America, in the midst of paranoia, bigotry and
violence. Released in the year of the Woodstock concert, and made in a year of
two tragic assassinations (Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King), the Vietnam
War buildup and Nixon's election, the tone of this 'alternative' film is
remarkably downbeat and bleak, reflecting the collapse of the idealistic 60s. Easy Rider, one of the first films of its kind, was a ritualistic experience
and viewed (often repeatedly) by youthful audiences in the late 1960s as a
reflection of their realistic hopes of liberation and fears of the
Establishment.
The iconographic,
'buddy' film, actually minimal in terms of its artistic merit and plot, is both
memorialized as an image of the popular and historical culture of the time and
a story of a contemporary but apocalyptic journey by two self-righteous,
drug-fueled, anti-hero (or outlaw) bikers eastward through the American
Southwest. Their trip to, but also through areas where local residents are
increasingly narrow-minded and hateful of their long-haired freedom and use of
drugs. The film's title refers to their rootlessness and ride to make
"easy" money; it is also slang for a pimp who makes his livelihood
off the earnings of a prostitute. However, the film's original title was The Loners.
The names of the two
main characters, Wyatt and Billy, suggest the two memorable Western outlaws
Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid - or 'Wild Bill' Hickcock. Rather than traveling
westward on horses as the frontiersmen did, the two modern-day cowboys travel
eastward from Los Angeles - the end of the traditional frontier - on decorated
Harley-Davidson choppers on an epic journey into the unknown for the 'American
dream'.
A man went looking for
America and couldn't find it anywhere.
Their costumes combine
traditional patriotic symbols with emblems of loneliness, criminality and
alienation - the American flag, cowboy decorations, long-hair, and drugs.
Scared
of Highway Riding
Blue_FairySeptember 12, 2006
I am scared of Highway riding, and still,
daily street riding in Traffic. I have taken the MSF Rider Safety Course, and
have only 212 miles on my new 800cc motorcycle.
I got on the highway last night at 3:30 A.M.,
and stayed to the right for awhile as I felt scared and then promptly exited. I
couldn't get the bike to go faster than 50 MPH because of the fear I felt when
the vibration and the wind took hold of me ...this at 50 mph, only, lol. I
learned to lean into the wind, which helps, but the vibration and the whine of
the bike and wind....everything seems so crazy fast and unstable kindof.....at
50mph, only....am I nuts? I have a death grip on the handle bars and am fearful
of blowing away!
We Go Way Too Fast
A few motorcyclists just read that heading and thought something
like "Fuck yeah, we go too fast! We're daredevils, bro. You suckers can
keep your cages, we're free." (Yes, some bikers refer to cars as "cages,"
because literally everything has its embarrassing elitist jerks.) But I'm not
talking about the reckless velocity of dudes without enough brain cells to
comprehend mortality. I meant exactly what I said: "We all go
way too fast."
