Hit the Road Jack: Essays on the Culture of the American Road ed. by Gordon Slethaug and Stacilee Ford (review)

The trope of the “American road” has long been at the centre of historical, political, and cultural discussions of national identity. Scholars have for some time studied the construction of a variety of myths – from Manifest Destiny to exceptionalism – concentrating primarily on road literature, films, and songs. This welcome and valuable volume continues the analysis of classic texts but also “moves beyond them” to become more interdisciplinary and multicultural and to include more “generational difference,” related particularly to electronic media.

The book presents eleven essays on a wide range of topics with an informative introduction by the editors. The order and progression of the selections are clear and purposeful. Gordon Slethaug surveys the road trope from Walt Whitman to the present. Max J. Skidmore looks at the construction of highways and the politics of “people moving.” Susan Kuyper reviews how road travel is expressed in vernacular music. Cotton Seiler analyzes guidebooks for African-Americans who are negotiating the realities of mythic road travel. Eleanor Elson Heginbotham revisits important women writers of the beat movement, who “did much more than go along for the ride.” Paul Attinello shows us how in the 1980s the restricting of what had been wide open spaces led to minimalist and dissonant road art forms.

The concluding five essays continue to move into territory that we are all still trying to negotiate. Stacilee Ford considers the road motif in reality TV and shows how debates about power and national identity adapt to the small screen. Two essays study postmodern gender roles (Gordon E. Slethaug) and the application of queer theory (Gina Marchetti) to road films. Slethaug offers alternatives to a road “where the counterculture must flourish and the dominant society fall.” Rather, the trope stands for places “where projects of emancipation and reconstruction are carried out.” Wendy Zierler places the fool in road movies alongside the Yiddish schlemiel, or “holy fool” – suggesting a fascinating cross-cultural linking. Finally, Michael Truscello extends the concept of “automobility” to virtual reality and video games and refers to the new electronic forms as the “generically mobile.”

This collection contributes significantly to our ongoing study of the road as a central trope of American culture. The authors write very readable prose and do their research well. They understand traditional approaches and effectively challenge many of them. As the editors rightly note, the contributors “open spaces to see how new myths may be created in a post national world.” This book helps us to “understand, unpack, and refashion” the road trope, which is “always under construction.” A new generation of scholars is emerging with a firm grasp on the long history of where the road has been and with good questions and suggestions about where it is heading next. At the core of the new scholarship are innovative media and interdisciplinary study. Many of these essays are about identity (“race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation”) as a central element in the journey motif. Fascinating insights are abundant in every essay. Other helpful features of the book are clear and detailed notes, an extensive works cited list (including articles, books, films, games, and TV shows), and a very useful index. The production of the book is also well done. The inclusion of maps and photos might have added to the work’s expansiveness.