America the Free?
"As [Easy Rider] rewrites the landscape according to the youth and Civil Rights movements of the time, it seems only to document and embrace a transitional nationalism that attacks the presuppositions of a formerly stable Americanism." (Klinger 182)
Along their quest to find America and the freedom that is inherently associated with it, Billy and Wyatt find that this presupposed notion of America is undergoing substantial changes. Not only is the freedom of America and one's ability to safely take to the road diminishing, Billy and Wyatt--the new face of white masculinity-- clash with the old and outgoing stereotypical white American male. It seems that the only place where they are actually freed from societal constrictions is while they are riding, especially through wilderness, places that are still wild and free from man themselves. They are more at ease and at home while on the road and camping and cannot find their place in society. Although they are the "new" masculine male, society at large has not come to grips with this image, and in places like the diner, the women have more quickly grasped this image, but the Southern men defend their position as most masculine, poking fun at these long-haired hippies. Wyatt and Billy can't quite find their niche within the new upheaval of American masculinity. Are they cowboys, outlaws, hippies? One could call them the new cowboy/outlaw, as they are juxtaposed with the cowboys of the West, such as when they are changing a tire and the cowboys are changing a horseshoe. It seems that throughout the entire movie, these dualities of masculinity come into conflict and cannot coexist, ultimately leading to Billy and Wyatt's death.