Freaks on Motorcycles and Rural Families with Horses
Bill and Wyatt were searching for a personal identity that is American. Being outcast everywhere else, a rural man tending his horses took the boys in so they could work on their motorcycles. Wyatt expresses his connection with the man's family saying, "Not every man can live off the land, do [his] own thing, in [his] own time." George similarly expresses his discontent with militarism and individual commodification, dreaming of an alien civilization where "every man is his own leader." This is also seen in the hippie commune's ideals of self-sustainment. In the opening scene, the sound of airplanes and industry take over all other sounds, much like the American economy has forced everyone to conform to a certain set of ideals. When Wyatt threw his watch down when they took off on their journey, he seemed to be freeing himself of the oppression that a 9-5 job and American ignorance brings. What it means to be American has come to mean being separate from society, be it a long-haired freak or a cowboy living off the land.