Abstract
Western cultures have an emphasis on speed that has been noted by theorists
such as Virilio. The desire for cars and computers to go faster and to be
facilitated by faster road and communications networks is well known. But
how much speed can we afford? The discourses of thrill and safety have
grown up with the car, competing with each other for priority. Until fairly
recently a greater emphasis has been on speed. Now there is more concern for
safety and a greater likelihood of seeing the consequences of the desire for
speed. The thrill of speed requires continued acceleration. We can now
comfortably travel at 100kms per hour every day. With speed limits being
dropped more recently there is real protest from those who would privilege
the thrill of speed. Car manufacturers and governments continue to make
speedier cars and roads a selling point. These discourses, however, tend to
exclude the lived environment. The paper will look at ads and feature articles
in regular car magazines, as well as television ads, with an emphasis on
discourses around speed and speed limits.
such as Virilio. The desire for cars and computers to go faster and to be
facilitated by faster road and communications networks is well known. But
how much speed can we afford? The discourses of thrill and safety have
grown up with the car, competing with each other for priority. Until fairly
recently a greater emphasis has been on speed. Now there is more concern for
safety and a greater likelihood of seeing the consequences of the desire for
speed. The thrill of speed requires continued acceleration. We can now
comfortably travel at 100kms per hour every day. With speed limits being
dropped more recently there is real protest from those who would privilege
the thrill of speed. Car manufacturers and governments continue to make
speedier cars and roads a selling point. These discourses, however, tend to
exclude the lived environment. The paper will look at ads and feature articles
in regular car magazines, as well as television ads, with an emphasis on
discourses around speed and speed limits.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Reinvention of Everyday Life: Culture in the Twenty-first Century |
| Editors | Howard McNaughton, Adam Lam |
| Place of Publication | Christchurch |
| Publisher | University of Canterbury |
| Pages | 195-206 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISBN (Print) | 1877257486, 978-1877257483 |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 |