The Herald Bulletin
Most of us have seen TV’s “COPS,” the long-running reality show that became so popular that its parody, “Reno 911,” has survived for five seasons.
We’ve seen sports shows where NASCAR driver Tony Stewart pitched a fit on the track or where Indy car racer Danica Patrick stormed through the pits.
Splice those together and you’ve got “Dirty Driving: Thundercars of Indiana,” a 68-minute HBO documentary that debuted Thursday night. The stars are stock car drivers at Anderson Speedway, each financially struggling in a time of economic uncertainty.
As depicted on HBO, Anderson is a ghost town with a landscape of “For Sale” signs and closed factories. This vision has been on national TV before.
In the 1980s, Ted Koppel’s “Nightline” portrayed Anderson as empty of factories and a place where beer healed all wounds.
Again, according to “Dirty Driving,” this city is dismal, an impossible place to find a job.
Filmed during the 2005-06 racing season, there are no shots of the pre-casino Hoosier Park, upscale homes or attractive parks. The film crew did not update footage with Nestle’s presence, the casino or interviews with anyone outside the racing community to explain economic conditions.
Those tight times are at the core of the drivers’ lives. The financial straits can be a source of aggravation; the track is a spot where they vent with profanity-filled tension.
We also recognize these drivers are vital to the Speedway’s success. They risk life and limb but they also risked credibility, maybe some responsibility, by agreeing to be followed by a camera crew.
One of these dirty drivers, in comments made to a Herald Bulletin reporter outside of the documentary, thought this slice-of-life film could spur the local economy. The driver thought business and industry would locate here because we’re in such an economic downward spiral.
He thought the documentary could help save Anderson.
But industry looks for tax incentives, affordable labor and easy distribution routes — not a community in shambles.
A major manufacturer who looks at “Dirty Driving” will see residents with very earthy traits: One likes his moonshine, another taunts the paying Speedway crowd after he wins a race and one racer’s wife has a rather vocal disagreement with another woman in a tavern.
Barroom arguments, obscenity-filled squabbles and homemade moonshine are not the incentives that encourage economic development. Unfortunately, the image portrayed will be seen around the world, including DVD sales and HBO broadcasts.
The national media has hurt us again. This time, with the help of some of our neighbors.
