Easy Rider- Brenna Munoz
The establishment of many countercultures is often obtained through the forced recognition by a defying group, sometimes turning to aggression and violence in order to gain attention from the rest of society. For example, the shocking motives and views of the group known as skinheads provides a clear illustration of such shock value obtained through aggression. In contrast to this, the counterculture known as hippies and the stereotypes that they’re often associated with developed in a much different way. Rather than demanding attention and shock of the rest of society, the hippies so called “rebellion” was not a concept that this core group of people craved awareness for, but rather a notion that was created in the minds of a judgmental and narrow-minded portion of society. This negativity and disapproval is very prominently shown throughout the film Easy Rider. Two men exploring the country, although not bothering anyone seem to run into an endless amount of segregation for such petty reasons.
In the reading from Miller he states, “For most hippies, love meant nonviolence.” The fact that a counterculture whose views are centered around hopes to see a change for the better and live in a world filled with less violence and more pleasure is often looked down upon and ridiculed by the rest of society only exposes the lack of apathy and ethical value that is so disturbingly common among a majority of mainstream culture.