Driving Visions: Exploring the Road Movie

by David Laderman

From the visionary rebellion of Easy Rider to the reinvention of home in The Straight Story, the road movie has emerged as a significant film genre since the late 1960s, able to cut across a wide variety of film styles and contexts. Yet, within the variety, a certain generic core remains constant: the journey as cultural critique, as exploration beyond society and within oneself. This book traces the generic evolution of the road movie with respect to its diverse presentations, emphasizing it as an "independent genre" that attempts to incorporate marginality and subversion on many levels. David Laderman begins by identifying the road movie's defining features and by establishing the literary, classical Hollywood, and 1950s highway culture antecedents that formatively influenced it. He then traces the historical and aesthetic evolution of the road movie decade by decade through detailed and lively discussions of key films. Laderman concludes with a look at the European road movie, from the late 1950s auteurs through Godard and Wenders, and at compelling feminist road movies of the 1980s and 1990s.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

334 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2002

Reviews

[Chris Cassingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inconsistently insightful, though powerful when he gets it right, and lacking in meaningful understanding of the impact of postmodern, ironic humor (especially as it pertains to his section on movies from the 90s). His criticism seems unable to accommodate space for political insight and humor (which he consistently characterized as immature and superficial). His readings of My Own Private Idaho and The Living End were kind of eye roll-inducing. Calling an HIV diagnosis a death sentence outside the context of the film is a bonkers bad idea and stupid in its simplicity to avoid.

[A. DZH · Rating 3 out of 5]

for an author so consistently, thoughtlessly, and unceasingly upholding a liberal critique he certainly does not seem to embody the concepts he is spouting, as in all of the politics that he insists on bringing up on every page are surface level at best and lack the nuanced insight that this century is bringing us (perhaps overly nuanced, but still); to think that all feminism of a female character is erased by being a sex object is a valid base for a claim but lacks the details that, perhaps, being there are different dimensions to female oppression and characterization and hollywood will perhaps never be ready to let us go unattractive. but he gets points for trying, i guess?

the treatment of postmodern comedy and cool is similarly lacking, though i honestly cant really fault him here because even in 2021 our understanding of postmodern critique is far from established. still it seems a bit juvenile to try and twist postmodernism, and its techniques, to whatever off-hand thesis you decided to have - how does laderman manage to find postmodern irony in every aspect of natural born killers except for its title, for example? complicated further still by the few sparse admissions that everything in postmodernism is ambiguous as all hell.... so perhaps the point really is that postmodern works try to toe the line between two relative truths, dont ya think? anyways. this is to say that the postmodern chapter is actually the most engaging and fruitful, though it also gained the most disagreeing notes in the margins from me.

that being sad this was still a pleasant, if sometimes yawn-worthy ride. it does make for a great watchlist, though; bandits especially is an intriguing film to end on, seeing how small its present audience is.

[robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

his essay on vanishing point is idiotic, incoherent, and just plain wrong. yet, even though he considers it an inferior work (at least compared to bonnie and clyde) his essay on easy rider is the most brilliant criticism of that movie i've ever read. his introduction and overview also sets up a nice context for road movies.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An academic book about road movies that is organized by decade. Laderman does a superb job of showing the evolution of the form from the 60's through the 90's. The analysis of 70's existential classics like Two Lane Blacktop is particularly good. The book concludes with a chapter that analyzes the European road film, including a nice look at Wim Wenders' Kings of the Road.

[Aditya Yogaswara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love road movies. David Laderman explains about road movies's timeline. 60's is about rebellion, 70' early is about existenliasm and freedom, and so many more. If you're road movies lover, try this one.

Regards

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting analysis of different Road Films...