Dave Gorman in America unchained

"Having become disillusioned during previous visits to the US by the procession of identikit, cookie cutter chain hotels he was staying in and the corporate face of America they revealed, Gorman hatched a plan: return to America; buy a second-hand car; then drive from coast to coast without spending any money in the chains.

He would refuel at dusty gas stations on remote highways, eat cherry pie from local diners and shop at Mom & Pop's grocery store. At least that was the idea. But when did you last see an independent gas station?"

This programme last night was very shocking at how much America is ran by huge multi-natoinal companies that just bombard towns with there huge stores benefiting from the econimies of scale consequently can charge les than local indepent shops, garages, resturants you name it theres an American chain with its name blasted into society. Although this programme was not difrectly relevant to my project throughout the programme when Dave Gorman meet with many people there were lots of interesting conversations about how these chains just frow money at everything and have no care in the world for its tiny independent competitors trying to crush them with every move they make. An independent gas station that was established by a steryotypical American family had been running for 30 years but spent 20 of them fighting against profesional lawers and sales merchants to ployed by an American chain to try and buy there gas station because it was taking a small percentage of there customers. They were offered the chance to be bought out for sums of money that started at $120,000 and when up each attempt, they were given the chance to become partners with this chain or the over option was that they would do everything in there power and with their money to put this gas station out of business.

When I was watching this programme I was constanly reminded of American film production companies such as Warner Brothers and how they are so wealthy they can just munipulate many other production companies with their vast amounts of cash to either join them in world domination or just get crushed under their path. Its just an example to the differeances between American internatinal conglomerate film companies and Brithish independants as one has so much money its products are reaching in excess of a billion pounds, in comparision if an independant Brithish film company such as warp films had that amount of a budget they wouldnt know what to do with it as they could make hundreds of films with the budget of just one American production.