[As his 16th birthday approaches, my younger son has begun the driving lessons that will soon mean I have two youthful drivers in the family. To help me deal with that stunning reflection of the passage of time, this week I’ll blog about a handful of American car histories and cars. Share your thoughts on all things American cars for a crowd-sourced weekend post, please!]
On
AmericanStudies lessons from three cars with minds of their own.
1)
KITT: I’ve blogged
about Baywatch in this space, so
I suppose it was only a matter of time before I got around to David Hasselhoff’s
other magnum opus, Knight Rider
(1982-86). To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever watched an entire episode of Knight Rider, and I damn sure don’t
remember a single thing about it other than the voice of KITT the
artificially intelligent automobile (provided by an uncredited William
Daniels). But I suppose that’s the point: with all apologies to the Hoff, there’s
no doubt that the car was the star of the show—and also a reflection of one powerful
myth of both cars and technology, that they are not just extensions of our
human selves, but at their best can make us more impressive and heroic than we
otherwise would be through their own characteristics. As the hyperlinked video
above illustrates, Hasselhoff’s Michael Knight was a bit of an asshole, but
working alongside (or rather inside) KITT he became an action hero.
2)
Christine: That’s one myth of cars and
technology, anyway, but there’s another equally persistent and potent type—stories
that view these elements as potentially antagonistic to our human survival, if
not indeed blatantly evil (certainly many stories of AI technology in
particular present it through that latter lens). Christine, the titular vehicle
in Stephen
King’s 1983 novel (as well as John Carpenter’s 1983 film
adaptation), isn’t an AI, but rather possessed by the evil spirit of a
serial killer who gradually begins to take over the car’s nebbishy new owner. But
I think King was nonetheless tapping into the same kinds of early 1980s fears
of advancing, independent, potentially destructive technology that surfaced in
another 1983 film, War Games—and by linking those fears
to one of the technologies in which we most often find ourselves, and on which
we so often rely for our everyday lives, he tapped into (as he so often has) a
particularly potent version of these concerns.
3)
Herbie: Somewhere in between the heroism of
KITT and the horror of Christine lies Herbie, the supernaturally smart
Volkswagen Beetle at the heart of the 1968 film The Love Bug and its five sequels
(to date—the most recent appeared in 2005, so Herbie fans can take heart in the
possibility of more to come). Herbie initially and understandably freaks out
his new owner, race car driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), but he’s not the least
bit scary; his intelligence allows him to win races he has no business winning,
but he’s no action hero (he is a Bug, after all). No, Herbie’s just a car with
a personality, a character in his own right who is equal parts sad and funny,
frustrating and sympathetic, and ultimately an important sidekick for our
protagonist as he navigates career, romance, and more. While there will always
be a place for both action and horror stories, it seems to me that Herbie is by
far the most recognizable and relatable of these supernatural smart cars, and
definitely the one I’d most want to find in my own garage.
Last
CarStudying tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What
do you think? Car histories or stories you’d highlight?
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