Thursday, September 18, 2008

"Road Rage" Research



During prep for this film I've been reading "TRAFFIC: Why We Drive The Way We Do" by Tom Vanderbildt and it's quite the eye-opener. Vanderbildt notes that driving is all about
anonymity...it's back to caveman language on the road: hand signals, obscene gestures and the almighty honkin' horn. With anonymity comes a sense of self-entitlement (which usually leads to...surprise, aggression). He likens the road and its hundreds of drivers to an internet chatroom: faceless, behind new usernames (i.e....the annoying bumper stickers and/or license plates). Which gives us the freedom to act like children. It's interesting how the author writes that a little road rage can be a good thing, considering that's part of the main character's arc in Road Rage.


In addition I've been watching Motor Mania", the 1950s short starring a very, very different Goofy. Ironically he is driving a yellow car :) I love this short, it tackles the many angles of anger on the road.






It NAILS the multiple personality disorder most of us have behind the wheel (and if you haven't experienced it yet, well, what are you waiting for? Get your driver's license!) Obviously I'm not going to be chasing "Motor Mania" with my story because frankly, it's a hopeless endeavor!

No comments: