Journeying through the road movie genre, from Bonnie and Clyde to Little Miss Sunshine

Originally published November 28, 2017

Last week, actor Bryan Cranston dropped by q to chat about his latest role in Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying. In it, Cranston plays a Vietnam War veteran travelling across the country with old friends to get to a funeral. It's what some may categorize as a road movie — the kind of film where characters leave home on a train, plane or automobile, and gain a new perspective while in transit. 

Movies like Little Miss Sunshine, The Grapes of Wrath and Transamerica are also road movies. David Laderman teaches film studies at the College of San Mateo and he's also the author of Driving Visions: Explore the Road Movie. Today, he'll give us a lesson in Road Movies 101 with his handy gateway into the movie genre. 

— Produced by Shannon Higgins