20 years ago, Will Ferrell's 'Talladega Nights' predicted America's Sunbelt shift. The film, a free-wheeling gag showcase, introduced a blowhard racecar driver as a stand-in for President George W. Bush. Now, it has a lot to teach us about life in Donald Trump's America. The film's opening seconds peg the missing link between America's urban past and its exurban future, putting a quote about 'hot, nasty, badass speed' in the mouth of New York Swell Eleanor Roosevelt. The future was coming on fast, and it was dumb as a brick. We're now living in Ricky Bobby's world. The culture and politics of the Sunbelt, or 'America B', is inescapable. From Stanley cups to dirty soda franchises, everything's a little bit more SEC and a little less Ivy in 2026. Gen Z is pushing back against influencers, delighting in Obama-era signifiers like frozen yogurt and fighting off the 'tradwife' trend. While we've been racing on a closed loop for the last two decades, the cyclical nature of politics and culture will bring us back to the starting line faster than you might expect.
