"We Blew It"
"It is as though the oppressive conventions of stable society are ultimately inescapable, contaminating their easy riding on a variety of levels." (David Laderman. pg.76)
Wyatt and Billy set out on their ride to find America, because they are not satisfied with the status quo living. They are frustrated with the way people in America are living and they want to redescover it in a way. This is shown by their drug selling/doing, fast, almost rebellious life style. They want to be anything but conventional. Whether selling drugs, getting high, or just plain riding they want to be set apart. As they ride, their not exactly sure where they're going, how long they're staying , but whatever they do they want it to be new and different. As the lyrics of the Byrds' song goes that was played in the movie, " I wasn't born to follow." Much of the depth of the movie happened during their conversations around camp fires. They talked about the freedom that they were trying to acheive, and how they didn't want to be caught up in the stability of society. Like was shown when they stopped at the home of their first hitchhiker. When Wyatt became to what he thought was "too comfortable" he immediately wanted to move on. Throughout the movie you could tell that he felt the struggle of escaping normalcy, and "regular" living. One of the climaxes at the end of the movie, he exclaims to Billy, "We blew it." This can be interpreted
Much of the depth of the movie happened during their conversations around camp fires. They talked about the freedom that they were trying to acheive, and how they didn't want to be caught up in the stability of society. Like was shown when they stopped at the home of their first hitchhiker. When Wyatt became to what he thought was "too comfortable" he immediately wanted to move on. Throughout the movie you could tell that he felt the struggle of escaping normalcy, and "regular" living. One of the climaxes at the end of the movie, he exclaims to Billy, "We blew it." This can be interpreted in many different ways. My interpretation is that Wyatt feels that no matter what he and Billy do, they are never going to escape the normalcy and complacency of life. He felt it creeping up on them all during their journey. Though they did what they could to go off and ride to find America, they kept getting sucked back into the American lifestyle. This is shown very well by Billy's reply to Wyatt's "We blew it comment." Billy says, " Man we're rich we have everything." His comment, is one that many regular American's would give, basing their wealth and happiness on what they have. Wyatt realized this, and knew that though they tried, they didn't come very far from being different from everyone else.