September 4th, 2010 by Rachel | Tags: American Culture, Anthropology, Material Culture, Photography | 1 Comment »
We wouldn’t have consumed so many materials if it weren’t for trucks. In the midst of economy crises in 2008, husband-and-wife photographers, James Frank Tribble and Tracey Mancenido-Tribble, left NYC to trek across the country to explore the culture of American consumerism by documenting the out-of-ordinary subject – trucks and the lives of truck drivers. Viewing the places where truck drivers typically stop such as shops and gas stations and portraits of drivers does give me a better awareness of what is involved in driving trucks. Seeing one driver in a photo standing among a cloudy scene is disheartening. On the other hand, I wish I could see more scenes of drivers’ job in action such as what they do while they’re driving. Do they snack frequently or talk on cell phones. How do they react to traffic?
I would also like to see a project that takes another step further by documenting the lifestyle of the drivers when they are not on the road. Do they make enough wage to have a decent life? How does the job effect the drivers mentally and physically. Because they appear to sit for several hours on the trucks, are they in risk to be overweight?
1 Comment
Vivie
September 5, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Interesting article Rachel.And the pictures from the site you linked to are very insightful – and artistic too.
I can reply from what I know for Greece :
1 ) They do make a decent wage to support their families , but the most truckers I know through friends etc lead really simple life.
2) they have always some days off after a long haul so they can sit with their family and be fathers.
3) I know most have a bit of a tummy from all the sitting.
I also happen to know that before cell phones came to Greece they called thier homes from where they stopped over , to learn news.Nowadays , having cell phones is a lot easier to keep contact.
Truckers , or hauliers as they are called in Europe , are unionized , and recently Greece passed a law for that union to be breaked , so anyone can gain a truck licence.The ramifications were a bit strung – a long strike , ending up in short gas , and no materials for certain areas – especially islands!
I also know that most truckers are driving safely for their sake and others! There are cases of neglect though , like in 2001 .
I also know this little gem.Most truckers are too accustomed to drive their truck , and they’re very comfortable with it.Driving a normal car , like their family car , presents them with a BIG challenge.It’s simply THAT different,and most of their accidents or crashes they have are while they’re trying to transit in family car driving thought proccess.