America The Beautiful
"Typically one passes through the landscape, as a means, toward destination; but in Easy Rider movement through the landscape becomes an end in itself, specifically in terms of appreciating the landscape. Moreover, such appreciation of the environment becomes a way to rediscover one's self," (Laderman, 71). In the film, Easy Rider, it seems that both Wyatt and Billy were searching for the beauty that once was America. As the two men ride across the country on their motorcycles there are countless shots of the landscape that is America. It is interesting when examing the landscape at the beginning of the film to the landscape at the end. The first scene takes place in Los Angeles and it is dirty and busy, this is best shown at the airport. Whereas the last scene takes place in the middle of nowhere and the land is nothing but natural.
One of my favorite lines from the film is when Wyatt is talking at the lunch table to the owner of the house where he was able to fix his bike and he says to him, "No, I mean it, you've got a nice place. It's not every man that can live off the land, you know. You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud." Along with finding the beauty in America's landscape, I think this line explains that Wyatt is also searching for a simplier life outside of the big city. He wants to enjoy the land and live off of it in the easiest way possible. Unfortunately, once he begins to understand himself and his desires his life is taken away from him in a flash and he never really does get to live that simple life.