cars on the streets of Los Angeles, not many bicycles, and even people were deserted: young people man After joining the army, women and older men are still busy in factories at this hour. Few people can wander on the streets at this hour... Suddenly the sound of a military band was heard in the distance, and hundreds of young people who had just been drafted into the army were heard. Recruits walked past the street. Many of them are still middle school students. Although some people were singing military songs, with a quick glance, it was obvious that they were forcing a smile. Even passers-by felt sad and sorrowful about this and could not help but turn away.
——After the cruel and long war lasted for so long, the entire United States of America has cooled down from the enthusiasm of the early war. As millions or even tens of millions of soldiers have been killed on the battlefield, the patriotic enthusiasm that once boiled across the country has cooled to the freezing point. People finally understood that war was not a game of honor at all, but a gamble in which everything was staked. What's even worse is that the United States' gambling luck is obviously not good. Especially as the battlefield retreats step by step from Europe and East Asia to South America, even a layman who knows nothing about military affairs can see that the United States' prospects in this war are extremely gloomy. But after things developed to this point, they had no choice but to resign themselves to fate.
As an ordinary woman who was more interested in balls, music and beautiful clothes, Louisa was tired of the war from the beginning. Because the war did not bring her any benefits, but it made life more difficult day by day... At first glance, today's Hollywood and even downtown Los Angeles are still as prosperous and prosperous as in peacetime. Inside the windows of the shops along the street Filled with a dazzling array of merchandise. But in fact, these things can only be seen but not bought. Many products are simply empty cans or boxes - because according to the government's order, they are placed there just for exhibition, which is similar to those in newspapers and radio stations. Official articles advocating war are all propaganda techniques used to whitewash peace.
And if you want to actually buy something with ration cards and banknotes... When passing a certain store, Louisa looked at it carefully for a long time with eager eyes, but the tightly closed store and the " "Closed" wooden sign still made her feel sincerely disappointed.
Because this is the only ration food store in the nearby blocks that is licensed by the government...
——I don’t know why, but the ration food stores in Hollywood have basically been out of supply for more than a week: last month, they were only short of sugar, eggs and meat. This month, they simply closed the stores, not even bread and flour. Yes... In the past few days, Luisa was still relying on the little inventory she had saved up front, but now... She counted the coins and banknotes in her wallet, and finally gritted her teeth and went to the black market.
There was no other way. Since the legal ration shops on the street had closed down and no food could be bought anymore, the only place where food could be bought was naturally the black market. Although their prices on the black market are simply astronomical...
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——Every time of war, various black markets for reselling in-demand materials will emerge. This is true both at home and abroad in ancient and modern times.
Human beings may be able to endure the lack of anything, but not food. This is something any living thing needs if it wants to survive. However, many big cities in the United States are currently hoarded by profiteers, artificially creating a food shortage situation. In fact, relying on the production of the Mississippi River Basin and various materials plundered from South America, There is no shortage of basic consumer goods in the United States today.
However, profiteers from all walks of life, who have recently been suffering from the loss of a large number of overseas investments due to the defeat of the US military, and whose financial statements are too dismal to explain to shareholders, are unwilling to give up this opportunity to make huge profits. Instead, they relied on collusion between officials and businessmen to tightly seal off all goods, including food, deliberately creating the illusion of a shortage of consumer goods in the market, and then put the embezzled goods into the black market, thus making huge profits.
This kind of thing is certainly poaching the federal government. If it were normal times, it would have been liquidated by the White House. However, the United States is now in a special period of war, and a President Truman who lacks authority has happened to be involved. As a result, the federal government's control over various places has been significantly reduced. Many interest groups that were once suppressed by President Roosevelt took the opportunity to resurrect. Gathering forces again to confront the government... Due to the massive infiltration by consortiums, the White House was unable to eliminate the black market and rectify prices, so it had no choice but to keep the situation under control. ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※