Thelma and Louise: Proposal

Our group is following the theme of “Thelma and Louise.” Our goal is to bring out the bonding and freedom/self-discovery while relating back to the movie. Our journey will start from Austin, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada and then back to Austin, Texas. Our main point where we plan on spending the most time is going to be the Grand Canyon. We chose this route because we firstly wanted to start off from where we live now just like Thelma and Louise started off from where they lived and we chose the Grand Canyon as our main point because that is where Thelma and Louise finished (except we won’t stop there). Our goal of bonding relates to the movie because throughout the trip, both Thelma and Louise learned more about each other and became closer after going through so much. In our trip, Julie, Kim, and I will definitely bond because it is a long trip and we will get to know more about each other and we will all have stops where we will get a chance to bond with each other and do things that we all like to do. This trip will also give us a chance to escape from studies and let us have the freedom to explore, have fun, and choose a perfect spot to be ourselves. Throughout our trip, we are going to have many stops that will relate to such themes which were the major themes of “Thelma and Louise.”

Zombieland #1

For our group (Claire, Greg, Alex, and myself), we're following our road trip based on two themes from Zombieland: reconnecting with our youth and bonding with one another. We're all classmates who hardly know each other, just as the main characters from the film hardly know each other prior to their journey. Our trip begins in Austin and continues to Orlando, FL; New York City, NY; Akron, OH; and ends in Hollywood, CA. Along the way, we'll be incorporating one rule from the film with each stop. Each of us has a particular stop we want to take during our trip--these stops allow for one of us to reconnect with our youth and allow us to share our pasts with each other, thus leading us closer and closer together. Between these "youth-seeking stops," we'll be stopping at various places across the country, where we will participate in team-building experiences such as rock climbing. On the other hand, danger lurks at some of these stops. When we stop in New Orleans, for example, a drunken man attempts to assault Claire, who is quickly saved by one of her travelmates. This ties into one of Columbus's rules: Get a kickass partner.

We'll be stopping first in Orlando, Florida to visit Disney World. It's a place I go to about once a year, and all four parks give me many, many great memories. I'll show everyone the ins and outs of the parks as well as how to "enjoy the little things."

Next up is New York City, New York. Alex actually got the hookup from Roger Federer while planning for the trip, so we'll all be able to get behind the scenes of the US Open, a tournament that Alex has always dreamed of attending.

The crew from Zombieland got to meet a celebrity in his own house, and our crew is no different. Our third stop is Akron, Ohio, where Greg takes us to meet his hero: Lebron James. King James actually has a bowling alley and a casino in his house, making it an ideal place to relax together. If we have time, we might even catch a Cavs basketball game before we hit the road in the morning.

Our final stop is Hollywood, California, home of one of the world's most famous theatres: Grauman's Chinese Theatre. This Hollywood must-see landmark features The Walk of Fame, but it's a very special place for Claire, who actually grew up in Hong Kong. Here, Claire can remember her life in China and fill in her companions about China's culture.

Allons! (Let's Go!)

Jose, Spencer and I have decided to journey “Whitmanesquely” from Brooklyn, New York down on to New Orleans, Louisiana and then back up north, ending in Camden, New Jersey. These destinations were chosen after researching and learning of Whitman’s own personal travels throughout his lifetime. In order to travel “Whitmanesquely” we have decided to keep the trip as simple as possible. The plan, for the most part, is to resist the big inner-city life and travel lightly. Thus, we have decided to take our camping (and fishing!) gear and rest on public camp grounds throughout our journey. We believe Whitman would coincide with this idea as Song of the Open Road does say: “Now I see the secret of the making of the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” Indeed, we all agree that “the earth…[shall be] sufficient” for us. Moreover, we feel that camp ground areas and the like would be the perfect place to meet interesting folk to invite to travel with us, or to simply encourage to take their own journey some time. Although Whitman does emphasize the need for companionship, we felt that he ultimately pushes more for self-discovery. The line “I am larger, better than I thought; I did not know I held so much goodness” embodies this theme of learning about oneself along the way. The multiple stops we plan on making while on the road will encourage this growth and allow us to become more open to new thoughts and ideas, perhaps even leading us to being “reborn”.


When it comes down to it, our road trip will not occur at a fixed pace. We will come and go as we please. Of course, our final destination shall always be kept in mind. However, there will never be any sense of urgency. The purpose of this trip is to be free and do as we please and if one place calls to us more than another, then so be it: “You but arrive at the city to which you were destin’d, you hardly settle yourself…before you are call’d by an irresistible call to depart.” Whitman gave us this basis in thought in regards to the road: The world is at our [the traveler’s] feet and is ours for the taking, if we will but take it:


To conceive no time, however distant, but what you may reach it and
pass it,
To look up or down no road but it stretches and waits for you,
however long but it stretches and waits for you,...
To see no possession but you may possess it, enjoying all without
labor or purchase, ...
To take the best of the farmer's farm and the rich man's elegant
villa,…
To carry buildings and streets with you afterward wherever you go…
To know the universe itself as a road—as many roads—as roads for traveling souls.

Zombieland Proposal

Using Zombieland as an inspiration, our group has designed a trip in a Winnebago from Austin Texas to Disney World in Florida. Keeping with the spirit of Zombieland, each of us has chosen a stop where we will attempt to introduce outside and alien experiences to other members of the group in the hopes that some piece of that experience becomes part of the group as a whole.
Some of the stops along the way will include Denver Colorado where I will introduce everyone to the concept of survivalist/minimalist backpacking; even though we will be traveling in a Winnebago hopefully the experience that will stick with the group is that less is more. Another stop along our journey is Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta we will try to find the World of Coca-Cola (a stop inspired by Tallahassee's obsessive quest for a Twinkie) and Crissy will attempt to convince at least some of us that Diet Coke actually tastes good.
Our last stop will be Disney World where, even though we can't ram the gates with the Winnebago and shoot the zombified occupants, I'm sure we can play laser tag or at the very least ride the roller coasters.

Steinbeck Journey Proposal

Our group is using the Steinbeckian type journey as a template for our exploration of America. We are going all around America, starting in Austin and hitting some iconic areas along the way until we get back to Austin. The idea is to get a taste of every region of America and learn what only the locals know. We want to check out cute little cafes, bars, churches, and festivals to get to know the real America in that region. The idea is to find where the natives hangout, not where the tourists go. This is very much like what Steinbeck did, but we are following a different route as well as looking for areas frequented by the younger natives of the area.
Jackie suggested an awesome website, couchsurfing.com, that would give us the chance to get to know America in a way Steinbeck did not necissarily have access to. The premise of the site is you search for someone who is willing to let you sleep on their couch for a few days, and they show you around the area. This would be an absolutely terrific way to really get to know at least a few people in each area, and form ties to most of America. Which is really the whole idea of Steinbeck's journey, discovering an America you have become out of touch with. In our case we are discovering an America we may not really know yet, but definitely want to discover.

Proposal

Proposal for last group (group 6?): Nina, Jonash, Luke

We are taking a Kerouac-ian road trip across southwest America. Our stops include: Denton, TX; Norman, OK; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; and possibly the Grand Canyon in Arizona. We are investigating to find locations within these cities/areas that are normally unseen, interesting, off-beat attractions. For example, while in Los Angeles, the group will be visiting the Museum of Death, a peculiar small business on the end of Sunset Strip owned by a married couple. Within this project, we are projecting themes of hedonism and self-discovery, parallel to those in the novel On The Road. We are also visiting friends along the way: Jonash has friends in Denton, Luke has a friend in Colorado Springs military base, and I have a cousin and friends in Los Angeles.  Along the way we are faced with a few difficulties/road blocks, such as lack of financial funds.  Overall, we are traveling where ever the road takes us.

Roadtrip with friends

It could be because I chose to write my last paper on Thelma and Louise, but if I were to take a road trip I would like it to resemble theirs.
To begin, I would load up my car with a close friend or friends, the more the merrier. Like Thelma and Louise, the comfortable friendships bring a sense of safety and security, so even though we would be doing something we never had before, we would be there to support one another. We could together choose our main destination- if it were up to me, I'd choose a beach, so we could head somewhere warm like Orlando.
I like the idea of experiencing new things on the road, but having a sense of familiarity along the way, as we saw in Zombieland, and On the Road. On our trip to Florida, each person on the trip could choose someplace that is comforting and familiar to them, whether visiting relatives and friends, or revisiting someplace they had gone on a previous trip.