In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

30 ARRAYS
school's isolated location in rural Massachusetts and of the (never explicitly
mentioned) moral dangers that are associated with transportation
by automobile: "(1) A student may always motor with a woman
during the daytime. (2) In both daytime, and evening until 10:00 P.M., a
student may motor with members of her immediate family or her guardian,
close relatives (except those from M.A.C. and Amherst College),
alumnae with their families, trustees, and members of the faculty and
staff. Other students may be included. With the exception of this, all
students must have permission and a chaperone for motoring in the
evening" (Handbook, 31).
In Spain, the Ford Motor Company tries to conquer the emerging
automobile market by appealing to the self-image of the "modern
woman." "For the woman of today, who counts among her hobbies that
of going for a ride and driving the car herself, we offer this Ford Torpedo
two-seater model" (Blanco y Negro, back page). For male passengers, in
contrast, automobile rides without any practical purpose are regarded as
absurd. Such, at least, is what the behavior of a strictly business-oriented
Madrid taxi driver indicates to one of his more leisured customers: "This
fashion of making a return trip for no other reason than to enjoy the sun
and air was incomprehensible to my driver; it increased the disgust and
annoyance he undoubtedly already felt in response to my strange appearance"
(Blanco y Negro, 49). Intellectuals-particularly intellectuals in
technologically less advanced countries-admire emotional distance and
technical competence regarding the everyday functions of the automobile
even more than they admire record speeds and luxury cars. Traveling in
Brazil, Filippo Marinetti pleases a young local journalist by describing
his experience of the lively traffic in the streets of Rio de Janeiro: "Rio
de Janeiro impresses me with a combination of phenomena that is unique
in the world. Against the background of its tropical exuberance, it shows
all the magnificent dynamism of contemporary life. For someone who
adores movement and speed as much as I do, the loud and intense bustle
of the traffic and of the teeming, restless masses is an incomparable joy"
(Buarque de Holanda, 80). In similarly vibrant terms, Walter Benjamin
dedicates his book Einbahnstra(5e to the Soviet woman he worships:
"This street is called / Asja Lacis Street / after her who / as an engineer /
bulldozed it through the author." [see Engineers] Under the heading
"Tankstelle" ("Filling Station"), he then uses the functioning of engines
as a metaphor for the role of opinions in everyday life: "Opinions are,