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‘The Flashy Strings of Neon Lights Unravelled’—Motoring Leisure and the Potential for Technological Sublimity on the Great West Road

‘The Flashy Strings of Neon Lights Unravelled’—Motoring Leisure and the Potential for... AbstractThis paper examines the unusual opportunities for motoring leisure provided by the modernistic landscape of the Great West Road in the inter-war period. This suburban arterial road had become ribboned by new Americanized factories, which featured ‘Californian’ white elevations, floodlit at night. This modern roadscape, likened to the ‘great white way of an exhibition’ by John Betjeman, attracted leisure drivers who would cruise the new road, experiencing a sensation of displaced Americanization and modernity. Using David Nye's work on technological sublimity, this paper positions the Great West Road as a special space for driving as a new leisure experience, distancing this period from the exploration of the countryside that typified motoring in the previous decades. The paper uses material from motoring magazines, architectural sources and poetry to explain the nature of this sublimity through leisure driving. Not being California, the juxtaposition of wet British weather and this road could also provide a misty and mysterious driving experience. As the inter-war period drew to a close, some commentators saw this road as tawdry and vulgar. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The London Journal: A Review of Metropolitan Society Past and Present Taylor & Francis

‘The Flashy Strings of Neon Lights Unravelled’—Motoring Leisure and the Potential for Technological Sublimity on the Great West Road

‘The Flashy Strings of Neon Lights Unravelled’—Motoring Leisure and the Potential for Technological Sublimity on the Great West Road


Abstract

AbstractThis paper examines the unusual opportunities for motoring leisure provided by the modernistic landscape of the Great West Road in the inter-war period. This suburban arterial road had become ribboned by new Americanized factories, which featured ‘Californian’ white elevations, floodlit at night. This modern roadscape, likened to the ‘great white way of an exhibition’ by John Betjeman, attracted leisure drivers who would cruise the new road, experiencing a sensation of displaced Americanization and modernity. Using David Nye's work on technological sublimity, this paper positions the Great West Road as a special space for driving as a new leisure experience, distancing this period from the exploration of the countryside that typified motoring in the previous decades. The paper uses material from motoring magazines, architectural sources and poetry to explain the nature of this sublimity through leisure driving. Not being California, the juxtaposition of wet British weather and this road could also provide a misty and mysterious driving experience. As the inter-war period drew to a close, some commentators saw this road as tawdry and vulgar.

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References (24)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© The London Journal Trust 2014
ISSN
1749-6322
eISSN
0305-8034
DOI
10.1179/0305803414Z.00000000053
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractThis paper examines the unusual opportunities for motoring leisure provided by the modernistic landscape of the Great West Road in the inter-war period. This suburban arterial road had become ribboned by new Americanized factories, which featured ‘Californian’ white elevations, floodlit at night. This modern roadscape, likened to the ‘great white way of an exhibition’ by John Betjeman, attracted leisure drivers who would cruise the new road, experiencing a sensation of displaced Americanization and modernity. Using David Nye's work on technological sublimity, this paper positions the Great West Road as a special space for driving as a new leisure experience, distancing this period from the exploration of the countryside that typified motoring in the previous decades. The paper uses material from motoring magazines, architectural sources and poetry to explain the nature of this sublimity through leisure driving. Not being California, the juxtaposition of wet British weather and this road could also provide a misty and mysterious driving experience. As the inter-war period drew to a close, some commentators saw this road as tawdry and vulgar.

Journal

The London Journal: A Review of Metropolitan Society Past and PresentTaylor & Francis

Published: Nov 1, 2014

Keywords: Automobility; Interwar; Sublimity; Modernity; Arterial Roads

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