Road Trip Movies Exemplify the American Dream
Written by Teresa Knudsen. Published on Suite 101April 10, 2009.
Republished January 11, 2012 on Sweet Suite Writings.

Road Trip Movies Exemplify the American Dream

In America, when people are facing difficulty, they like to take a drive in a car. Getting out onto the open road represents freedom and unlimited possibilities. Many Hollywood films depict traveling on a wide highway or on a winding narrow road as an escape, with characters undergoing various degrees of success in their attempt to get away from it all.

Easy Rider

Directed by Dennis Hopper, the 1969 film Easy Rider shows drug dealers flush with cash who purchase motorcycles and head from Los Angeles to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and freedom. Peter Fonda plays Captain America, with an American flag on his jacket, and stars and stripes painted on the gas tank of his chopper. Dennis Hopper plays Billy, clothed in a leather outfit referencing Native Americans.
The film explores late 60s America and the cultural variety inhabiting the country, including hippies, LSD, street ladies of New Orleans, and rednecks. Unfortunately, death stalks the trip, first through a murdered friend, then a bad LSD trip in a New Orleans cemetery. Ultimately death waits at the end of the road, when rednecks kill Captain America and Billy.

Thelma and Louise

Ridley Scott’s 1991 film Thelma and Louise depicts two women setting out on America’s highways. They escape abusive, deadly relationships with men by driving away. But, in the tradition of tragedy, their escape leads to a trap. Unable to outrun the law's prejudice, Thelma and Louise drive off a cliff, with death being the only desired destination available to the freedom-loving women.

Elizabethtown's All-American Road Trip

Cameron Crowe's 2005 film stars British actor Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, and Susan Sarandon. Bloom, using an American accent, plays Drew Baylor, whose shoe design nearly bankrupts the trendy company that produced it. Drew is fired on the same day that he learns his father has died,. He flies from Oregon to Kentucky for his father’s funeral services.

Claire's Roadtrip for Drew

Flight attendant Claire falls for Drew, keeps him company through the funeral, and plans a road trip for him. She selects music, and maps out stops for him. Drew drives to the motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was killed, the site of the Oklahoma City bombing, Elvis’s home at Graceland.
In an interview “Orlando Bloom on His Roadtrip in Elizabethtown,” Bloom recalls thinking, "God, the determination of the pioneers who were going to get to the other side of this mountain range and make a new life.” Bloom adds “It’s just a whole new respect when you drive through a place as opposed to flying over it.”
Drew’s trip ends in the most iconic destination of Americana, the county fair, where he meets Claire. They begin their life together. The film's themes of death and life end with the Pacific Northwest salmon, whose journey from spawning bed to ocean and back is symbolic of the life cycle.

Endangered Road Trips

Despite their appeal, road trips in America are threatened. High gas prices prohibit road trips. Ecologically and politically, road trips appear to contribute to air pollution and wars for oil. Yet, the therapeutic value of hitting the open road still remains part of the American Dream.

References

“Orlando Bloom on His Roadtrip in Elizabethtown.” About.com: Hollywood Movies.
Easy Rider. Directed by Dennis Hopper. Written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. Cast: Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black. 1969.
Elizabethtown. Directed and written by Cameron Crowe. Cast: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon. 2005.The Internet Movie Database.
Puckett. Closer Issue 6 Punk Rock Academy
Thelma and Louise. Directed by Ridley Scott. Written by Callie Khouri. Cast: Susan Sarandon, Gina Davis, Harvey Keitel, Brad Pitt. 1991.