The summer of 1969 was such a turbulent time in America that its effects are still lingering 50 years later. The idealized 1950's domesticated life of the suburban family was being thrust into upheaval with the highly divisive Vietnam War. The hippie movement was in full blossom as the music festival to end all music festivals, Woodstock, was born with the unspeakable evils of recreational drug use and pre-marital sex infiltrating America's youth. Hollywood also changed that summer, shifting from the expensive staged settings of Dorris Day vehicles and Leave it to Beaver feel good parables to a more grounded and realistic portrayal of the American experience. Easy Rider gave voice to a new generation being under-represented on the big screen. It sparked the New Hollywood movement, opening the doors for avant-garde filmmakers to usher in the golden age of cinema. All it took was a couple of hippies on motorcycles and a gas tank full of cocaine blazing a trail across the country that would change the landscape forever.
Part of what makes Easy Rider such an enduring viewing experience is how human it is. Unlike the Sound of Music or Lawrence of Arabia or any other massive Hollywood production of the time, Easy Rider feels incredibly real. It's like stumbling onto an old photo album. No make-up, no stark lighting, no artificial staging about it. And while there's been a lot said about the recklessness of Hopper's guerrilla filmmaking approach, with an almost entirely improvised script and around 80 hours of footage that took close to a year to whittle down to a cohesive 90 minute film - I think it may actually be what makes the film stand the test of time so well. Especially now in the smartphone age of everyone being hellbent on capturing every moment they're apart of, Easy Rider captures the summer of 1969 and all the turmoil and experimentation that went with it perfectly. Rather than trying to recreate what Hollywood wants to sell you as 1969 America, Easy Rider takes you there.
Just like Saturday Night Fever is so much more than a film about disco dancing or Boogie Nights isn't just a movie about porn - the motorcycles in Easy Rider are completely ancillary. The film is about the counterculture rising in the 1960's and disillusionment with the American dream. But Easy Rider never chastises or preaches at you; you're merely a passenger on the back of Captain America's chopper as he meanders through the ever-changing American landscape. The film definitely casts a harsh light on the state of the country but it also makes a point to go out of its way to celebrate what's great about it as well. The beautifully sweeping, purple desert sunset synced up to the music of The Band's "The Weight" is some of the most breathtaking scenery you'll ever see on film. And while the movie opens with a drug deal, the early pit-stop where Billy and Wyatt put a new tire on their bike while a farmhand simultaneously puts a new horseshoe on his horse is there to illustrate their similarities - that these two aren't villains. They're just like the anti-hero cowboys from earlier that decade. They just ride motorcycles instead of horses. They admire the rancher for being able to live off the land and have as much freedom to do what he wants. Wyatt even has an American flag stitched onto his leather jacket and painted on the gas tank of his bike. Easy Rider is as much a commentary on what's wrong with American as it is a celebration of all the great things our country can and should be.
But they also obviously stumble into a lot of what's wrong with it as well. Whether its the starving, free love eccentrics drugged into complacency at a Manson-esque commune or when Billy and Wyatt find themselves imprisoned for parading without a permit by a bunch of "weirdo hicks" in the South. They find themselves caught between two extremes not entirely dissimilar to the social and political climate of today. Which is why honestly, when pressed to compare Easy Rider to a modern day contemporary, I think the closest we may have gotten since would be Borat. Both shook the industry with their unconventional presentation and deliver poignant messages through a road trip across America exposing the undercurrent of prejudice still thriving in our country. But what Easy Rider lacks in full frontal male nudity it makes up for in an impeccable cast, stellar cinematography and a script that still resonates 50 years later.
And while everyone remembers Easy Rider for Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, it's a young breakout star by the name of Jack Nicholson that absolutely steals the show. His campfire speech about individual freedom and the fear that drives intolerance followed by his brutal murder by the ignorant locals best summarize the entire film in one sequence. The journey feels sort of soul-less after Nicholson's departure and helps to set the tone for the lost and empty finale when our heroes finally make it to Mardi Gras. Wyatt and Billy make it to their huge payday with a celebration highlighted by dropping acid in a whorehouse and the trip inevitably turns ugly. They stumble into the streets and find themselves in a graveyard facing the vapid nature of their quest for fortune as they still lack any sense of closure or purpose. The emptiness of their quest is finally punctuated with Wyatt's iconic line "we blew it" as he finally realizes the greed at the core of the American Dream they've been rebelling against is also what was driving their own venture as well. The comedown is harsh and incredibly sobering, especially the final knockout punch when Billy and Wyatt meet their demise.
It's a fitting encapsulation of the American experience and isn't limited to 1969 by any means. The themes at play in Easy Rider are just as relevant today and the symbolism for the American Dream are absolutely timeless. Easy Rider set the stage for the most prolific period in American cinema by changing what and how a movie could be made. You no longer needed a sound stage, staggering budget, orchestral soundtrack or heavy handed dialogue to create a film impactful enough that it can stand the test of time for 50 years. It took filmmaking out of the hands of the studios and put it into the hands of the filmmakers. A truly groundbreaking film that has a permanent place in our country's cultural zeitgeist and cinematic history.
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