Appeal of 1960s Counterculture Film "Easy Rider"

Film critic Charles Champlin notes that while all films take their place in cultural history, Easy Rider ôwas instant history, blurring the lines between art and the strident, divisive realities of the 60sö (29). Film historian/American culture critic Robert Sklar calls Easy Rider the landmark movie of 1969, ôa film about two heroin dealers who take the profits from their last sale and motorcycle across America, looking for meaning to their lives, to a background sound track of contemporary rock-music hits.ö The film ôcaptured the imagination of young audiences who identified the cyclersÆ rootlessness and alienation from American society with their ownö (302). While numerous young people became activists trying to change society, others just dropped out of conventional society.

The two cyclers in Easy Rider represent the drop-out outlook of many young people of their generation, an out

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The use of the flag to decorate their bikes is not a sacrilegious act. The two men really are seeking America, the America that the alcoholic small town lawyer George (Jack Nicholson) states ôused to be a helluva good country.ö Billy and Wyatt are seeking the American Dream, not as it became distorted by a greedy, materialistic society into two cars, color TVs in every room and, and status reflected in money. They are looking instead for the America where they can be free, where each person can be him or herself. They seek an alternative culture. During the course of the film they come across individuals who live in the alternative, or counterculture. The journey the two men take in search of America begins with a long sequence in which they smuggle a large supply of hard drugs across the Mexican border into Southern California. Naturally they sample the drug before buying, not only to avoid getting ripped off but because getting high is an important part of the film, and many of the songs in the musical score make references to drugs as a positive experience. Billy and Wyatt drive to California in their old, white panel truck (a symbol of conventional society), sell the drugs to their buyer at LAX, and receive the money to fi
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Billy Wyatt, Easy Rider, Jack Ellis, Wyatt Billy, Gras George, Wyatt Earp, Louisiana Wyatt, American Dream, , FondaÆs HopperÆs, billy wyatt, easy rider, conventional society, wyatt billy, mardi gras, american society, dennis hopper, sound track contemporary, jack ellis, meaning lives, period film,
Approximate Word count = 1941
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)