Wednesday, December 27, 2006

let's get lost


i'm back from two days trip to my parents'home.
it's a 1.100 km round trip. i have to cross tuscany, driving through maremma and close to florence and the chiantishire, then the hills of the appennini, and the pianura padana.
when going south back to my home i take another motorways which pass along the sea until rome. if you have seen the movie "il sorpasso" directed by dino risi, with vittorio gassman and trintignant, well that's the road i mean.

these are two of the most important motorways and people is driving back and forth going north to the mountains and going south to the sea.
every italian was on these road al least once a year.

but this time i was impressed by the number of cars with gps device. it seemed as all the drivers we met did never drive on these motorways before, nor there was clear indication of cities and direction. thousands and thousands metallic voices telling you when to turn left or right, how many meters before your next way out, which way to get home.
all of a sudden we discover ourself lost in our own way to get around, scared by the unknown streets bringing us at home.

and it looked to me as a metaphor of how we have lost or shift control of our lives.
we delegate too much to tech device or other people for what?
these commodities should deliver to us the advantage of spending time reading, chatting with friends, sharing ideas, enriching our lives.
but is it really so?


2 comments:

Valeria Maltoni said...

Hai ragione -- you're right -- Gianandrea. There is too much delegating going around; of our own responsibilities, of our decisions, of the choices that should be ours alone.

BTW - I've driven on those roads, narrow, curvy, and quite crowded at all times. You must have passed by Modena, or nearby.

gianandrea said...

indeed i passed by modena. and reggio emilia, parma, etc.
and i drive south through the cisa motorway. you know it, i bet.