“Nomadland” and the Upsetting Reality it Represents
Sometimes it’s easier to walk through life ignoring the challenges faced by others because you’re overwhelmed with your own. But, just because we don’t see or understand someone’s struggles doesn’t stop them from existing. In 2017, noted journalist Jessica Bruder brought one such issue to light with devastating clarity in her book “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century,” which focuses on a community of people who are forced to live in their cars and travel constantly in search of work.
With the recent release of the critically acclaimed film of the same name, the problem has come back under the public eye, and it’s worth talking about.
A ride worth talking about: The 2021 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Understanding “Nomadland”
For several years, Bruder traveled with people who live in their cars, vans, or RVs — generally not out of choice but out of necessity. She stayed with them, she worked with them, and she became friends with them. Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-nominated adaptation follows a fictional character named Fern, who is played masterfully by Frances McDormand. But, it also prominently features many of the so-named nomads Bruder profiled in her book as dramatized versions of themselves.
Throughout the film, we see a unique combination of emotions in each of the characters. Fern — who was forced to move into her vehicle when her husband died and the company town she lived in was condemned by the corporation that ran it — is fiercely proud of her home on wheels. One woman laments her terminal cancer diagnosis, even as she celebrates the freedom that van-life has afforded her. Eventually, the nomads find community and some measure of comfort, united by their transient lifestyle.
Why it matters
There’s a certain western-style appeal to living on the open road with nothing and nobody to tie you down. But, no matter how comfortable and spacious modern vehicles may be, there’s a tough truth that needs to be addressed — especially considering the pandemic-related rent issues many Americans are facing.
The vast majority of the nomads featured in Zhao’s film didn’t wake up one day and choose to live out of their cars. Maybe the prohibitive cost of college-level education and the looming specter of crushing debt prevented them from attaining the qualifications necessary to get a well-paying job. Maybe they got stuck with massive medical bills when loved ones took ill. Maybe their whole town literally got shut down. More likely than not, their retirement benefits weren’t enough to live on, or they never had the financial freedom to retire at all.
Don’t let my use of past tense fool you. People are living in their cars at this very moment, thankful for shelter, but abandoned by a country that claimed to care for them.
The point being that the Chevy Tahoe may look like an apartment on wheels, but our society should never force someone into a situation where they actually have to make it one in order to survive.
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