Nomadland

[gypsydan]

On 4/27/2021 at 4:41 PM, Kirk W said:

Has anyone read the book?    

Fantastic book. I gave it to my family to read, so they would have a slight incling as to what living on the could be like.  The description of the low income aspect of RVing displayed in the book, which seems prevalant on the road, was sad.

I can only imagine what the road is going to be like with all the evictions starting, especially if many being evicted are able to somehow find an RV to live in.  The RTR group should pickup new members, and maybe somehow create a safetynet.

[pjstough]

41 minutes ago, gypsydan said:

Fantastic book. I gave it to my family to read, so they would have a slight incling as to what living on the could be like.  The description of the low income aspect of RVing displayed in the book, which seems prevalant on the road, was sad.

I can only imagine what the road is going to be like with all the evictions starting, especially if many being evicted are able to somehow find an RV to live in.  The RTR group should pickup new members, and maybe somehow create a safetynet.

There is a safety net started by Bob Wells, it is called HOWA.

Homes on Wheels Alliance

[sandsys]

2 hours ago, gypsydan said:

The RTR group should pickup new members, and maybe somehow create a safetynet.

In a way, the RTR in itself is a safety net in that they teach people how to live well on the road with little income. And they encourage people to travel in small groups where they can help one another. Those who watched Nomadland with an open mind saw that happening. Plus, anyone is welcome to the RTR itself to see it in real life. The biggest gathering is in Quartzsite during the January big tent show where organizations wanting to hire RVers recruit workers. I have attended several RTR gatherings so know first hand how supportive they are. The Thanksgiving dinner I shared with a group of them was one of the best meals I've ever had in terms of the people gathered.

Linda

[etcetera]

what was that C-class in the film? (I had to resize it for forum to process it thus resolution is grainy)

 

at 23:47

Edited August 14, 2021 by etcetera

[etcetera]

On 8/2/2021 at 2:26 PM, NDBirdman said:

Finally got to watch the movie.  All I can say is it is very depressing. 

 

 

It is. It's kind of one dimensional. Yet it kind of semi-accurately portrays the "lifestyle". 

All these classes, where they show how to plug a tire, etc. I've never seen that. I full timed  for just 2 short years. Basically a nano-second, I get that. But I saw enough camaraderie between various campers. Also saw some theft. You see everything. Real life is a lot more multidimensional than what the movie described.

 

Full timers are highly individualistic, each case is unique and their lives don't really intersect very much, based on what I've seen.  They come from different social classes with very different backgrounds and mostly keep to themselves. They do form cliques, or "gangs" and you do not associate outside of your circle. 

 

Dare I say real life at times was a lot less depressing than the the movie portrayed.

It was all shot out west somewhere (didn't catch where, was it Nevada or such) and that terrain by definition is depressing, IMO, and at the same time captivatingly beautiful.  You go to some place like Missouri and it's not a total desert wasteland.

Oh, the musical composition was stunning. Very apropos.  One of the better ones I've seen in years. 

 

The main thing I did not like, it lacked any finality to it, or any flow, nothing really happens the entire movie, no character development or any decision-making or anything at all.
Just podunk, windy wasteland, Amazon factories and broken down vans.

 

It made life even more depressing than it sometimes  is.

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by etcetera

[sandsys]

17 hours ago, etcetera said:

The main thing I did not like, it lacked any finality to it, or any flow, nothing really happens the entire movie, no character development or any decision-making or anything at all.

How much of that did you have in your RV life? Except for Fern and David, these were real people living their real lives.

Linda

[fpmtngal]

On 8/13/2021 at 5:20 PM, etcetera said:

The main thing I did not like, it lacked any finality to it, or any flow, nothing really happens the entire movie, no character development or any decision-making or anything at all.
Just podunk, windy wasteland, Amazon factories and broken down vans.

 

I guess everyone sees different things in the movie based on their life-experiences.  I agree that the flow of the movie was slow, but would disagree with you that there was no decision-making or character development.  Maybe it wasn’t character development in the normal use of the word, but there was definite character change to me.

Compare the first scene of Fern holding her late husband’s jacket to her chest for a moment, then putting it in a box and closing the door of her full storage unit.  One of the last scenes in the movie is of her smiling to her friend and saying that she doesn’t need any of the stuff in his pickup truck.  The first scene is a woman grieving, the later scene is a woman who has walked through the grief process and is no longer holding onto the past.  Definitely a change in character.

Fern makes a number of decisions about what type of life she wants - first her sister and then Dave offer her a more traditional, stable life.  She appears to be tempted by Dave’s offer, comparing what she has as a single woman on her own (sleeping in her van that night) with the life Dave is offering her.  She drives away - decision made.

Sorry you find the Arizona desert depressing - I love it and find it far less depressing than snow covered roofs and roads.  I seem to have transitioned from a mountain-girl to a desert rat over the past 2 years.

Everyone is different and this is a movie that each of us will see different things in.  I saw the movie as being about grief, letting go of the past and moving on to a different life.  The movie is dark, moody and slow, and many will see it as depressing.  I look at the plot and the scenes I relate to on a very personal level and don’t see it as depressing as most people seem to.  

Edited August 15, 2021 by fpmtngal

[LarryN]

On 8/13/2021 at 7:05 PM, etcetera said:

what was that C-class in the film? (I had to resize it for forum to process it thus resolution is grainy)

 

at 23:47

I am not going to torture myself to go back and look at that movie, but would like to comment on the picture you posted. I am not completely sure but it looks more like an older "chassis mount" rig. Yes, before the US Congress came up with "Class A, Class B, etc", we had "trailers" and "pickup campers" and the "chassis mounts" came along after the slide ins, from my hazy memory. Yes, I assume, today it would be branded as a "vintage Class C". My folks had two chassis mounts after having two slide in pick up campers. Their first one was a "Dreamer" the second was a "Red Dale". Then they got into the Class C's, a descriptive that came about in the nick of time. They started with a Tioga, then a Dutchman.  Now, back to the discussion of the merits of Nomadland. 

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, LarryN said:

I am not going to torture myself to go back and look at that movie, but would like to comment on the picture you posted. I am not completely sure but it looks more like an older "chassis mount" rig. Yes, before the US Congress came up with "Class A, Class B, etc", we had "trailers" and "pickup campers" and the "chassis mounts" came along after the slide ins, from my hazy memory. Yes, I assume, today it would be branded as a "vintage Class C". My folks had two chassis mounts after having two slide in pick up campers. Their first one was a "Dreamer" the second was a "Red Dale". Then they got into the Class C's, a descriptive that came about in the nick of time. They started with a Tioga, then a Dutchman.  Now, back to the discussion of the merits of Nomadland. 

Chassis mount TC's had a space between the cab and camper, sometimes with a window and rubber boot that lined up with the cab rear window. The one in the movie is a cutaway cab and chassis Class C. Cutaway van chassis are typically used today, but years ago cutaway light duty truck chassis were not unusual.

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, LarryN said:

US Congress came up with "Class A, Class B, etc",

I have long wondered when and where the terms class A, Class B, and Class C began and who invented them? I have suspected that the terms came from inside of the RV manufacturing industry, but have been completely unable to find anything to confirm that belief, nor can I find any other explanation. I did find two histories, A Brief History of the RV, from Smithsonian Magazine and The History of Campers, from Volo Auto Museum, but neither of them address how or when those terms came into use. Would you mind sharing with us what government agency created those terms, when it was, and any other documentation that you may have? It is a question that I have heard discussed many times but this is the first time I have heard the source of the terms.

[Dutch_12078]

2 hours ago, Kirk W said:

I have long wondered when and where the terms class A, Class B, and Class C began and who invented them? I have suspected that the terms came from inside of the RV manufacturing industry, but have been completely unable to find anything to confirm that belief, nor can I find any other explanation. I did find two histories, A Brief History of the RV, from Smithsonian Magazine and The History of Campers, from Volo Auto Museum, but neither of them address how or when those terms came into use. Would you mind sharing with us what government agency created those terms, when it was, and any other documentation that you may have? It is a question that I have heard discussed many times but this is the first time I have heard the source of the terms.

I've emailed the question to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart tonight. I'll post any answer here...

[LarryN]

4 hours ago, Kirk W said:

I have long wondered when and where the terms class A, Class B, and Class C began and who invented them? I have suspected that the terms came from inside of the RV manufacturing industry, but have been completely unable to find anything to confirm that belief, nor can I find any other explanation. I did find two histories, A Brief History of the RV, from Smithsonian Magazine and The History of Campers, from Volo Auto Museum, but neither of them address how or when those terms came into use. Would you mind sharing with us what government agency created those terms, when it was, and any other documentation that you may have? It is a question that I have heard discussed many times but this is the first time I have heard the source of the terms.

Kirk, that was my bit of anarchist snidery. Actually it was the Tri Lateral Commision 😜 that determined those definitions around the time they flouridated water and caused my hair to fall out (except for around the ears and nostrils).

[etcetera]

On 8/14/2021 at 8:59 PM, fpmtngal said:

I guess everyone sees different things in the movie based on their life-experiences.  I agree that the flow of the movie was slow, but would disagree with you that there was no decision-making or character development.  Maybe it wasn’t character development in the normal use of the word, but there was definite character change to me.

Compare the first scene of Fern holding her late husband’s jacket to her chest for a moment, then putting it in a box and closing the door of her full storage unit.  One of the last scenes in the movie is of her smiling to her friend and saying that she doesn’t need any of the stuff in his pickup truck.  The first scene is a woman grieving, the later scene is a woman who has walked through the grief process and is no longer holding onto the past.  Definitely a change in character.

Fern makes a number of decisions about what type of life she wants - first her sister and then Dave offer her a more traditional, stable life.  She appears to be tempted by Dave’s offer, comparing what she has as a single woman on her own (sleeping in her van that night) with the life Dave is offering her.  She drives away - decision made.

Sorry you find the Arizona desert depressing - I love it and find it far less depressing than snow covered roofs and roads.  I seem to have transitioned from a mountain-girl to a desert rat over the past 2 years.

Everyone is different and this is a movie that each of us will see different things in.  I saw the movie as being about grief, letting go of the past and moving on to a different life.  The movie is dark, moody and slow, and many will see it as depressing.  I look at the plot and the scenes I relate to on a very personal level and don’t see it as depressing as most people seem to.  

 

Well, you make a good point

 

[etcetera]

On 8/14/2021 at 1:48 PM, sandsys said:

How much of that did you have in your RV life? Except for Fern and David, these were real people living their real lives.

Linda

Lots. I embraced the 'lifestyle' for several years.

Then quit. Embraced the 'norm'.  Got married and was forcefully divorced, which resulted in a brutal 8-year long custody fight.

Which I ultimately won.

Now didn't like what I got with normalcy 'status quo' and am in the process of coming back.

It took a long time. I try not to have regrets. I don't know where the other road would have taken me. Maybe nowhere.  Now reflecting and looking back, I was really happy being relatively poor, but young and free.

 

[etcetera]

I get the point about desert, there is something magical about waking up and being able to see in any direction, with 360 degree view.

A lot of people have gone to a desert for spiritual enlightenment, there is something mystical about it.

[Blues]

On 8/15/2021 at 4:29 PM, Kirk W said:

Would you mind sharing with us what government agency created those terms, when it was, and any other documentation that you may have? It is a question that I have heard discussed many times but this is the first time I have heard the source of the terms.

Thank you for asking the question.  Of course plenty of people don't bother reading an entire thread so they won't see the admission of bogosity, but as they say, if it keeps just one person from believing a falsehood, you've made a contribution.

[noteven]

...

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by noteven

[LarryN]

8 hours ago, Blues said:

Thank you for asking the question.  Of course plenty of people don't bother reading an entire thread so they won't see the admission of bogosity, but as they say, if it keeps just one person from believing a falsehood, you've made a contribution.

My admission was NOT "bogosity", but it was "snidery", possibly mixed in with "ramscallionry"...

[Solo18]

I read the book and did not see the movie.  It was certainly sad, but what I did like was the portrayal of the sense of community these "nomads" had.  They were not loaners completely escaping from society, but created one of their own making and to the best of their ability took care of one another. 

However, it says something about our society that older people do not have more resources to live their lives.  Working at Amazon or sugar beet harvests can be good job for some older people, but a lot of people are working in those hard, physical jobs who should not be. 

And I do love the desert and its long vistas.  It is not empty, as many people see it--you just have to look closely at it to see the beauty.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Solo18