How is the city written through driving?
'The road sets us free [and] allows us to follow our own choice as to how fast and how far we shall go, permits us to tarry where and when we will'- Filson Young
In the twentieth century around 1 billion cars were manufactured and currently over 700 million are still operating around the world (Borden, 2012, p. 7). The development of the car culture has meant that people living in the city have been able to go on a number of endless journeys and experience the city by driving. However, driving is not only about cars on the road and the journeys people do in them. But instead, it is the experience we have of looking at the different architectures of the city, from billboards to petrol stations, and of people we see during the journey. Driving is about the thoughts that cross our mind, the landscape that we consume, our creative imagination, the meanings that we create from the signs, codes and regulations of the road (Beaumont et al., 2010, p. 99). Most importantly, the speed that we travel at in the car whilst driving, gives us different types of emotions, attitudes and feelings that affects the way in which we look and listen to the landscape.
In the modern world, urban driving is that cars and driving are indications of democracy where men and women are both equal and have the ability to go anywhere they want and meet whoever they like by the means of the car. In other words, the road is seen as the 'meeting place of democracy' (Borden, 2012, p. 17). Driving cars is a sign of social freedom, class mobility and changing values as it is becoming more common for people to own cars and drive to their destinations. However for men, the car is an extension of their manhood as it shows others their masculinity, power and wealth. In contrast, the idea of modernity has meant that women have the freedom of car ownership and be equal to men as they have the liberty and independence to buy cars and drive on their own (Falk and Campbell, 1997, chap. 56). Hence, the city has advertised cars for women such as the Fiat, where Jennifer Lopez is endorsing a Fiat 500 by driving it in the city, whilst looking at a range of different infrastructures she comes across on her journey (Motor1, 2011). Additionally, the democracy of men and women owning cars and driving has been shown in films such as the Fast and Furious sequel. In Fast and Furious 6 (2013), there is a scene where Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are having a car race in the city of London where both of them are driving fast sport cars (Movieclips, 2015). It shows that in the modern era, men and women are becoming equal as Letty is driving at a high speed and has good control of the car which is stereotypically associated to men.
Signs and signals:
When people are driving, the experience of the city becomes semiotic as drivers have to read the signs and signals they encounter during their journey. In a car journey, the driver is most likely to come across traffic lights, stop signs, traffic directions and much more (Beaumont et al., 2010, p. 104). These signs and signals tell drivers that they must obey the rules, codes and regulations of the road. This creates a sense of urban frustration and malevolence. This is because in a fast pace city life, people that are driving during rush hour are likely to be stuck in a traffic jam which will make them feel frustrated, angry and annoyed. These drivers will unknowingly express their emotions through their driving by speeding, overtaking, undertaking, taking short cuts and so on. The reason for this is that when people are driving, the car that they drive makes them feel at 'home' which gives them the comfort of driving in the city. This is because; in their car they are able to listen to music, eat whilst they drive and have a telephone conversation with someone knowing that they do not need to follow a set of rules or have any restrictions. Therefore when they are driving they feel as though they are experiencing the city in their home. However, when they are stuck in traffic, these people start to feel claustrophobic and restricted in their home (car) as they are unable to move or escape. As a result their driving begins to change where they start to have fast reactions by taking faster routes, short cuts and also tailgating other drivers. These fast reactions whilst driving not only helps drivers make their way around the city as quick as possible but, it makes them be part of the metropolitan resident. A reason being is that these drivers know how to live in the urban manner whilst knowing the roads and routes of the city.
Driving kinaesthetic:
When we are driving, we experience our driving pleasures by looking at the surroundings, environment and landscapes around us, instead of the new places or people we see. These driving pleasures are embedded within the sensual pleasures of driving through motion which creates a sensory experience also identified as kinaesthetics. The sensory experiences we gain whilst driving is something that cannot be obtained by any other means of transport such as the train, bus or even walking. Whilst driving, we tend to disconnect ourselves from the outside world and go into deep thoughts where we begin to experience nature from the car and the journey through the landscapes we encounter (Beaumont et al., 2010, p. 106). The car that we drive has an impact on the way we experience these landscapes. For example, driving a car like the Mercedes or BMW on the motorway at a reasonable high speed is likely to give the driver an adrenaline rush who will enjoy looking at the landscape whilst someone who is driving a older model of a Nissan Micra is likely to feel frustrated and have a unpleasant journey on a motorway, meaning that they will have a different driving experience where they may look at the landscape in a negative way. In order words, when we are driving a car, objects appear differently where natures creations look out of place and bizarre. This includes things like trees, buildings and other vehicles as they will seem to look different from the car than they do on the roadside. An example of this is that when someone is driving the mobile becomes immobile, where their car and other cars look as though they are stationary. In contrast, the immobile becomes mobile (Borden, 2012, p. 72). This makes the landscape come to life as the stationary objects look as though they are moving as we drive past them. In this moment, some objects move faster than others, where trees and houses move rapidly than objects in the far distance such as a mountain or a hill. The windscreen of the car becomes a frame where in the mise en scene we can see the landscape that turns into a visual pleasure for the driver.
When objects being to appear differently, the way in which we see these objects and landscapes change as we driving. We begin to experience these objects 'in the first person' where we forget what we know and concentrate on what we see in the moment (Borden, 2012, p. 76). This makes the landscape appear in cinematic terms as the driver narrates it through the changes of speed. In this case, the windscreen acts like a frame where the mise en scene shows the driver the landscape, road markings, objects and much more. This allows the driver to experience the sensory pleasures of driving.
The changes of speed:
The different speeds that we drive at changes the way objects appear to us and the way we see them. This makes the speed that we are travelling at; enhance our sense of these experiences. It gives us the sense of newness, strangeness and disconnects us from the world as we narrate our journey, purely focusing on the surroundings and landscapes we drive past. In order to drive, the driver must embody and be embodied by the car (Merriman, 2011, p. 8). As a result, when the driver see's an open free road, he is open to a greater exposure of speed which makes the car come alive where they merge their own physical self to make one living whole (Beaumont et al., 2010, p. 109). Thus, the driver's body begins to experience the process through the body memory instead of, just processing information from the road and car in the manner of a machine.
Driving brings out different emotions, feelings and attitudes of the driver when they experience things such as the bumps on the road, the shifting of their weight, acceleration, the wind pushing against the car, noise, vibration and much more (Merriman, 2011, p. 8). When a car is being driven at a high speed, these factors give the driver an adrenaline rush filled with excitement as they can sense their motion and hear noise, air and wind whilst they are moving. For some drivers, driving over 100 mph gives them the sense of recklessness and being out of control which creates their driving experience as they know they have to be alert of the possible hazards that may occur on their journey. These drivers experience various emotions and feelings as they tend to push the limits of control especially on motorways, as the road ahead of them gives them the urge to drive faster. By people are driving are on a free road, drivers feel that they no longer have to obey the rules, codes and regulations of the road for a while and begin to construct their own rules by speeding over the limit, undertaking and swerving in and out of one lane to another in a dangerous manner.
An example of this is Fast and Furious 4 (2009). In this film, there a scene where Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) are racing with two other drivers. Both Dominic and Brian are driving their cars extremely fast on busy roads in the city. They are driving dangerously as they drive their cars on roads with oncoming traffic which makes them constantly swerve into different lanes, resulting in harsh braking, undertaking and causing car accidents around them. During the car race, the feelings and emotions of these drivers are constantly changing due to the speed they are driving at and their reactions to hazards. For example, when the race is going smooth Brian looks happy and excited but when another car beside him flips, he looks frightened and has to react fast. He also shows the connection he has with his car when he says 'sorry car' and drives down a hill which could damage the vehicle (Elisa Grimes, 2011). As a result when other drivers see hazards, speed cameras or even police cars around them they tend to brake harsh and slow down the speed of their car till, they feel they as though it is safe for them to continue driving at a higher speed again. This makes the driver feel invincible as they feel that they have control of the car knowing the possibility that they could lose control at any time or get caught.