Ever since Huck Finn took his friends down the Mississippi River on a raft, American men have created and consumed fantasies of setting out with their males friends for parts unknown, or of traveling in an all-male group to have adventures closer to home. In the 1950’s, Jack Kerouac took his buddy careening across the country in On the Road.
远自赫克·芬恩带着一帮哥们，撑着木筏沿密西西比河顺流而下开始，美国人就已经创造并消费着一种与男性同伴一起探索无名之地，或一群男人共同在家园附近历险的幻想。在1950年的小说《在路上》中，杰克·凯鲁亚克与几个弟兄横越了美国大陆。十年以后，肯·凯西与他那帮自称“快乐调皮鬼”的哥们开着一辆自己粉刷过的巴士（当然车上也不乏搭便车的美女）又从相反的方向穿越了这个国家。