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Summary Of Taken For A Ride

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We watched “Taken for a ride” documentary that finally gave an answer to my inquiries about American transportation. I am European and, before, I never quite understood why Americans use drive-ups, rather than doing healthy walking, and—why sitting in traffic for them seems natural, except for the fact that they have so big road arteries and easy free parking spaces, that function as incentive to drive, not to forget that gas prices (very high in Europe) here are very cheap. Moreover, since I started using the bus to commute to campus, I had an impression of some kind of stigma enveloping the bus system, as if it is in use for poor and minorities.
The movie is a semi- historical document, explaining the trends in contemporary American life, an investigative report on a set of social problems and their causes. Issues like our over-reliance on cars and the failures of public transportation to meet the needs of people. The historical causes are identified in General Motors ' projects to shape American life around its own interests. Again, we are talking Capitalism! The documentary is well evidence based on archive documents. Central concerns are on infrastructure and how business interests shape public policy.
The first part shows (General Motor) G. M. 's role in the 1930s and 1940s dismantling of streetcars and taking the space for a bus company. This strategy was intended to push more people into driving cars, since buses were a poor substitute for the streetcars. The

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