Easy rider is an American road film written in 1969. It was written by Dennis Hopper, Terry southern and Peter Fonda. The movie producer was Peter while its director was Hopper. It tells about Wyatt and Billy who are Bikers were travelling the south western America and South aiming at achieving freedom which was branded " in search of America" (Biskind, 1999). It was successfully launched and sparked a phase in Hollywood film making. The effects of this movie have sparked a lot of controversies and debates. Many critics have come up and assert that the movie is built on the basis of contrast. Critique has also been leveled against what they term as ideological conflicts in the film. This ranges from Hippies vs. the rednecks, drugs vs. booze, peace vs. violence and it also reveals some very sharp personal differences (Caputo, 2000).
The movie plot speaks a lot about the Nature of America. The two Bikers are touring the land of America carrying a tank of dope; they are fully living the dream of rugged individuality and liberty. The movie is a music video of the counterculture of the 1960s. In addition it serves as a surprising honest view of the counter culture movement which it represents. Though, Billy and Wyatt are decidedly of the experience of 1960s, the way in which they portray that experience is free from the exuberantly romanticized tone that is a characteristic of many other films tha5t follow it.
This movie release in the late 1960s is a journey in search of freedom in the then Corrupt and conformist America amidst bigotry, violence and paranoia. It was released in the reign of assassinations: Martin Luther King and R. Kennedy, the era of the Vietnam War build up and the election of Nixon. The tone reflects the collapse of the idealistic America of 1960s (Colley, 2000). It is a film starring Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. It was best selling to the American youth due to its reflection and focus on the liberation hopes of the American youth and also its focus on their fears of establishment. On the way, the protagonists, Billy and Wyatt, after crushing a parade in a small town, they find themselves in the drunken tank. It is in this where they meet the alcoholic attorney George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) (Fonda, 2003). He negotiates for the release of this two and in exchange for accompanying in the tour to New Orleans.
The American Campaigns of the 1988 were marked by an era of laxness. George Bush, a Presidential candidate then, used the movie to give an analogy of this passing era. He charismatically declared that the US had a happy easy going and then entered a tougher and hard Dirty Harry Era (Biskind, 1999).
The movie Easy Rider dominated the campaigns of this time. Bush made himself categorical that, the Reagan administration had turned the philosophy of the 1970s.The permissive philosophy in question was that of easy ride into drugs and crime. Though Bush from his speech is like condemning the Easy rider movie, the movie did not create its imaginary America but only casted the evils of drug peddling and use and the rampant crime in America during that time into the screen. As such in Bush way of thinking, they were like cleansing an American culture created in time of the Easy Rider movie regime. This led to Jeremy's complaining that no movie is responsible for what America was like but rather a picture and for that matter a screen picture of the way America was. This led to the question as to whether the movie Easy Rider created celluloid US of its own (Frederic P Miller, 2010).
On release, this movie was a generational statement. This was a critical statement on America then. It was such an explosion in the American lives and movie industry. This movie just like the Novel on the Road by Jack Kerouac's proudly legitimized several new topics of the American System. This included subjects like casual drugs, crime and sex and the questioning of the American system, mostly social evils (Jeziak). This movie received much commentaries some as critique and others like congratulations. A critic by the name Vincent Canby said that, this movie was not great at all but it was accurate if it's overstated dramatization of what many people fear more so the youth who were greatly surprised to see the flawed system revealed. This seems to be what angered the hawks of the Reagan's Administration such as George Bush (Jeziak).
The analogical illusion by Bush in using the film in 1988 after such long time is driving to the question of the long-term and far reaching effects of this movie. Bush used this movie as a representation of an American attitude that is discarded. The movie as at today is interpreted differently and it shows different dimension of the counter culture. It was perceived by on its release as many as a political cry to counter the American culture then. This has presently changed and many see it as a tool that revealed the foolishness of the counter culture movement of the 1960s (Peter Fonda, 1969).As such we see the characters in a different perspective today because we also see the Youth movement then differently.
The movie Easy ride has lent itself to much ridicule as time passes by. This is what the Parody of this movie film by Albert Brooks Lost in America shows. In this Parody, Lost in America, a yuppie couple auctions their property so as to acquire a mobile home. In this their new home on wheels they begin to search for America. It is in course of their search that the Husband turns out to be areal Easy rider and fully exploits the fantasies of this movie. The couple is stopped for over speeding by a easy riding fanatic traffic officer. This Parody is a dichotomy between the ensuing reality faced by the youth as they grow up and the virtual fantasy that is presented by Easy Rider to the youth of America. The humor is generated by the satirical mind frame that brought Garry Trudeau's Zonker to rise. Many critics to this movie allege the uninformed nature of the film. Critics such as "dated miserably" can lead one to believe that the film is such uninformed which ideally is not the same. This film is rich in celebrating the romantic individualism that was in the youth movement (Biskind, 1999). However, it is within this celebration that we get a clever and thoughtful warning: the film whether dated or not it fails to present well the quest of if irresponsible and excessive individualism could pose some adverse effects. For instance in the film the scene at the commune serves a good illustration of this case. Hopper seems to be in the horns of dilemma and as such he presents to the audience an ambiguity on judgment of the lifestyle that is presented by the scene before him. The commune at first glance seems to be a good option that reminds us of the soil movement in the film as in our daily bread during the time of the great depression. This sequence is more romanticized by the camera in use. Both films Easy Rider and as in our daily bread are suggestive of the problems of collectivism in communes and extended family as alternative ways to lifestyle. The protagonists in this movie Billy and Wyatt express interest but they cannot choose such collective lifestyle. This is due to the reason that it is hard and above all this film presents it as unattractive. At thi9s scene, the commune after an invitation by a commune member to stay due to time factor, Billy wants to go but Wyatt is not ready to go. However, the question is to go where?
This movie is not void of shortcomings. It raises very many questions and also the undefined hippiedom is an issue seeking answers. Easy Rider affected the image of many on the straightness of America. Their image of a straight America was greatly affected. On the other hand, the protagonists, Billy and Wyatt have been contrasted with the beings of the straight world (Jeziak). The looks and appearances of the 1960s of long hair and freedom and the culture of the rock music have become more preferred than the looks of the straight America. This has led to the change in culture, looks, appearances and ideals. Using the cadence and the cultural language of the 1960s, the movie author, Hopper, tapped a thing that has inter period effects in that it ran deeper into many eras. The root of the American possibility is the major aim in this movie (Biskind, 1999).
The actors Billy and Wyatt at one time stop by a rancher's house so as to make a flat tire. This conveys a contrast in two lifestyles here; Billy and Wyatt's lifestyle with motorbikes and that of the rancher and the horse. It is dinner time at the Ranchers home and the two Billy and Wyatt have joined them. Wyatt and the rancher are conversing when Wyatt tells him that not everyone can live off in America doing his personal things at his time. Though full of praise the words of Wyatt are not convincing indicating that this was not his lifestyle. This brings to the conclusion that this movie was acting as a travel poster for the new found America to encourage Americans to solely work hard in search for their real lifestyle (Colley, 2000). It opens as a hymn in the vast and literally desolate America and closes in a tragic vision of the longed for American dream.
Easy rider in its vision for America found new mass market that was not imagined before. It was a movie valued at $60million. It was an eye opener to many ventures in the movie industry that an independent movie could sail through the market and make money. It was shot within a week and with a low budget of as low as $375000 and another $180000 used for its post production. It was such a revolution in the movie industry of America.
The movie soundtrack was also full of novelty. The rock songs acting as the film background were carefully selected fitting the story of the movie. It also helped commenting the action that is occurring at every stage. It has also helped in defining the roots and future of a great American film star: Jack Nicholson (Fonda, 2003).
This movie acts as a bridge between the schlock films of the 1970s and the cinemas of 1970s. Other movies that this film helped to bring to the limelight include Walking Tall, and the Dirty Harry among others. It brings the two protagonists Wyatt and Billy on screen. They used Motorbikes in search of America. They ride from the East to West rather than the converse yet they are searching America what an irony.
The two protagonists in this movie go along way in explaining the America of 1960s. They then disguise as drug barons who make enough money form the sale of drugs in Los Angeles so As to cover a trip to New Orleans for pleasure. Their movement from East to West smacks the interests of Americans to retrace the foot prints back to their cradle land. It tells the youth of America to go east if they want to find America: a logical direction for an ambitious youth seeking his origin and the core of America. The direction of their movement speaks a lot about America and its ideologies then.
Billy and Wyatt from a biological point of view are aged: not young however in their action, they adhere to the cult of youthfulness and childishness. In so doing, Easy rider carefully reflects on the youth culture as at that time (Jeziak). It takes great measures in inventing and redefining the youth culture by then. For instance, the use of low-slung choppers inspired and determined later designs of the motorcycles and also bicycles. The attire in which these two protagonists in the movie clad inspired greatly the fashion industry design at later stages. However, the greatest evil that the Easy Rider had on the youth was the effect that it sought to push for legitimizing drugs. The whole sequence of events from the sale of drugs in Los Angeles to the tour to New Orleans from the right thinking members of the society is an advertisement on drugs rather than a warning on drugs. It was also the first movie to show drug use as a virtue rather than a vice in the society. This is not their idea; this is a strong indicator that drug use was the order of the day in America then. This is in total contrary to the fundamental laws that build America. It is the scene at which Billy introduces Wyatt to Cannabis Sativa that pulls the eyes and the ears of the potential drug user (Biskind, 1999). In the film, they show that drug dealings are not in any way regarded as unethical and illegal. Billy makes the point that, "dope peddling" is no worse "than the Wall Street tycoon spending eighty percent of his time cheating the government."(Easy Rider)
This is what leads to George Bush's argument later in 1988 that some young college students don't believe that drug use is improper and unethical and observes that, the movies of 1960s brainwashed them to believe the contrary. Towards the end of this movie, Wyatt tells Billy that they have blown it. These words are said to have caused great debate on the meaning of it. Presently the audience is probably able to clearly understand the whole issue. A keen audience today can fully agree to it that truly they have made it (blown it).
