Cleveland Rocks: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"Now, I make fun of Cleveland because everybody makes fun of Cleveland. I mean, every country has one city that people make fun of. In Russia, we used to make fun of Cleveland."''|'''Yakov Smirnoff''' with the opposing viewpoint}}
{{quote|''"We're Not Detroit!"''|'''Mike Polk'''}}
Known in some circles as "The Mistake By The Lake" or "The/Tha Land", Cleveland has the largest urban area in Ohio. It's often considered a [[Wretched Hive]] and a [[Place Worse Than Death]], a joke that's been ongoing for years. Many recent polls and news articles only reinforce this image, as it was once rated the [http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/11/americas-most-miserable-cities-business-beltway-miserable-cities.html most miserable city in America]. It was also the original [[Trope Namer]] for [[Aliens in Cleveland]], as the city is considered by many the image of mundane mediocrity (at best).
Possibly the biggest reason why this goes unchallenged is because all but the most anal-retentive Clevelanders have a sense of humor about it; they'll tell you ''themselves'' how Cleveland is America's [[Butt Monkey]]. With the brutal winters, massive [[Dying Town|urban decay]], a river that was once [[Never Live It Down|so polluted that it]] [[Beyond the Impossible|caught on fire]] [[wikipedia:Cuyahoga River#Environmental concerns|thirteen times]]<ref>[[It Got Worse|It got worse]] a [[The Seventies|few years later]], when, in a failed photo-op with a welding instrument, the city's then-mayor, Ralph Perk, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgGv9JwKeCY ''set his hair on fire'']. Then his wife [[Turned Up to Eleven|upped the ante]] by turning down a visit at the White House because it interfered with her regular '''bowling night'''.</ref>, several political scandals leading to multiple FBI raids, and the fact that road construction is ''never'' finished (also a staple of Ohio in general), most residents have no illusions of being in paradise, and rely often on [[Gallows Humor]].
Some choose to stay, however, as the city has a low cost of living, a growing healthcare industry (the world-renown Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals), and decent nightlife. It can even be called a mini-[[The Windy City|Chicago]], due to its patchwork of ethnic neighborhoods, midwestern atmosphere, public rail that's both elevated and underground<ref>Although a subway system was proposed, planned out, and [[wikipedia: Detroit-Superior Bridge|partially built]]... but [[What Could Have Been|never completed]].</ref>, and division by a major river (east and west in this case, with people on either side almost never going further than downtown).
The term "[[Rock and Roll]]" was coined in Cleveland, and the city has a proud musical heritage<ref>To wit, Cleveland was the first city where Elvis, David Bowie, Rush and Bruce Springsteen took off in popularity beyond their respective hometowns.</ref> and is home to both the [[Rock and Roll]] Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Orchestra, one of America's "Big Five" symphonies. Also, Playhouse Square in downtown – spared the wrecking ball during [[The Seventies]] by a group of volunteers and benefactors – is the second-largest theatre complex in the United States, behind [[New York City]]'s Lincoln Center. The city is also sometimes used as a stand-in for NYC or Chicago in film, due to lower filming costs, since it has similar architecture<ref>Many a local has [[Squee|squeed]] upon seeing the Trust Company Rotunda in ''[[Spider-Man]] 3''... which also makes an appearance in ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', where Cleveland serves as a stand-in for Washington, DC (eagle-eyed observers will note Cleveland-centric signage on specific bridge spans that weren't digitally altered or edited out). ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' and ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'' are the highest-profile films thus far that have had significant production take place in Cleveland.</ref>. It possesses a surprising number of truly beautiful churches, more museums than a city thrice its size generally has, and two of the best library systems in the country. Cleveland's the home of Case Western Reserve University, one of the more bizarrely named colleges in the country<ref>The Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University used to be two separate institutions until 1967. "Western Reserve" itself refers to an old name for northeast Ohio, the Connecticut Western Reserve, claimed by the state of Connecticut for its veterans to settle in following the American Revolution until the state agreed to give it up to the newly-formed state of Ohio.</ref>, and Cleveland State University. An hour southeast is Kent State University, a [[Strawman U|Berzerkley]] known for an infamous shootout in 1970.
The [[wikipedia: American Greetings|American Greetings]] greeting card company has been based in the city for well over a century. During the 1960s, American Greetings employed a group of young artists, some of which became pioneers in the underground comic genre, most notably [[Robert Crumb]] ([[Fritz the Cat (comics)|Fritz the Cat]]) and [[wikipedia: Harvey Pekar|Harvey Pekar]] ([[American Splendor]]). In contrast, the company would develop greeting card characters [[Ziggy]], [[Strawberry Shortcake]] and the [[Care Bears]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s, all three of which would become licensing powerhouses.
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* ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' – the main character of the show, Ted Mosby, is from Cleveland, namely Shaker Heights. Series creator Carter Bays (he based Ted’s character off of himself) also hails from Shaker.
** Ted’s best friend from school, Punchy, still lives in Cleveland with his fiancée. In season 6, he asks Ted to be the best man at his wedding, {{spoiler|which may or may not lead to a major turning point in the series}}.
*
* ''The Escapists''
* The opening scene of ''[[Air Force One]]'' was filmed from the roof of Severance Hall.
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* ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'' main character Mikey Simon is said to be from Cleveland
* Not fiction, but a number of Cleveland's restaurants have been featured on TLC.
* Several books/movies based on the
* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' had an episode with a serial killer in Cleveland. Unfortunately, [[wikipedia: Cleveland Torso Murderer|real life]] has been [[wikipedia: Anthony Sowell|just as shocking]]<ref>Although [[wikipedia: Ariel Castro kidnappings|one real-life story]] had an incomprehensibly happy ending in comparison.</ref>.
* ''Blood and Rust'' by S. A. Swiniarski – a book that contains two vampire stories set in Cleveland.
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* The short story "Fields" by Desmond Warzel takes place in Cleveland during the final days of humanity, after most plant life on Earth has been choked out by genetically modified wheat.
* In ''[[Little Shop of Horrors]]'', {{spoiler|Audrey II eats}} Cleveland.
* In ''[[Kids Next Door]]'' Numbuh 1's history report
* In Deadpool's ending in ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom]] 3'', {{spoiler|he accidentally destroys Cleveland during a drunken party aboard Galactus' ship.}}
* [[Carl Sandburg]]'s poem "[http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15265 Honky Tonk in Cleveland, Ohio]" seems to paint the Cleveland of the first half of the 20th century as a happening jazz and blues scene, albeit with a darker undertone of hedonism and disappointment for the common worker (in keeping with Sandburg's [[Political Ideologies|socialism]])<ref>Ironic because Cleveland, in real life, was an immigrant-infused industrial city favorable to organized trade labor unions and progressive politics. Among the municipal departments established that survive to this day include [[wikipedia: Cleveland Public Power|a publicly-run electric utility]] designed mainly to keep [[wikipedia: Cleveland Electric Illuminating|the privately-run electric utility]]'s prices in line.</ref>.
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