Part 2 Landscape as a Journey - Exercise 2.2: Explore a Road

Exercise 2.2: Explore a Road

Part 1 

This is a short series of photographs about a road near where I live. The road I've chosen is the road that joins the road where I live to Ruardean, the next village. Strangely this road doesn't have a name, Its a country road. The objective is to try to think about something about this road that is familiar to you in a different way.

Thinking ahead to the film I've selected I've created a number of images that I've processed in way I see as representative of the film The Road. I've achieved this by under exposing a full stop, converting to mono and then toning the image. Whilst this is a road I'm very familiar with and know its bends and dips / climbs very well my processing has been to give a slight dangerous and unknown edge to the road; to make it look a bit intimidating whether driving along it or walking it.

This is a very interesting approach and I've quite enjoyed making this set of images; especially being able to include a slight sinister element within the images. It will be interesting how others see these images.

Part 2

I'm asked to watch one of the films mentioned in in my course notes (or it could also be any other ‘road movie’ of my choice. Write a short review (around 500 words), focusing on how the road features within the film’s narrative.

 I've chosen "The Road" which is based on the book of the same name by the American author Cormac McCarthy. I've chosen this because its a DVD I have in my collection and a film I've watched at least 3  times previously and have enjoyed the story it tells. The book interestingly won McCarthy a Pullitzer prize for fiction in 2007.

As an overview of the film it’s about a father and young son making a journey on foot from their home toward the coast. However some apocalyptic event has already happened and the landscape the travel is a wasteland. This type of story exists in many films including the Mad Max series, The Book of Eli, I am Legend, and 28 Days Later/ 28 Weeks Later. This theme is also explored in the very popular game series Fallout. Whilst a road is not specifically followed for the whole journey for many parts of the film the main characters of the film are seen journeying along a road. During the film the story leading up to their journey is loosely explained though the reason for apocalyptic event is not explained.

The journey in prior to the apocalyptic event would, I think, be a fairly easy journey for the two travellers using either their own vehicle of public transport. Certainly taking provisions with them from their home for the journey and / or obtaining them along the way or at their destination would be a given. Instead the journey is portrayed as very difficult in terms of avoiding other scavenging people sometimes operating in gangs, and themselves having to scavenge for food a drink. A particular point in the film is made of the boy drinking a cola drink. He was born after the apocalyptic event but had never tasted a fizzy drink before, something he would most certainly have done had this event not occurred. 

It’s quite a harrowing film but the essence for me is that shows how easily things we can take for granted could easily change in the future and how hard it is just to survive in such conditions. Of course given the name of the book / film there are many scenes showing the father and son travelling along the road and other people, good, bad and indifferent they come into contact with. 

The film had a gritty feel and you could very easily empathise with main characters and feel their pain of what they encountered along the journey; you really wanted to complete their journey unharmed. It also shows the depths of depravity that some people will sink to in order to survive. I don't want to reveal any more about this film other than to say I found it rewarding, harrowing, emotional and perhaps scary of you think of it as potential future and its one that's believable without too much imagination. I've now watched this about 4 times and it still gives me the same feelings, a sense of despair and possible hope, but mostly despair. The book gets mixed reviews but it could one I would choose to read if I get chance

A road for all of us is a method from getting from one location to another and its taken for granted that we will achieve our goal with no or little disruption. If travelling by car its also an effortless journey.

The story shows how much more aware the travellers' have to be and how dangerous it is for a number of reasons. Given the previous exercise this aligns in that we need to take note and be aware of things that we might normally take for granted or simply not notice.

Looking at Nadav Kander's images from her set " In Yangtze - The Long River" there is a remoteness to the images she has captured. In some there are people, or signs of people but they are made to feel, in my interpretation, as if they don't belong, even in the ones where a hint at humour is seen. "Man" appears to pale in comparison to the scenes they are captured in. This theme in the film The Road also comes through, man is seen to be struggling in a hostile environment. Whilst the struggle is not so apparent in Kander's images, they do not portray man as being in harmony, and the feeling desolation and corruption where present is man made; likely that is also the case in the film The Road.

In our life's journey the same could apply and for a multitude of reasons some things we notice and pay attention to and some we don't. Its certainly an adventure and also one in which we encounter struggles, decisions and difficulties.

This review has helped me formulate some ideas for how I choose to approach Assignment 2