Barthes Jet-man: sports cars and nascar/F1 the shift in the need for speed—driving fast is cool
Barthes remarks the jet-man as the elimination of speed, the elimination of innovative prowess is the precursor to the astronaut. Speed is focused with little recognition of the present. It is all about arriving at the destination.
Speed itself is the blinding of experience. So fast that the exterior is blurred. Passing by history in the hopes of reaching the end. Sitting in a vehicle that transcends the external fails to appreciate the wonder exposed. It is a time machine pressing for a beneficial future. Watching the trees shake in the wind, playing ispy a pastime. Instead the car is the focus. The internal events take precedence. The quiet napping or watching movies on little screens strapped to the back of the headrests. Concentrated on the internal layout. The daytime is equally nighttime. The only external visual is the cars in front. Navigating the sea of traffic correctly. The driver is aware of the outside but only dimly. His focus is on reaching the destination. He does not desire to appreciate the sublime outdoors. He is concentrating on reaching the destination. Only the passengers can do that but they have no interest. Preoccupied with their toys or dreams.
Part of this phenomenon relates to childish obsession with visual television. Habituated to watching television over hiking the outdoors. Choosing to sit on the couch all day instead of bike riding. Even when friends come over, video games are played instead of shooting hoops. There is an interesting age where this begins and at times where it falls off a little. Adults may prefer to chitchat over watching television but their discussions of gossip and business are accompanied with beers and cookies. There is little hanging out in the wild, rare couple walks in the woods. There is definitely a lost routine but the drive is especially marked for something. In the same way a friend pops by for lunch. The goal is the target. The means to the end are barely sought. The link between meeting a friend and driving to see the parents may not be congruent but the routines do topple over.
Yet beyond this societal intrusion. Recently, an article argued man has lost touch with nature. Environmentalists back this in their climate change protests. This has nothing to do with speed but at the same time, speed is a conduit of this change. Speed marvels in innovation. It is through the industrialisation of coal and smoke that cars move so fast. Evolving from horses to cars. From animals to machines. Machines are safer and deadlier at the same time. Yet most importantly they are quicker. The entire emphasis behind cars was to transport goods more efficiently. How to provide access at a far faster rate. Planes were the composite to ships as the former was way faster. Water resistance less density and drag prevent ships from meeting the speeds of an airplane. The force of automative innovation is to reach places at a faster rate. The only reason for speed limits is to ensure civilian safety. The goal of the car is not to watch the outdoors but to reach the destination.
In the past travel was all about arrival. Travelling as quickly and delicately as possible to avoid any hiccups. To avoid all bandits along the highways. Travelling was dangerous as crooks prepared to sack merchants who were transporting goods or people from city to city. Hired mercenaries would accompany travellers for protection. A dangerous feat and yet at times quite important. Only till recently has travel become more safe. Security and protective vehicles provided comfort for people. In Rome they had roads as a latent mapping system but without military personnel guarding the area it wasn’t safe. Trains and cars have their weaknesses as well. Pointing a gun at your car will not protect the driver. Yet driving on the freeway becomes incredibly difficult for someone to stop you unless they are fervently attacking with their car. Criminality has evolved but the safety of speedy automobile has softened the criminality along the highway server.
Yet beyond speed for safety is a desire to reach the destination and rest. Sitting in a car for a long time is distasteful. Games like ispy were invented to pass the time. To make up for the boredom. There is no grace in awaiting the inevitable. It is just a matter of time till arrive. Unlike a nature hike, the goal of driving is not to see the outside, it is to arrive at hotel destination. It always has been. Those riding in the carriage behind the horse were not happily marvelling at the nature. If so, it was a matter of enjoying the tedious journey. The nature of speed makes up for false luxury of the outside. It blurs the boredom for the passenger. No need to enjoy the marvel that is disinterested. It is a matter of recognising the purpose of travel and completing that mission. What is enjoyed is the tasks at hand. The passenger on an airplane is readily hoping to land so they can reach their hotel. They want to arrive as soon as possible to see their vacation. Taking the bus to work is all about arriving at work as soon as possible to finish work and make it home for supper.
For the passenger, the journey is tedious. A means to an end, and an end that is pled for. Yet the driver may have different thoughts. The driver may enjoy the journey. Shifting the gears and moving around cars. Enjoying the open road and the speed flourishing under his feet. Yet this is an internal eudaemonia. It is all about the car not nature. The car is speeding up swerving around cars but there is no nature involved, he thinks he is in a game. He thinks he’s Jimmy Johnson passing Carl Edwards for the second spot at Daytona. It is a joy but a joy insofar as his automobile is in a fictional race. He raises his volume sings along and drives fast. There is a love for driving but it has nothing to do with appreciating the exterior. The exterior is nothing to the driver or the passenger. It has a meagre necessity for the driver to reckon with directions and keep his distance from incoming cars.
Astronauts are far most perceived for their journey and yet their journey is overlooked. They dress up and are placed in a daring pod. A dangerous situation but that is ignored. Spectators just want to see them reach the moon. Nobody knows of Apollo 13 except from the movie. They didn’t make to the moon, they didn’t finish the mission. So they saw space along the way, nobody cares. It is Apollo 11. It is Armstrong who set foot on the moon, that is what is remembered. Not the empty space but the moonwalk. Their flashy gear is credited with their pictorials. Yet without the event those suits are of little concern. The suits remind of the event but it is with the accomplishment that the suits have meaning. That astronauts have meaning. Going to space would be memorable but the fact of the moon’s destination and its bold achievement warrants its memory.
Historically, speed has been a necessity. There has been a century long car racing industry. There is fun in speed but even in racing the aspiration is to reach the end first. There is no joy in the journey. The art of Formula 1 or Nascar may be enjoyed by some for the hundred of laps. Watching as drivers pass one another or crash into each other. There is a love for the speed of the game. Just as there is for any other sport. Its recreational use elevates the journey to be worth watching. Yet at the end of the day the hope of every fan is for their team to reach the end. The journey is a means to a victory. The game is watched insofar as its beauty can achieve the desired result. Players themselves may be able to see beyond the accolades but not the spectator. The need for speed for the driver may extend the passion before the designation. So engulfed in the driving experience but the audience, the passengers just want it end. They just want to win and achieve their joy.
The jet-man is a spectacle in of itself. For the audience it is beautiful. The futuristic outlook impassions the audience. Wow the future is here. Modernity is ushering in the science fiction into everyday life. He is hailed as a hero yet his image is for his destination. He perception is about what he can do. Revving up the engine may initially bring some screams but those are of aspired hope. Revving the engine with no production will bring increasing boos. It is his result that elevates his image. Like the assonant he is given a suit. He looks quite different than the average man. The wealthy man who emerges from his speeding supercar. Speed Racer who jumps out of his Mach 5. There is a certain persona for the look that comes with the speed. A prestige accompanying the driver. The luxurious automobile that provides meaning to the driver just as the getup provides meaning to the car.
The mystery of the suit is only appealing as the pilot emerges from the cockpit. Isolated the astronaut suit means nothing. It is only in its relation to the achievement. The supercar is cool because it moves at top speeds. While planes move faster than cars, their normatively does not muster their uniqueness. The suit is only honourable in the face of the vehicles expertise. The racer is only identified by his car finishing first. Fame is awarded to those who accomplish. The suit is noteworthy as a consequence of the achievement. Nobody knows of the original spacesuits since they were not publicised next to the moon. The picturesque prowess is to be memorable. The jet-man’s suit is about the destination. It is only emerging with record speed that his suit is recalled. That his mystery is unveiled. Yet it is a mystery for the moment. The revelation is more about the spacecraft than the pilot. It is the vehicle in its capability that marvels the audience.
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