Just because you’re spending the summer at home, reading Gilgamesh and waiting for O-Week to start doesn’t mean you can’t start familiarizing yourself with the City of Roses now. For the eager soon-to-be Reedies, here’s a list of books, movies, and TV shows set in Portland to tide you over.
Beezus and Ramona, by Beverly Cleary. Beverly Cleary is a Portland native who set the novels of her popular children’s series in PDX. Henry Huggins and the Quimbly sisters reside on Klickitat Street in Northeast Portland, where Beverly Clearly also grew up. There are statues of the characters in the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden in nearby Grant Park.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. Ken Kesey’s best known work is often assumed to be set in or near Portland, as the novel takes place in an unspecified Oregon psychiatric hospital. Kesey was an Oregon native who lived his early life in Springfield, went on to the University of Oregon, and eventually retired in Pleasant Hill. One of the most significant indicators of the novel’s proximity to Portland is Chief Bromden’s childhood home in The Dalles, located only ninety minutes east of Portland along the Hood River.
Mala Noche, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Elephant, and Paranoid Park, directed by Gus Van Sant. Director Gus Van Sant is an alumnus of the Catlin Gabel School, located in Southwest Portland. Van Sant’s debut film, Mala Noche, took place in and was shot on location in Portland. After unsuccessfully pitching several projects to Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Van Sant returned to Portland to write and direct Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho. Both films were set in Portland and shot on location, frequently in the Pearl and other neighborhoods in Southwest PDX. Later Van Sant works, including Elephant and Paranoid Park, have been set and filmed in Portland.
Grimm. Grimm is a hybrid police procedure-fantasy drama that premiered on NBC in 2011, and is both set and filmed in Portland. The series is loosely based on the fairytales written by the Brother’s Grimm. Showrunners David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf have said of their choice of location that “[r]ain or shine, Portland has been the ideal setting for fairy tales with its enchanting layout. It is its own character in our show with the perfect mix of urban and rural settings.” Grimm was recently renewed for a third season.
Portlandia. Portlandia is a sketch comedy show starring musician Carrie Brownstein and SNL cast member Fred Armisen, which began airing on the Independent Film Channel in 2011. Portlandia’s comedy is derived from a variety of different Portland subcultures, and filming takes place on location throughout the city. Though Portland residents may be divided on the accuracy and relative comedic value of Portlandia, the show actually offers one of the most comprehensive looks at the geographic cultural identities in Portland.
