Nightmare of Words

Jackson analyzes the impact transportation has had on the American landscape and perspective in the section The Emerging American Present. He discusses the birth of roadside developments along the American highway, with its rest stops, tourist traps, themed restaurants, etc. Jackson brings attention to the common notion of bashing these developments. He attempts to understand what the critics propose to be done with these establishments since they fill voids for both the working economy and for social leisure.

In trying to further understand the establishments, Jackson analyzes the motives in their construction and design. He discusses the strategic positioning of roadside developments every 100 to 150 miles, “the average distance covered between meals” (192). He recognizes the need for structures to be attractive to those passing by at 40+ mph, and therefore the façade and sign of the establishments were given the primary focus. Both were simplistic in their design, and depended upon the shock value of flashing lights to lure customers in. A shed was thrown onto the back end to house the restaurant or store of knickknacks.

Anti-Billboard Campaign Jackson also discusses the billboard or printed-word phenomenon of the US. Like the establishments, billboards have become competitive in their wow factors, now especially with digital and mechanical billboards. Jackson suggests that rather than having the ‘nightmare of words’ stamped across the landscape, advertising experts should create a set series of symbols to use (196). He doesn’t however suggest that they should be removed all together, only limited, stating that there is some comfort in seeing a series of billboards alongside the road after miles and miles of no civilization.

Several laws have been issued throughout the years to eliminate the number of boards, such as the Highway Beautification Act of 1964. Nowadays, with the help of the internet, private organizations are springing up with online blogs petitioning people to help eliminate the printed-word pollution. The Anti-Advertising Agency (http://antiadvertisingagency.com/category/projects/poster-camp) analyzes the role of market media in public space, asking people to contribute their thoughts and opinions on how to remove mass advertisement from our landscape. The organization Illegal Billboards (http://illegalbillboards.org/) on the other hand provides an outlook for the NYC public to post information about suspicious giant advertisements that may be illegal. The organization provides information of to send information on the suspicious ad to the NYC Department of Buildings.