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Unchained America

dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
edited February 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
http://www.davegorman.com/projects_america_unchained.html


i watched this the other night and found it to be fucking amazing!!! Dave Gorman tried to cross America without using chain stores and chain gas stores etc



blurb:-

The plan was simple: go to America. Buy a second hand car. Travel from coast to coast. Try not to give any money to The Man™.

In other words, no Holiday Inns, no Best Westerns and no Comfort Suites. No Shells, no Arcos and no BP gas stations. No MacDonalds, no Starbucks and no chains of any kind. Just Mom & Pop business all the way.



this was so much harder than he expected and i dunno, i think its a shame that our world is becoming one huge chain store... i wish i could do the same trip as the guy..
oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
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Comments

  • gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    Looks really cool. I'd like to see it.
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • Stone Is GodStone Is God Posts: 1,331
    dunkman wrote:
    http://www.davegorman.com/projects_america_unchained.html


    i watched this the other night and found it to be fucking amazing!!! Dave Gorman tried to cross America without using chain stores and chain gas stores etc



    blurb:-

    The plan was simple: go to America. Buy a second hand car. Travel from coast to coast. Try not to give any money to The Man™.

    In other words, no Holiday Inns, no Best Westerns and no Comfort Suites. No Shells, no Arcos and no BP gas stations. No MacDonalds, no Starbucks and no chains of any kind. Just Mom & Pop business all the way.



    this was so much harder than he expected and i dunno, i think its a shame that our world is becoming one huge chain store... i wish i could do the same trip as the guy..

    It's to the point where you have no other option. All the Mom & Pop places are gone. It sucks especially when your trying to purchase products like TV's, guitars, etc. You always end up with some pimple faced teenager that doesn't know shit about anything trying to help you. It sucks. I hate chain stores.
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me.
  • SnakeSnake Posts: 2,605
    Man its a shame that these chains take over. I hate myself for going to walmart, but its soo easy and they always have what I want. Exept music, then I goto the other big chain: best buy. :(
    Pirates had democracy too.

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  • blackredyellowblackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    I'm surprised it was that hard... but if he traveled highways and interstates, it might have been. If you travel through small towns, there are still mom & pop places everywhere.

    Snake wrote:
    Man its a shame that these chains take over. I hate myself for going to walmart, but its soo easy and they always have what I want. Exept music, then I goto the other big chain: best buy. :(

    I know... but with limited time, it just makes it hard to go to 5 different little stores scattered all over the place, than to one big box store and get all my stuff and be home a lot quicker.
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
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  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    thats a shame that all those mom and pop places are going!! a true shame.. in the documentary Dave goes to this gas station that is in the middle of knowhere and the place hasnt changed for about 30 years.. it was in Montana or something and they had these purple mountains in the background and to me it just typified the 'look' of america that i gre up with.. i'm going over there next year for a 3 week tour and if its just fookin Wendy's and Wal-Marts everywhere then i'll need to get off the beaten track cos i'm allergic to all that neon shite
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    blackredyellow wrote:
    I'm surprised it was that hard... but if he traveled highways and interstates, it might have been. If you travel through small towns, there are still mom & pop places everywhere.

    yeah the only places he got them was to go into these small towns.. but even the people that owned these places were always about 60-ish and their kids didnt want to know... so they just had to shut down or sell up to a chain.. it was highlighting the problem of our OWN childrens generation to come...
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • GreenTeaDiseaseGreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
    dunkman wrote:
    http://www.davegorman.com/projects_america_unchained.html


    i watched this the other night and found it to be fucking amazing!!! Dave Gorman tried to cross America without using chain stores and chain gas stores etc



    blurb:-

    The plan was simple: go to America. Buy a second hand car. Travel from coast to coast. Try not to give any money to The Man™.

    In other words, no Holiday Inns, no Best Westerns and no Comfort Suites. No Shells, no Arcos and no BP gas stations. No MacDonalds, no Starbucks and no chains of any kind. Just Mom & Pop business all the way.



    this was so much harder than he expected and i dunno, i think its a shame that our world is becoming one huge chain store... i wish i could do the same trip as the guy..

    yeah out on the highway, I don't see how you could do that.
  • blackredyellowblackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    dunkman wrote:
    yeah the only places he got them was to go into these small towns.. but even the people that owned these places were always about 60-ish and their kids didnt want to know... so they just had to shut down or sell up to a chain.. it was highlighting the problem of our OWN childrens generation to come...

    This is true with the next generation... But you can probably make more money selling the store/land if it has a good location then to keep the business going. It is sad, and I guess we are all to blame for supporting the chains.
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • eyedclaareyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    dunkman wrote:
    thats a shame that all those mom and pop places are going!! a true shame.. in the documentary Dave goes to this gas station that is in the middle of knowhere and the place hasnt changed for about 30 years.. it was in Montana or something and they had these purple mountains in the background and to me it just typified the 'look' of america that i gre up with.. i'm going over there next year for a 3 week tour and if its just fookin Wendy's and Wal-Marts everywhere then i'll need to get off the beaten track cos i'm allergic to all that neon shite

    Where all is your trip taking you? If you like the post card image of America, places like Montana and Idaho still have it in spades.
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  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    GreenTeaDisease wrote:
    yeah out on the highway, I don't see how you could do that.


    isnt that a bit shit?

    i'd love to travel across america but not if its neon upon neon of the same names flashing at me

    in fact i'd rather cross-country the whole of Russia.. be more 'real'
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    eyedclaar wrote:
    Where all is your trip taking you? If you like the post card image of America, places like Montana and Idaho still have it in spades.


    florida (which will just be chainy wont it?) up to Virginia (hoping it might be more like my mental image)

    going to go to Jamestown and all those old colonial places :)
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • eyedclaareyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    dunkman wrote:
    florida (which will just be chainy wont it?) up to Virginia (hoping it might be more like my mental image)

    going to go to Jamestown and all those old colonial places :)

    Well, then you will be more familiar with parts of my country than I am. Other than flying over, I've never been to the east coast. I absolutely dislike populated areas and try to stick to the desolate mountains and rivers as much as possible. If you ever head west to the real America, I'll show you some jaw-dropping sights.
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  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    eyedclaar wrote:
    Well, then you will be more familiar with parts of my country than I am. Other than flying over, I've never been to the east coast. I absolutely dislike populated areas and try to stick to the desolate mountains and rivers as much as possible. If you ever head west to the real America, I'll show you some jaw-dropping sights.


    sounds cool amigo :)

    i really like the idea of Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and the Dakotas... thats would be my ideal trip of a lifetime :)
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • lalalalaaaaaaaalalalalaaaaaaaa Posts: 2,445
    Don't forget that chain stores typically start out just like any "mom & pop"...they just do what they do better than the other mom & pops, and they expand. I don't see any problem with them as long as they're treating their employees, customers, and the environment right. Some do, some don't.
  • lalalalaaaaaaaalalalalaaaaaaaa Posts: 2,445
    Snake wrote:
    Man its a shame that these chains take over. I hate myself for going to walmart, but its soo easy and they always have what I want. Exept music, then I goto the other big chain: best buy. :(
    So many people say this. You hate chains, but you still shop there. The fact that you keep shopping there is the reason why they "take over". It's not like there's no other option than Wal-Mart or Best Buy. There are plenty of options. Ebay is filled with the 21st century version of mom & pop stores for just about anything...and you can get whatever typical supplies you get at Wal-Mart at other places. I haven't bought anything at Wal-Mart in about 2 years...that is a truly evil corporation. Every time you shop there you should punch yourself in the arm :p
  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    Saturnal wrote:
    Don't forget that chain stores typically start out just like any "mom & pop"...they just do what they do better than the other mom & pops, and they expand. I don't see any problem with them as long as they're treating their employees, customers, and the environment right. Some do, some don't.


    i understand what you're saying.. but the film highlights a key point.. basically a hamburger in San Fran tastes the same as one in Boston.. because its the same recipe, chain, etc... ok, chains only come about because they they are good at what they do, but its just seems wrong that they then use this 'muscle' to encroach on small towns, small businesses, etc.

    i work for the Scottish Government and i know that Woolworths, Tesco and Shell have this power.. they can hold towns or businesses to ransom.. basically its a case of "give me planning approval for this giant hypermarket or we'll release a statement saying the local governement doesnt want the creation of 80 new jobs"

    their power is immense.
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • decides2dreamdecides2dream Posts: 14,977
    dunkman wrote:
    http://www.davegorman.com/projects_america_unchained.html


    i watched this the other night and found it to be fucking amazing!!! Dave Gorman tried to cross America without using chain stores and chain gas stores etc



    blurb:-

    The plan was simple: go to America. Buy a second hand car. Travel from coast to coast. Try not to give any money to The Man™.

    In other words, no Holiday Inns, no Best Westerns and no Comfort Suites. No Shells, no Arcos and no BP gas stations. No MacDonalds, no Starbucks and no chains of any kind. Just Mom & Pop business all the way.



    this was so much harder than he expected and i dunno, i think its a shame that our world is becoming one huge chain store... i wish i could do the same trip as the guy..



    very, very true!
    my husband and i have been commenting about this a LOT recently. it IS getting to be more 'chains'....EVERYwhere! some of it IS good, but yes...i love the local flavor of places that goes hand-in-hand with small, local ,personalized merchants.
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  • lalalalaaaaaaaalalalalaaaaaaaa Posts: 2,445
    dunkman wrote:
    i understand what you're saying.. but the film highlights a key point.. basically a hamburger in San Fran tastes the same as one in Boston.. because its the same recipe, chain, etc... ok, chains only come about because they they are good at what they do, but its just seems wrong that they then use this 'muscle' to encroach on small towns, small businesses, etc.

    i work for the Scottish Government and i know that Woolworths, Tesco and Shell have this power.. they can hold towns or businesses to ransom.. basically its a case of "give me planning approval for this giant hypermarket or we'll release a statement saying the local governement doesnt want the creation of 80 new jobs"

    their power is immense.
    Right, this is why big businesses always need to be watched closely and criticized and pressured to do the right thing. But no small business has some sort of right to certain customers in a certain area.
  • GreenTeaDiseaseGreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
    I go to "independents" when I can, cuz it's more fun in general. of course it's easier when you live in the city. My biggest problem though is with clothes- there are NO clothes that don't come from a chain.
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    this thread reminds me.....when i was 16 my dad and i drove from la to detroit and back during the summer.....he told me to plan it, routes, places to go, using only "grat lines" which meant he didn't want to use any interstate when possible....and by and large we were able to do it and actually had a blast....rented a houseboat at lake powell....stay at a guest ranch outside of telluride, river rafting etc.....all of it unplanned.....we did have to use interstates for some parts of the trip (south dakota - seriously is there anything there?? :) )

    however this was 22 years ago and i imagine it would be quite a different experience....for anyone that hasn't done it you should at least once in your life drive across this country.....for all of our faults its still a pretty cool place to live*....:)




    * - cue america the beautiful....:p
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