By Carmen Berry, SanDiego350 Volunteer
In American pop culture, flexing cars represent the ultimate freedom – endless expanses of open road and a future unbound by systemic shortages to public transportation systems. Like our landscapes, cars have dominated American pop culture, redefining our personal relationships to space, sustainable development, and freedom. Car-centric development has impeded the expansion of existing public transportation systems nationwide, partially due to federal cuts and impermanent local revenue sources. Facing these escalating attacks on public transportation which foster car dependency, we must reconsider media narratives that stigmatize mass transit and discourage engagement with regional transit systems. By talking about the environmental, social, and economic benefits of public transportation, we have the power to demand policies that reduce auto dependency and support sustainable development in our cities.
In America, being a “driver” becomes a crucial facet of one’s identity, indicating maturity and wealth, and as a result becomes an indicator of being able to successfully navigate a physical landscape fraught with uncertainty and danger. Modern pop culture disempowers young people and the urbanist movement by associating cars with personal and economic freedom and paints an unwillingness to engage with an undoubtedly car-centric society as a personal shortcoming. Despite the fact that more young people are using public transportation than ever, film and media paints shared transportation as a relic of a failed personal development- often reaffirming the incorrect assumption that public transportation usage is synonymous with social hardship and economic misfortune. This social stigma towards public transit, which is largely rooted in institutional racism, discourages essential investments in improved transit infrastructure which can improve access to service and build more equitable service networks. As our transit systems face aging infrastructure and intentional underfunding, supporting visibility for public transportation is essential to protecting transit, providing accessible service, and fighting climate change.
Although riding public transit is more resource-efficient, cost-effective and safer than driving cars, the film and television industry has not sufficiently addressed changing attitudes regarding automobile usage amongst young Americans. Urbanist advocate and content creator Ren Fitzgerald states that “contemporary popular culture not only reflects, but reinforces, how Americans feel about cars. The first cars off the Ford assembly line were marketed as a symbol of freedom; women especially, were told that driving was a sign of independence and feminism. Today, the heroes of mass media drive without a second thought, even when it doesn’t logically make sense to do so. Conversely, scenes set on a bus seem to reinforce tropes around poor, especially young and Black characters.”
This can be seen in some of the most iconic American media of all time; Grease (1978) describes vehicle ownership as a way of securing social status and dominating women, The Fast and the Furious franchise tells people that cars are essential to building meaningful community, and Disney’s Cars goes so far as to personify private transportation- ingraining in generations of young people that cars are our friends and if you’re against cars then you’re against connection. The film industry’s constant reinforcement of ‘car culture’, a toxic combination of classism and hypermasculinity, coupled with stereotyped and dated portrayals of public transit, serves to further stigmatize the use of public transportation. Under such media narratives, people see the usage of public transportation as something to be ashamed of, creating negative cultural associations that sever the connection between people and the usage of social services paid for by their tax dollars.
In response to increasing political threats to national transit networks, many community activists and transit organizations have taken to advocating for an infrastructural shift to prioritize shared transportation and eliminate the use of cars in urban environments. Increasing coverage and support for the car free movement has subsequently helped provide advertising for public transportation services, as can be seen with Ren Fitzgerald and other advocate’s support of updated transit infrastructure and open celebration of improvements to local transit networks. When asked how film and television can update their portrayals of public transportation to better reflect the advocacy efforts of urbanism groups, Fitzgerald stated that “One-third of Americans can’t drive, whether that be due to cost restriction, disability, age, or another factor. Popular culture can aid the urbanist movement by telling the story of this forgotten third. So many local creatives are already incorporating public transit into their art, often because transit is an indispensable part of their area’s identity. Major studios could benefit by noticing how much people identify with their local bus or train, and inject that familiarity into their productions.”
Overcoming the social stigma which prevents people from using public transit means that urban planners and transit companies can improve access to service and build more equitable service networks. Despite continued expansions to regional transit and improved safety outcomes, without addressing America’s bias against public transportation in film and media, mass transit will continue to be subjected to budget cuts that decrease public participation in these essential services. Less riders equals less funding, and less funding means less opportunities for future improvements to existing networks. Facing aging infrastructure and intentional budget cuts to transit systems, supporting visibility for public transportation is essential to protecting integrated transit infrastructure and accessible service for all citizens.