GWSS Spring 2008 Section A

Dear Olive,
For the past few months I have been silent. I’ve wanted desperately to get away from you and the rest of the family, sink into my own world and shut everyone out. When we hit the road for your pageant, allowing you and grandpa to fulfill your dream of competing in Little Miss Sunshine, I wanted to sink back into my own solitary world, and continue to hate everyone around me, including you and the family.
As we traveled on the road, my attempts to disconnect myself from the family was succeeding, but as everyone in the family began to connect in new ways; through the death of grandpa and Richard’s attempt to have him stay with us, connecting with Frank on new levels (at least for myself), the revelation of being color blind, and of course the pageant itself, forced me to realize that family, particularly ours, isn’t so bad. Not only have I been able to realize that being close and connected to our family isn’t horrible, I was also able to reveal new things about myself by being on the road not only with you, but with the family.
Part of what I realized on the road is that disciple is good when pursuing dreams, such as how you and the family were determined to get to Little Miss Sunshine, but having support and faith in yourself proves crucial as well. I believe that this realization, and embracing you and the family, transformed me into a stronger person. In addition, I realized that when it comes to you in particular, and your stunning personality, in addition to the family, I should have appreciated you more.
Olive you are amazing, and through this road trip, I as able to see that fully for the first time. You are my sister, and I love you.

Your big brother, Dwayne

Posted by Starbuck at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dear Thelma,

I never regretted a single moment of our final weekend. Although things derailed in a way we never imagined, I think it taught us what we were capable of and the power we never knew we had in our lives. Who'd have ever thought we'd become such independent renegades in only a matter of days? I saw you evolve into a strong woman who no longer let your husband take the reins, and I am so proud of you for that. And I know that after everything we endured, it seemed like giving up to stop and let those men take control of us again. Our lives would have never been the same (jail was on the horizon, I'd guess). But part of me feels that just as we'd found out barrings in this world, we ended our time in it. You told me on that trip that you'd never felt so awake as you did then. I know that the way things played out, we would have never been able to be so "awake" as we were then, but I can't help but wonder what kinds of great things could have laid before us. It seems like only an impossible chance that we could have gotten out of trouble, but finding ourselves, taking risks, and grabbing life by the horns instilled a huge sense of hope and wonder in me, and it's nagged me ever since. Besides, think of all the men we could have screwed with! I'll always love you, partner in crime.

-Louise

Posted by bjor0253 at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the film Straight Story, we are presented with a journey that is mostly stripped of environmental changes and explorations. A road trip that takes the protagonist into uncharted or unfamiliar areas usually has a heavy impact on the other elements of the adventure. However, with a bland and repetitive landscape, the focus becomes entirely on the self and it's interactions with the people it stumbles upon. "What are you setting out to do?" asks a man from Alvin's town before he leaves. I think at this point, Alvin really wasn't prepared for a reunion with his brother, and the journey to come was obviously going to give him time to mentally collect his thoughts on the past and the future. His first encounter is with the pregnant runaway, whom Alvin informs that the impending conflict with her family is not something they would want to lose her over. This is our first glimpse at the potential growth ahead for Alvin. His bike-troupe stay shows him as the "elderly, wise" man, realizing that he sees the most happiness in looking at things behind him, instead of thinking of the present and life to come. Although he encounters mild environmental change, the lack of variance really forces him to seek out other areas of interaction and contemplation. I think that with the distractions of changes in location (i.e. venturing into the city, leaving the midwest or country) Alvin would not have been mentally prepared for his reunion. It is hard to put difficult events in the past, and although he clearly deeply cares for his brother (he would have never set out to see him otherwise) it took a new sense of understanding through the help of strangers (via the help that he gave them, for the most part) that the road gave him to know he was doing what was right.

Posted by bjor0253 at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Acceptance is overrated...

Dear Frank,

We are on our way to Olive’s latest beauty pageant, and it has reminded me of our trip to California. I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for our family. Just as we were falling apart, you showed up and began to put us back together. If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know what would have become of us.
Thank you for telling my family the truth about your life and letting them know that it is okay to be different in a society that requires normalcy for acceptance. You truly helped us open up to each other and begin to be supportive. I hope you have found your way back into academia and that someday you’ll come on another trip with us.

Love, Sheryl

Posted by Prudence at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Detective Strode,

I had relied on my younger brother Stevie’s acceptance into UCLA to free myself from the life I was living. However, you took Stevie from me the same night that I had celebrated his graduation from high school. After his death Frankie, Titi, Cleo and I planned to rob a bank in order to get back at a system that was taking advantage of us. Now those three women, my closest friends, are also dead. I want you to understand that your inability to see past a person’s differences causes our world to be a violent one. I know you saw me that night on the bus and I appreciate the fact that you let me go. You gave me an opportunity to free myself from the life I was living and stand on my own two feet. This feeling of freedom comes at a tremendous price, but I want you to know that I am grateful and will protect and cherish it.

Stoney

Posted by Lorelai at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alvin has a lot of time to think—to think about anything and everything. He is riding a lawnmower across a state by himself. The six week journey allows space for Alvin to “become” himself. The mode of transportation is important to look at. He is using a lawnmower not mow grass but as a car—not what its original purpose was made for. Since he is using a nontraditional mode transportation some of the road theories go missing. Mainly the notion of the rearview mirror, the concept that one is penetrating the space in front and can view what one is leaving behind through the mirror. The lack of the mirror signifies that Alvin isn’t leaving anything behind; instead he is discovering the world around him and at the same time himself. We have seen this self discovery in other films like, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Thelma and Louise”, “Search for Angela Shelton”, but all these films the characters were searching for some kind of resolution or cleansing. They left knowing/hoping things would change in their lives. Alvin didn’t need anything to change, he wasn’t escaping. If he was, he sure would not have used a lawnmower as his “get away” car. Also when one travels in a rural setting they are surrounded by nature and life—not buildings and cement. They start to realize what it means to truly live, to live like the plants around them, to be in touch with nature.

Posted by ernst081 at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Straight Story and Alvin's journey during it is much different then any other road film we have seen this semester thus far. Alvin's journey in this film is not about leaving behind something and I really don't think it's about a destination for the most part. The underlying theme is an eventual destination but the film presents that only in the very end. More importantly, the film is about the journey and even more ones self. This is also true because he knows he needs the journey. He is offered rides and such but decides he needs to do it his way. His wisdom is shared on the road multiple times. The appreciation for how his life has been lived in was in abundance and I think this is, and should be important to him. What he seems to have to show for an obviously well-lived life so far is a brother who he hasn't spoken in a long time and daughter with somewhat of a mental illness that he knows is amazing but nobody else can quite see the same also reflecting on him. His brothers mortality I think may bring a sense of his own into light and hence, while he doesn't directly seek it, I think he needed that. Apart from that, the confrontation with mortality I believe is a driving force for the journey. After all, he worked hard all his life and needed this possibly to slow down. Driving 10 mph from Iowa to Wisconsin is a great way to slow down and learn to appreciate the stars like he dreams of doing with his brother as they did when they were kids. I think he was actually looking for the actualizations, unlike other films.

Posted by fairb076 at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If I would have known then what I know now...

Dear Daniel,
It has been many years since I have passed and I have had some things to say to you for quite some time. As you I'm sure know, you were my escape from my mundane life. I was crazy about you, irresponsibly crazy about you. My life at home with my husband was wretched and I was completely dissatisfied. I was young and dumb and I was consumed by confusion and angst as I drove back and forth from reality to fantasy. I mean it was a fantasy with you right? We never had a chance because you were not over your ex. What chance did I have when your heart was somewhere else? My journeys were melancholic and stressful, but nonetheless I have written you to clear my legacy. I do not want to be known as the childish girl who perished in a horrific accident. I want to take my tragedy and help others. I have learned so much over the years and have come to realize that women's empowerment, specifically loving yourself, precedes any man who does not treat a woman right. I want women to know that they are in charge of their own destiny, not anyone else. You don't have to feel hopeless and if I would have know then what I know now years after my death I would have realized that I was a beautiful young woman and that I should not settle for anything but the most amazing guy. Why did I feel like the world was going to end during my journey days when I was unhappy in my life? Why couldn't I take a step back and appreciate all of the amazing things that I had going for me? Daniel I want you to know that women are more than sexual objects. I am sorry that you had your heartbroken before me, but I was more than a sexual object at your disposal. In the future I am going to find ways to spread positive messages to women in similar situations as I was in. I want them to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel if you just step back, take a breathe and think clearly. My motorcycle accident denied me that opportunity to make things right, but that doesn't mean that other girls have to make my mistakes. I hope that you were able to find a kind woman who cared about you as much as I did and that you treat her with respect. Women are half of the world and we are powerful beings. That is if we can come to the revelation that we deserve nothing than the best. I hope you have found happiness as I have found inner peace.

Best,
Rebecca

Posted by Brittany Brouillette at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The importance of the Rural road in Alvin Straights journey is one of creation rather than destruction. Most of my classmates have already commented on the importance of Alvin's character not solely trying to escape, but create something (a re-relationship with his brother). The representation of the rural road as something that runs through farms and growing things is important, compared especially to an urban road which controls the land. The fact that Alvin is also traveling this road in a rural means (the tractor) and is set to travel his own way also mirrors a typical idea of a rural community, independent. The characters he meets remind him of his past, and how things have changed. The hardest part for him in growing (old) is remembering how he was before the transition (being young). This is also the hardest part in his journey, remembering his transgressions as he tries to right them. This is exemplified in the point where he is talking to the vet in the bar and talking about how he accidently killed one of his own men, and how he had never talked about it, this is what the rural road is, something that travels into the past and the future at the same time.

Posted by allen525 at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alvin embarks on a journey to make peace with his estranged brother. After his own brush with fate, his age becomes apparent and Alvin realizes he might not have much time left. With a tractor as his only mode of transportation, he sets out against all odds. Alvin's tractor moves at a slow pace and his slow journey gives him all the time in the world to think about his life. It seems that his life even flashes throughout the story, beginning with the pregnant runaway, to the youth of the bicycle marathon men, to reminiscing about his days in WWII. Except Vagabond, unlike the other road films Alvin spends much of his trip alone on a mostly rural road, with only his thoughts. Thus his entire journey gives way to a self revelation: the importance of life, his family. From remembering his wife, his children that are alive and those that have died, to his comrades in the war, to his brother, Lyle, through his time spent alone, Alvin was able to see his life and he also was able to actualize what he wanted out of it. As Alvin travels to see his brother for the first time in ten years, his thoughts have led him to realize how important it is to resolve problems with those who are dear to you because you never know when one's journey in life can end.

Posted by hybe0005 at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Throughout the semester films the road films watched in this class have been mostly about escaping something. The main characters of the films are leaving their dreadful lives in hopes for an improvement. In The Straight Story, Alvin Straight isn’t leaving a scenario that he dreads, rather is trying to make peace with his brother. Instead of leaving behind his past, he is moving forward and learning and trying to understand it. If we compare The Straight Story to Searching for Angela Shelton, you can see how much these road films vary. Angela Shelton is looking to seek peace through her journey. She is trying to leave her unwanted past behind her and move on, with help from others. Alvin Straight is trying to take responsibility of the past. He isn’t trying to escape his lifestyle, or his culture. He is trying to make things okay with his brother before it is too late. The rural road used is definitely different than other movies we have seen. The people that Alvin meets on the rural road are usually quite similar. They are small town, friendly, and willing to help out Alvin. They are very similar to the people that he knows in his own hometown. In other films like Priscilla, and Vagabond, we can see that they leave their own culture and meet very new and different people from themselves. The rural road shows that Alvin is not trying to leave his lifestyle. It shows that he is not trying to find something new. The rural road shows that Alvin has realized what he has done in his past is wrong and wants to take responsibility for it. In other films, such as Girl on a Motorcycle, the “girl” blames her husband for many things, doesn’t take responsibility for much and doesn’t realize the harm she is doing by her actions. Alvin Straight uses this road, as a means to find his brother. Through his new friends he meets on the road and new experience in other rural, yet similar areas he travels he realizes his journey is about himself and his brother. He uses the rural road as a common space to learn and become the responsible and passionate man that he is.

Posted by lil suzy greenburg at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Straight's journey, like others', allows him to realize past mistakes but I disagree that he "is not so different from some of the characters we've seen in other films." Alvin Straight's journey to "becoming" is defined by the fact that viewers know that he has a home to return to and a home which he plans to return to. In films like Vagabond, Easy Rider and Thelma and Louise, the audience may or may not know whether a home exists but can almost be certain that the characters have no intention of returning. I think that this is what sets apart road films like Straight Story and Little Miss Sunshine. Viewers know that these stories will end at home therefore the players are "becoming" as opposed to "leaving behind." Straight has obligations to his daughter (especially since he was not always the ideal father), friends and because of his age, does not have the freedom to travel as he pleases. Films like Vagabond, Easy Rider and Thelma and Louise feature young people, able to go where they want and free from responsibility to others.
I do agree that Straight's road is quite different from movies we have viewed in the past. His is rural road suits him as he is elderly and slow moving himself. The people he encounters on the road are friendly country dwellers. They are trusting and more than happy to open their homes to him. Also, Straight's vehicle is at home on the rural roads. Unlike Thelma and Louise's T-Bird, Straight's lawnmower could not handle the speed of the highway, other than the waning health of his brother, there is nothing to hurry his journey; his life is not in danger; he isn't on the run. The rural roads serve his purpose to get from point A to point B, not to provide an escape. After the murder in the parking lot, Thelma needed time to think about their next move. While on the highway, she was uneasy as the pace her thoughts seemed to have to keep in time with the pace of her vehicle on the highway. Louise had to get off of the highway in order to think clearly... get a cup of coffee or stay in a hotel. In Straight Story, Alvin's thought process and lawnmower seem to move at the same tempo. Unlike Louise who is distracted by the hurriedness of her road, Alvin can do all of his thinking as he travels down his.

Posted by chri1645 at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alvin Straight never leaves the rural road, thus the road acts as a constant reminder of his life and past mistakes he has made. In other movies, characters such as Thelma and Louise leave their familiar landscape, which in a way acts as a way of leaving behind the mundane and entering a new world. Straight however stays in the same space which he is use to (he even grew up in rural Moorhead, Minnesota). As our main character meets other people on the road he is constantly reminded of his own life. He has points of revelation, actualization and realization because he meets people he can relate to. Midwest people are in many ways a certain kind of down to earth people, with similar problems and struggles. For example, Straight's tractor breaks down more than once and multiple men were able to help him fix it because of their knowledge of the John Deere tractor. Also, he is able to talk to another war veteran. They are connected not only because they both fought in World War II, but also because they are from similar towns (small, rural, and simple). He is guided on the road by kind people who he can see eye to eye with. For instance, Straight gets directions by the bartender when he gets to his brother's town. He doesn't know his brother's address, but the man at the bar can relate with Alvin because of his past experiences and where he has traveled from (i.e. the bartender is very understanding when Alvin denies a second beer). In sum, Straight never leaves the familiar, so he is constantly reminded of his own life even when he meets others on the rural road. Characters from other movies who are trying to "leave behind" can temporarily escape their lives and briefly feel like their other lives are in the past (i.e. "something in me has crossed over and I can't go back Louise").

Posted by Brittany Brouillette at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The rural road is slow compared to the city and urban roads. It is also open, quiet, and empty in comparison to the urban road. Being empty and quiet the rural road allows for the sky to be open and the stars to be seen. In road films like, Set it Off and The Grace Lee Project, the road isn’t empty. It is full of highways, skyscrapers, and fences. Mr. Straight meets a pregnant girl who is trying to escape her family and her rural life. Mr. Straight explains to her that her family will probably love her and her baby. Instead of sleeping in the trailer, the girl sleeps near the fire, underneath the stars, because the stars help her think. The rural road gives her a space to realize what is important in life. Mr. Straight himself also uses his road trip to come to terms with a relationship. After years of separation, Alvin Straight wants to befriend his brother. The road gives him the courage to do so. A major revelation Alvin has is at the bar with an older man he meets on the road. At a bar they talk their time in the war. Alvin tells the story about how he shot one of his own and never told his troop. Coming to terms with one’s past is hard for anyone, but Alvin uses space provided by the rural road he needed to actualize importance in his life and the life of those he meets. In films like Thelma and Louise and Easy Rider, the rural roads they travel on are space between the cities they travel between. The rural road is different for Alvin than in other road films because it is full of realization, revelation and actualization.

Posted by blac0268 at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In Straight Story, Alvin Straight's journey on the road is quite different from the journeys of others in road films we've seen. While Alvin's journey takes place strictly in a rural setting, in a film like Set it Off, the urban setting serves as a confining factor in the women's attempts to get out onto the road and "leave behind" the city. In this sense, the rural road serving as a space for self-actualization, realization, and revelation in Straight Story becomes very clear.
While on the "open road", Alvin stops in a small town where he stays for awhile and meets a couple and another man about his age who takes him to the bar with him. While at the bar, we see Alvin confiding in a fellow veteran the secret about a soldier that he accidentally killed. This experience clearly scarred Alvin for his entire life and accounted for the alcohol abuse he took part in. He hadn't told nearly anyone about this until this man that he just met. He begins to cry but the viewer can see a weight being lifted as he shares this with the other man. After this scene, when he gets to the town where his brother lives, he's able to enjoy just one beer after years of not drinking because of his problem. When asked if he wants another, he can say no so in a sense, he has risen above his past addiction and has foudn a sort of reprieve after being on the road for so long. The rural road has allowed Alvin to release a lot of the built up tension he has been living with and allows him to share things about himself he never would have had he stayed in Iowa. All the shots up towards the sky and looking across the vast fields suggest a sort of openness in the rural setting that is really conducive to the experience Alvin has. When looking at this in comparison with something like Set it Off, differences between the urban and rural settings and the opportunities they provide for certain types of revelation are quite different. While the urban setting often serves as a place where characteres we've seen need to get away from, in Straight Story, had Alvin went to an urban setting his experience would not have been as fulfuilling given his specific life experiences.

Posted by haasx093 at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alvin Straight takes his journey from Iowa all the way to Wisconsin on a riding lawnmower! His journey is unlike the others that we have seen this semester. He travels alone through the rural midwest to meet up with his brother whom he wants to make amends with after he suffered from a stroke. Along the way he meets many people, all of which he makes an impact on. His journey is not to leave behind anything or anyone; it is about becoming a new person and teaching and impacting people along the way. His experiences and ideas give others a new insight on life and choices. He meets a teenager who runs away from home because she is pregnant. He shows her that family will always be there for you in the end and eventually she returns home. Also, Alvin meets a group of young people trvaling by bike. He says to them that remembering when you were young is the worst part of being old. However, Alvin proves that he can stil be spontaneous and 'young' by traveling so far with so little. Alvin opens up to another man who fought in the same war he had many years ago. He tells him things he have not told anyone since the war. He continues to learn more and more about himself as the road of filled with cornfields continues on toward his borhter. The road is very promising and self-rewarding as it does not allow for many distractions. The road gives him room to grow as a person and encourages him on throughout his journey.

Posted by jone1042 at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the other films we’ve seen thus far, many characters have ached for bigger and better things, using a route away from their dead-end, small-town lives and into “the city” as a one-way pass to freedom of identity. In David Lynch’s The Straight Story, however, Alvin Straight contains his six-week journey to the rural bowels of the Midwest, traveling atop an old riding lawnmower from his farm in Iowa to his ailing brother’s house in Wisconsin. Along the way, he meets a motley cast of roadside drifters, stressed-out city-type workaholics, suburbanites, and “good country people” like himself. Each plays a minutely significant role in his overall quest, showing how the rural road can operate as a space for realization, revelation, and actualization in ways that previous films have not. In an open but still enclosed space like the Midwest, everyone either knows each other already or is bound to meet in some way—we tend to see signs in the small things but tell it straight; and our futures can be revealed through the trials and tribulations of our neighbors. We are bound in a way by our attitudes, our determinations, and our brand of emotional expression. Alvin, being a poor-sighted senior citizen who wants to finish this rural road trip "the way I started it" (that is, slow and steady and marked by frequently enlightening stops), has the patience and the unconventional ways of "seeing" to understand all of this and more. It's not about how fast he's going or how far he still has to go—a journey like that, so populated by those similar-minded people who admit they have certain things to lose but also much to gain, becomes not about the journey at all anymore, but about oneself.

Posted by gost0008 at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Alvin Straight begins his road trip to see his brother, whom he has not spoke to in ten years, he ends up meeting a variety of people along the way, and gains more than an opportunity to make things right with his brother, he gains an opportunity to make things right with himself. The rural road int his film functions as a backdrop for lessons learned in life as Alvin meets a variety of people along the way. He shares life strories with the people he meets, and is able to reflect upon his own life and the decisions he has made along the way. In doing so, he is able to in gain perspective on his own life, so that by the time he does get to see his brother he has had time to reflect and realize the importance of famiily and the fragility of life.
The rural road connects people, as they are one their various journeys in life and allows strangers, if only for a few moments to connect, share their stories, learn something about themselves and life, and then continue on their journey. Alvin was able to help the young woman who had run away from her family, but helping her realize from his ow personal experience that you only get one family, and despite the ups and downs, running away from them will only cause pain in your life in the long run, as he has learned from his own disputes with his brother. Allvin also offers insights to a young man about life, getting older, and the perspective he has gained and can now appreciate by looking back on his life.
The rural road also functions as a place for self realization and forgiveness. As Alvin makes his journey he goes through a personal transformation, as does everyone he encounters on the road. Every person he meets is on their way to a specific destination, including himself, and each person experiences change and growth between the time they leave for their destination and by the time they arrive. The rural road provides the time for such self realization and actualization to occur. It is a slower paced road, a quieter raod than the road we are used to seeing in road films. It allows for more personal encounters with a variety of people, who both Alvin helped and who helped Alvin.

Posted by cain0070 at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Straight Story takes on a new main character; an elderly man. The sense of time is much slower than in other road films such as Easy Rider or even Vagabond. He drives his tractor across state lines to visit his brother and this gives the road film genre a new meaning. It is no longer a story about leaving behind what hurts you but it turns into a story about becoming something new. For Alvin, this means accepting what has happened between himself and his brother and being able to move forward so that he can "look at the stars".

The slow pace of the movie allows him to think about what he will say to his brother when he gets there and about life in general. If Alvin would have ridden a motorcylce or any type of vehicle that went over 10 miles per hour the story would have been very different. The slow paces gives the main character time for realization about everything that he has before him.

Posted by Jean at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unlike many of the other road films we've viewed in class, Straight Story's protaganist, Alvin, is not looking to escape from anything but rather the road acts as a way for him to find out more about himself. Alvin is different from most of the characters we've seen so far due to the fact that he is an elderly man who is quite content with most all aspects of his life. The only thing that seems to bother him is the fact that he hasn't spoken to his dying brother in 10 years.
As a poor-sighted elderly man, who wants to embark on his journey alone, Alvin turns to the one mode of transportation he is comfortable with: a driving lawn mower. On his 6 week long, 300some mile journey, Alvin encountered many people and situations that would've been completely passed by had the journey been taken in a car. On the country roads, Alvin is able take plenty of time to think about his life and his relationship with his brother. Time which he wouldn't have had if he had simply gotten a ride from someone or taken a bus.

Posted by S. at 01:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alvin straight "becomes" in this film through realization of what's important in life. All the characters Alvin meets on the road are kind hearted. From all the kindness received in the movie, especially the couple who took him in for the evening and offered a ride, Alvin realizes kindness and love people have given him, a strange man with faults. He leaves the people he sees with a story and a memory of him but does not interfere in their matters. The plot revolves around the acomplishment of his goal (reuniting with his brother) and how people help him. The road is his only obstacle, all the other aspects are helping him on his way to his brother.

Posted by kuetie31 at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Go with yourself, not for another.

Dear Rebecca,

This is a letter from your future. You have just received a Motorcycle for a gift from Daniel. Don't use him as a reason for escape, it will lead to your ultimate demise. Embrace this motorcycle as a gift of freedom from men and use it to go out and find yourself on a road without masculine domination. Wasting time and preoccupying your thoughts between Raymond and Daniel will only leave you unfulfilled and guilty. On the road you will find your true self and where you belong in life without the responsibilities of caring for someone else. Please take heed of my warning.

Best Wishes,
from your future

Posted by kuetie31 at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The film The Straight Story is different from many of the other road films that we have watched in the fact that the main protagonist, Alvin, is an older man. In this sense Alvin has lived a full life and is perfectly set in his ways. Even in the film he calls himself a stubborn man - he is not one of the characters from the other films that needs to grow or "find" themselves. Alvin already knows who he is and what he would like to do i.e. make amends with his brother. Unlike many of the characters in the other road films, Alvin's journey seems to help others more than it appears to help himself.

Also, unlike many of the other road films we have watched Alvin is not running away from anything and the viewer can see this especially in his means of transportation. With his lawnmower, the journey on the rural road is relatively slow paced embodying the type of lifestyle Alvin and his neighbors share. The lawnmower also reveals to the viewer what type of man Alvin is. He is very determined and riding on a lawnmower for six weeks shows his devotion to his brother and the sincerity in his journey. Alvin's journey on a rural road, though different from other films, is not any less dangerous (riding down steep hills) or any less spontaneous than other road films.

Posted by beaux11 at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The rural road in the Straight Story operates as a space for realization, revelation and actualization in ways that the other films and roads we have witnessed do not. Alvin travels along this road that provides space, time and acceptance.

When he first takes off on his lawn mower the camera shows only cornfields and blue skies ahead of him. As the lawn mower cruises along and we watch the yellow lines of the road pass by the audience can’t help but think that Alvin has plenty of time and space to become the man he wants to be. Compare this to the film Thelma and Louise when the two women find themselves surrounded by semi-trucks after Harlan is killed. Thelma and Louise are confined by society and must flee the police, never getting time to slow down and think.

The friendly and accepting rural folks that Alvin crosses paths with help him along his quest. They provide opportunities for him to realize just who he wants to be and what is truly important. In the movie Set it Off the women are treated poorly by the police. After the first bank robbery Strode holds Frankie accountable just for living in the wrong part of town. As she leaves he says “she’s involved… I want everything you have on her.” This distrust and unfriendly behavior is part of the reason these women get together and rob banks.

Posted by Lorelai at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dear Josh,

You have no idea the impact you had on my life. I love you. I am in love with someone who does not love me back. It hurts me so to have to tell myself the reality of it. You have no idea how much I have been through over these past few weeks. When I saw you at the gas station I was in the mist of the most neurotic road trip of my life. Do you have any idea how I got put into such a situation? Well I attempted to kill myself, but sadly I failed at that as well. I do not know what I am going to do know. I said I was fine, but I am anything but. I was on suicide watch by a 15 year-old who did not speak a word because of Friedrich Nietzsche. I have no job and sat in a van for days being lectured on the definition of a loser. Do you know what a loser is? Well in the mind of Richard, I am one because I gave up on life. Then again, he can go to hell. As crazy as it sounds, that road trip full of Rick James and arguing actually gave me strength to want to keep living. I guess that partly could be thanks to the Miss. Sunshine contest, the most disturbing display you have ever seen. I guess that contest or Rick James brought me together with family, discovering a place of belonging. Then again, I’m getting off-track. I wanted to let you know that I am trying to get over you. I am not sure if I ever will, but I’m going to try and I guess this road trip was my first step. For the record, I am the number one Proust scholar in the U.S. and your boyfriend, Larry Sugarman, is second. I thought you should know that as a fact. I guess everything that has happened is part of my suffering that will make me who I am similar to the French writer, Marcel Proust. So I guess all that happiness I would have had with you would have been a total waste. I guess I should realize that my suffering right now are the best years of my life.

Frank

P.S.-The porn was not for me

Posted by michael scott at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This movie has a very endearing quality to it. There is not a lot of fuss- just a nice, simple story of a man trying to get to his brother the only way he can. The rural road setting for the journey gave Alvin no distractions. Due to the simplicity of the country, Alvin was able to do a lot of thinking. This gave way to when he did meet people along the way, his advice to them was always from the heart, and truth that he had come to learn through his lifetime- and again along his way to his brother.
In some of the other films the characters are around others more and going in and out of city life. Alvin is by himself for most of his journey which gives him the opportunity to go over past experiences and learn the value of what is really important in life--lessons he passes on to others along his way. The fact that he was riding a lawn mower across the state of Iowa also allowed for more time to grow. The slowness of the lawn mower gave him even more time to think about life and making past mistakes right as opposed to getting there in one to two days by car. Overall, I think it is a refreshing, sweet film that speaks to everyone about life and what is really important.

Posted by boli0066 at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Straight Story is a story about a simple, older man driven by the regrets of his past to move forth on the road, by himself, in order to reach his brother who has suffered a stroke. The film is unlike any of the films we have seen before because his character is very real and unlike Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, who encounters simple car trouble, it is Alvin who represents the rural American, even if on a lawn mower. Alvin’s journey across Iowa to Wisconsin symbolizes human stubbornness and the chance to correct his wrong realizing that life is too short. The rural road in Straight Story symbolizes the road as a means for Alvin to comfort the ghosts of his past in order to move forth in his life. Like many other films we have seen such as Searching for Angela Shelton, Alvin is affected by each individual he encounters on the road and his time spent with each also influences his own life. Similar to Angela, the individuals on the road strengthens Alvin. His life philosophy influences the lives of the individuals he meets. Such is the case with the pregnant teen that ran away from her family. Alvin does not pass judgment, but with his simple philosophy he is able to make a difference in someone else’s life. She leaves him the bundle of sticks, illustrating that family is the most important thing in life and nothing can break that bond. This film is unlike any of the other films we have viewed because it is the tale of true human struggle in its most real and raw form. Alvin, like so many individuals, bottles up many of the feelings and thoughts. His story is not dramatic, but real. Many films we have viewed we are able to discover what exactly it is the character is feeling and thinking. However, Alvin is more of a mystery and the viewer must read his thoughts similar to real life. He uses the road as a means for facing his past. With each stop he is able to reflect upon his past. After his lawn mower breaks down, Alvin reflects upon the war and unleashes some of the bottled feelings and stories of his past. He is able to lift that burden in order to move on through his journey to become a better individual. Alvin reflects true human struggles because the viewer is never able to find out exactly what set him and his brother apart similarly to life where time blurs reasons and logic. He becomes a better individual letting go of the weights that held him back until he finally reaches his brother.

Posted by michael scott at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Straight Story had many features that were different to the other films that we have seen this semester. First off, Alvin set off on a lawn mower which already sets up the idea of the rural areas where the farms and cornfields remain. A way for the realization to be shown in the film, was the fact that Alvin actually had car troubles, multiple times so the idea was that he certainly wasn't invincible. Although, in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, they had car troubles as well, the issues for Alvin seemed more significant since he was already on a low budget trip. Also, Alvin seemed to use the actualization that is brother could die soon and his own health problems as his drive to travel and make-up with his brother. Many of these issues appeared very natural and understandable and he was a man that seemed real unlikethe other movies, with all of their dramatic characters. He was an old man who had health problems and a mentally ill daugther who took care of him and kepy up the house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary besides the fact that he rode from Iowa to Wisconsin on a lawn mower.
Revelation on the other hand is what happened while he was on the road trip. Each time he met someone he learned something about himself and left an impression on everyone he ran into on his way to Wisconsin. After he meets the pregnant adolescent, he is left with the bundle of sticks that represent family which is the most important value to him. When he met up with the women who hit a deer, he took the deer and ate it, then attached the antlers to his trailer. After his lawn mower broke down again, after a hill, he met a family that took him in for a night and he got to reflect on his experiences in war. It made him relive the pain that he suffered. He then got stronger from that experience and built up the courage that was necessary to meet up with his brother again. As he told the twins that fixed his lawn mower, "a brother is a brother" and that will never change which made him feel worse about the small conflict that they had in the past. These three themes realization, which was the small budget he had for the whole trip and transportation, actualization which is how much time he actually had left in his life and revelation which he went through over the trip were main ideas in this film that tell the story of Alvin Straight, an ordinary old man.

Posted by Carmel at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Straight Story is a film that portrays the road in a drastically different light than we have thus encountered throughout this course. Unlike the other road films, Alvin takes his journey on a lawn mower. In many ways, this mode of transportation is not unlike Alvin himself; slow, aged, and in need of repair (like at the beginning of the movie when we find that Alvin needs hip surgery/the lawnmower needs new belts). His first attempt at mobilization is trumped when the mower breaks down, he his then fixed with a newer (but still old) John Deere. This new lawn mower brings Alvin into the world of cornfields, rain storms and eventually leads him to self actualization and acceptance for past transgressions. Analogous to his form of walking, the mower moves at snails speed. This pace allows Alvin time to reflect and soak in the country splendor. This is most evident in the many camping scenes throughout the film, especially when he meets the young hitchhiker. He explains the importance of family, reflects on his own life, and spreads the message of forgiveness (which is ultimately the main objective of his six week hiatus). Alvin encounters many different characters on the road, each functioning in a different way. Upon blowing out his breaks, Alvin's mobility is temporarily put on hold. When offered a ride the rest of the way Alvin refuses, as he wants to finish the rest of the trip 'his way'. After explaining the importance of brotherhood to the Olson twins, Alvin's mission takes on a new sense of urgency: he must makes amends before it's too late. The film ends with Alvin and his brother sitting on a porch and a shot of tears in Alvin's eyes, juxtaposed against the mower. Thus acting as an anthromorphism of Alvin, the mower transcends its actual function, and becomes an agent to forgiveness. In a world where family is taken for granted, the mower literally sets its own pace, allowing Alvin to realize what had been missing from his life. Rather than 'leaving behind' , Alvin is engulfed by the country, ultimately becoming a more complete version of himself.

Posted by MsEdieSedgwick at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the film "The Straight Story", we witness a road trip that has not been portrayed yet in this class. Alvin, not only chooses to take his road trip on a lawnmower, but he is going from rural Iowa to rural Wisconsin. His road trip is about discovering himself rather than leaving behind something.
As Alvin encounters different people on the road, he really helps them more than I think they help him. Yet, through others Alvin really shares his story with the audience about how he wants to forgive Lyle (his brother) and move on. The film is very slow going which also counters the usual road film; fast and thrilling. I think too, Alvin really expresses the rural in himself. The landscape throughout the film with the accompanying music really allows the audience to fall in love with the rural as Alvin has.
Overall, "The Straight Story" is very different from other road journeys we have viewed in this class.

Posted by jung0175 at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I "Straight Story" Alvin is on a different kind of road than the others we have seen thus far. The biggest difference about this road is that it is a completely rural road. It being a rural road makes it a very different environment. But the road itself is not what makes the environment different, it is the people and their attitudes that make this road different. The people are not automatically set against Alvin or his quest, often they seem to admire his tenacity. They do not try to hinder him or put him down, instead they try to help him in what ways they can, like offering him a ride. Even those who have their own purposes in mind, like the Olson twins, do not treat him maliciously or disrespectfully. These people and this road do not have prejudices towards Alvin and see no reason to hold him back and this makes it a very different journey from the others we have seen. He does not have to struggle so much with the external forces beyond trying to keep his lawnmower running and is free to concentrate on his internal journey and in some ways enjoy the scenery. He is also not ignore. When the bikers all ride by they wave and people always seem to notice him. In this way he is not on the fringes of society and life so much as just another feature of the world that is there. He is alone but not because he is forced too, it is his choice to be alone. This is a very different situation than the others we have seen because the others are forced into their journey or their isolation by other people or society in general. Alvin's road allows him more choice than the others'.

Posted by Tucsonhorse at 06:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In most of the films we've seen thus far in class, the characters tend to use the road as a way to escape where they've been: Stoney used it to escape the projects, Angela Shelton used it to escape her past, etc. In the 1999 film, "The Straight Story," however, the road is not a means for escape as Alvin never leaves where he came from. His journey begins, takes place, and ends within the confines of rural America. Because this road does not change, the changes Alvin goes through and the revelations he encounters are moreso based on himself and the people around him than where he came from and where he's going. For example, when talking about the pros and cons of getting older with the group of bicyclists, he simply verbalizes feelings he's already had, that he's kept inside himself. Because of the people he's met on the road, he is able to bring these parts of him out, something he couldn't do while he was just staying in place. An example of how this is different from other roads comes from Thelma and Louise. Throughout the film, the two women carry with them where they've come from. They carry the baggage of being neglected and battered women as they travel their road to indepenedence. On Alvin's rural road, he has no baggage from his origin. He simply is a body moving through a place, and as it encounters other people, the body can see inside himself because he is finally forced to interact with others. The rural road is a road where the self helps the self, as opposed to a changing road where the location creates the difference in who the character was and who the character has become.

Posted by Bonnie and Louise at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was clear from the very beginning of the film that Alvin Straight was in love with all things rural. I think this is a very important observation to key in on, in order to realize why the story line never wavered from the country. Unlike many of the other characters we have seen in previous road films, Alvin was not unhappy with his life. He was unhappy though, in the fact that he and his brother had drifted apart. The journey that Alvin took was not one of discovery, but one of reminiscing and humility. It was clear to see that Alvin did not need to make this journey the way that he did, but he wanted to, so that he could have time to himself to think. I think it is very significant that this entire film took place in the middle of the country, because that is who Alvin was. He was not leaving his home to become something different than what he already was. As he rode across Iowa, and into Wisconsin you could not help but think that he was almost riding into the end of his life. It had a very final feel; with the reconciliation of him and his brother, and his own ailing health. It was almost a memoir of his life, and the things that he held dear to him, his rural surroundings being one of them.

Posted by Mrs. Brad Pitt at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While previous road films from this semester’s selection have taken their protagonists out of their familiar settings, presenting them with a new palate of environs and individuals with which to compare and contrast themselves with, The Straight Story opts to leave Alvin Straight within a familiar surroundings (rural) and peoples (white Midwesterners) in order to come to a place of realization and understanding.

The rural setting is of particular importance to Alvin’s story. Firstly, this road film makes use of a protracted sense of time and motion. There are no shots of the wind whipping as in Searching for Angela Shelton and Thelma and Louise, through the hair of the protagonist as they proverbially flee their past. There is no sense of bliss achieved through hasty flight. Rather, Alvin’s journey through a rural setting is slow and deliberative and demanding of close inspection. The vehicle of choice for Alvin, a tractor, embodies this rural mindset of “slow-and-steady wins the race”. Each scene presented to Alvin, whether it be a corn field, abandoned silo, or wayward hitchhiker must be considered and mulled over. Alvin is not granted the luxury of flying past his surroundings so quickly that he does not need to contemplate them.

Similarly, a rural setting provides little distraction from the mind. Therefore, Alvin’s realization comes very much from within. Nowhere does he encounter situations that are jarringly new and different, or force him to understand life in a new way. Instead, Alvin’s familiarity and slow roaming through the rural road forces him to analyze his past. For example, his encounter with the pregnant young woman is in no way shocking or strange to him. In fact, the familiarity of something such as pregnancy leads to recollections of his past, his wife, and the importance of family (the main reason for this journey). Similarly, his exchange with quarreling brothers is an equally familiar one. Had Alvin encountered these situations in a fast-paced urban setting, he may not have been able to so easily relate or devote time to recollection.

In this way, the slow-pace and familiarity of the rural setting allow Alvin Straight to ruminate on his past.

Posted by labo0056 at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Even though Alvin never leaves the rural, his journey is just as significant as that of any of the characters from other movies we've watched in class. It is because he carries out his mission on the tractor that his rural journey is full of as many life-changing elements as other road movie travels. Alvin travels slower, and even though he doesn't cover as much ground, he meets many people and is able to reflect on his own life through their stories. His purpose is also strengthened through listening to the people he meets. For example, the hitch-hiking girl is struggling with family problems, and Alvin's advice to her is to face her family, because having them is the most important thing. This advice crosses over to his own purpose of making amends with his brother, Lyle.
Because Alvin never leaves the rural, it is more apparent that the revelations he experiences are not due to geographical travel, but an inner journey. In other films such as Thelma and Louise and Easy Rider, the road also served as a place for self-actualization, but there was also dramatic change of scenery which underlined this theme. In Straight Story, the stability of the rural road may punctuate the severity of Alvin and Lyle's harsh feelings towards one another, because their physical separation is nowhere near as large as their emotional separation. On this road, Alvin goes through internal changes that define the road movie. The rural road implies the permanence of Alvin's realizations. He has changed even though his environment hasn't.

Posted by kieff060 at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unlike the other films we've watched, Straight Story follows Alvin Straight on his journey not away from the rural Midwest, but rather through it. The rural road works kind of in an opposite way for Alvin, unlike how we've seen it work in other films. Rather than cause him unbearable grief, it gives him the opportunity to fully go over his life, and in turn, find himself.

Alvin decides the take his journey from Iowa to Wisconson in a very untraditional way: on a lawn mower. The riding lawn mower in itself can be associated with the rural country. I think here we get the sense that Alvin represents everything rural. Yet unlike the other movies we've seen, he is not a horrible, racist, rural person. He is actually quite nice, and pleasant to be around.

Perhaps the reason he is able to actually find himself while on this rural road is because there is really no chaos for him while on the road. The urban road in other movies we've seen have always been at times a bit hectic and busy. Here, Alvin is able to very slowly make (over a month) progress to his destination with limited distractions, thus allowing him ample time to think about his life, his mistakes, and his regrets. It is possible that if he were on a city road, in a traditional road vehicle, he would have had more distractions to keep him from thinking, and less time to do the thinking, and could have possibly missed his road of becoming.

Posted by dadov003 at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Straight Story presented us with a very different road narrative than most of our class's past films. For the first time, we see a single person setting out on a trip with a specific destination and purpose in which he successfully accomplishes. He also faces little danger (aside from some lawnmower problems) and does not engage in anything violent or criminal, except maybe trespassing on private property. Alvin is not leaving his life behind at all, if anything, he appreciates his simple life with Rose more once he begins to travel.

Alvin's road is slow and long which is something we haven't seen in past films. Speed, in the other movies, is so important to the forward motion of the plot. This movie, on the other hand, uses the slow transport to emphasize the time Alvin spends reflecting on his present journey and his overall life journey. It also reflects the patience and the challenges of his trip and, at the same time parallels the difficulties faced by the aging process. He is forced to drive the lawnmower due to his failing eyesight and joint dysfunction, while his stubbornness keeps him persevering no matter the inconvenience of his approach. Also, as some pointed out, the rural setting may be the cause of the slow paced action within this film.

With few words, Alvin is able to reach the people he meets along the way. They are moved by his journey and his ability to empathize with those he encounters. He creates a mood of pensiveness, appreciation and understanding. Although there is not a lot of racial diversity in the film, Alvin does cross age and class barriers it seems as he travels from one rural city to another. Alvin's road is a place for transformation and self-reflection which did not need to be accomplished by engaging in criminal behavior, discrimination or general defiance. Through dialogue and thoughtfulness, the road can be a place for contemplation and positive transformation.

Posted by Corrie Halladay at 01:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)