The late 1960s in America were marked by social upheaval caused by various factors, both social and political. Among these, one can remember the student movements in the USA and Europe, the ongoing war in Vietnam, the assassinations of President Kennedy and national hero of the USA, Martin Luther King, and the legendary concert in Woodstock.
All of these events provoked the emergence of feelings of paranoia, intolerance, and increasing violence. This was a period of social protests; young people rejected the conventional way of living and, as a reaction, developed their own counterculture – the hippie movement. This movement supported an active way of living, traveling, accepted drugs as a lifestyle, and adored rock music.
Easy Rider,” directed by Dennis Hopper, is a typical road movie. In the center of the picture, there are two young and free bikers on the open road – Wyatt (played by Peter Fonda) and Billy (played by Dennis Hopper). They have earned a huge sum of money by selling cocaine and are now traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Both on Harley Davidson motorcycles, they look like the cowboys from American westerns.
On their way to New Orleans, which is their actual destination, they encounter a hippie commune. Later on, they meet George Hanson (played by Jack Nicholson), and thus there are already three of them. Later, George is killed by some gang because of their unconventional appearance and their involvement in the hippie movement. The two other heroes, or actually anti-heroes, continue their wander in the search for freedom. Unfortunately, all they could find is no more than ennui and social intolerance.
It is a film that portrays how young people, having failed to understand their goals in society, conduct an uncomplicated living style. (Actually, “easy ride” is a term used to denote a man who lives off a woman, probably a prostitute, using the money she gives him.) They try to find ephemeral freedom; however, in the background, one can discern general solitude, alienation, and ennui. In order to acquire a thorough grasp of how the young people are submerged into solitude, alienation, and ennui while continuing to conduct a “free” and easy way of living, one must first look at the way the film contemplates the shallowness and menace of the so-called freedom with all its “anything-goes.”
Another point is the revelation of the social problems that underlie relations based on the two parallels of supply and demand, which in the long run bring about society’s longing for easy money. Another important issue that adds to the general ennui disguised by the seeming carelessness is the revelation of drug treatment as a bridge to disclosing human inhumanness.
The technique of confusing scenes and times is masterfully utilized to achieve the brisk and jerky lifestyle of the characters. To support the idea of the futility of the dream pursued by the heroes, the author puts this idea into Wyatt’s own words and ends the film with death, as there is no better way out with such a beginning.
The revelation of social relations is based on the two parallels of supply and demand, which in the long run bring about deplorable consequences. The search for easy money is the opening for the picture. Wyatt and Billy make a successful drug deal, take possession of their profit, and start their journey, which will ultimately bring them nowhere. Easy Rider destroys the prejudiced conviction that only an honorable, decent character with charming appearance and dignified manners can be the protagonist of a deductive story.
Actually, here Hopper presents quite opposite characters in the lead roles, drawing audience attention to their struggles with society and its rules and norms. The film is much like a reflection of the situation within American society at that time. Elements such as drugs, free love, and rock-n-roll music are exploited here in a variegated manner. Besides, the authors could not have neglected violent scenes and skinny-dipping, which were widespread phenomena of the hippie era.
To emphasize the alienation felt throughout the story, the director chooses a peculiar environment for the film events. The setting of the film constantly conveys the feelings of solitude, alienation, and ennui. The film is replete with scenery of parched areas with no living beings present, and only some garbage can be found there as a symbol of American throw-away style of living and American society of total consumers. This depressive picture is only sometimes diluted with cinematographically marvelous episodes of sunset that fill the desert with purple light.
The feeling of alienation is intensified with the sociological issues of intolerance exploited in the movie. The intolerant attitude of people from the place where Wyatt and Billy have arrived is a reaction to the invasion of alien non-conventional elements into a well-established society, for which conformity with social norms is something like an unbreakable law. That is why the strangers on glowing Harleys, with “star and stripes” bandanas over their long hair, are taken as degenerating representatives of the hippie movement that are surely harmful to American moral values. For the same reason of being different and feeling free, all three characters find their death by the end of the film. Their path in search of freedom and an easy life appears to be endless and finally leads them nowhere.
The feeling of alienation is also amplified by the psychological coloring of the movie. The human relationships presented in the movie do not seem to be genuine or profound. The feeling of superficiality accompanies the episode with the hippie commune where people who joined it were aiming for freedom, but finally turned into selfish, obtuse individuals stuck in narcotic oblivion. The relationship between Wyatt and Billy also lacks genuineness. Their friendship is deprived of sensuality, and the fact that the actors were under the influence of marijuana while performing in the film only strengthened the alienation between the characters. Their conversations are sometimes meaningless, do not correspond to the context, and bestow upon their relationship a sense of weirdness.
The film approaches the issue of drug-taking with a hint of irony. It aims to convey the idea that the fear of drug users is a greater threat than drugs themselves. Moreover, by discussing drug issues, this film brings us closer to the message that people are inclined to neglect those who are different from them. Thus, by this behavior, they deepen the abyss between them. In addition, they do not accept the views of those people and dehumanize them.
The surroundings of the main characters in the film, particularly the guys who violently persecute Wyatt, Billy, and George, are not going to treat the bikers seriously. They support their attitude by pointing out outward features that are non-acceptable, such as their hairstyle, dressing, and drug use. These weak explanations seem to be sufficient to expel the men from society. Who can remember the idea of all men being created equal?
The past, present, and future are inexplicably interconnected in the picture. For this purpose, a transitional technique is used in the film. The next scene is shown in a quick cut, and then the previous scene is shown again before returning to the next scene. This process often repeats several times, creating a flashing effect of the two different scenes with quick jumps. The bigger these jumps are in the film, the more burning the motorbikes appear when observed from a recessive bird’s-eye view.
Although this method underlies the personal vision of the future, it stylistically matches the described time-spanned scraps. The film narrative informs that the future is available now in the present, and though there is some aim set, fate is involved in its obtaining. The innovative element in Easy Rider is the high documentary content of the movie. The film deals with the described story, while its beautiful and dangerous side scenes – the landscapes, cities, towns, and villages, as well as the figures who act in it – are highly authentic. Through this concept, as well as through the story of two hippies, the non-fictional American reality is measured.
After the scene at a cemetery with two young prostitutes, when Wyatt and Billy are once again on the road, the movie approaches its denouement. Billy’s excitement about what they did and the fact that they could be regarded as happy evokes from Wyatt only a cryptic remark: “We blew it.” In this way, he expresses his understanding of the vanity of their nomadism. This dialogue sends a message about the pointless pursuit of an unknown aim called freedom and wealth that eventually turns into disappointment. To put an end to their aimless and corrupt living, both wanderers are killed by some scoundrels. The final scene, when Wyatt’s motorbike is flying into the air, disintegrating as it flies and bursting into flames, is one of the most wonderful shots made by a camera at high speed.
To conclude, one must think about the reason why the young generation of that restless epoch aspires to lead an easy living style, seeks freedom, and is generally involved in what seems like quite harmless affairs but suffers defeat and has a constant feeling of being solitary in an alienated surrounding. The possible answer is that this is the price for unattainable freedom. It’s exactly what Hanson states in some episodes: “What you represent to them is freedom… It’s real hard to be free when you’re bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don’t ever tell anybody they’re not free ’cause they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ to prove to you that they are.”
Reference.
- Easy Rider, directed by Dennis Hopper, was released in 1969 by Columbia TriStar.
