Matt Morosky on Easy Rider
This film is clearly one of the most tragic of its time. Made in the late 1960's as the counterculture "era" was coming to an end, this is a film that really captures the journey and tragedy of an entire generation. Wyatt and Billy are men on a journey to find the country it is that they call home. They hit the open roads on a quest to find "America". Along the way they meet and travel with George Hanson, played masterfully by Jack Nicholson, a young idealistic man who questions the world just as the two main characters do. Contrary to the opinions of many people, who feel this is just a hippie flick, Easy Rider is a very inteligent film. These two men are members of what was known as the counterculture and I feel that a good scene to discuss would be the scene in the small diner in Louisiana, when the three men enter only to be greeted with two very contrasting look from two different tables. First, we see local men talking about Wyatt, Billy, and George as if the three men are trash. The other table, of younger girls, sees the men as exotic and interesting. The bottom line is that the people fear these men not because they're scared of them, but because, as George puts it at the campfire, these men represent freedom and difference. One of America's great tragedies is the lack of accpetance of certain cultures and groups. Easy Rider tells the story of this quest to find what it is that makes us all free, but all three characters end up being murdered by opposing forces. As far as the "We blew it", I feel that Wyatt is talking not only about his generation, but also about mankind in general. The 1960's, a decade of such spirit, ended on such tragic tones as great minds were assassinated. Easy Rider is a product of its time. Alos, Jack Nicholson gives one of the greatest supporting acting jobs in any film I've ever seen.