Diverse and alternative economic practice in the Trailer Park Boys series, 2002–2018

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Trailer Park Boys series has received academic attention, much of which has been overtly critical. This study utilizes Gibson-Graham’s diverse economies framework to evaluate the show and its film adaptations. It argues that the show exemplifies alternative and informal economic practices which include alternative (non-capitalistic) businesses; substitute employee payment modes; alternative currencies; unpaid labor; and varying non-market practices, the most common being theft. These resident-led practices aid characters with multiple identities and worker roles in surviving a life bound by limited opportunity of formal work. In chorus with illegal and legal economic schemes, the community economy of Sunnyvale Trailer Park stimulates ethical decision-making in character interactions and in decision-making around topics such as surplus labor and profit management. Ecologically, various characters have reconstituted their relationship with their waste-filled area of residence, and some have gone as far as to provide provisional public goods to other park residents.