Quest for Freedom
“Once again they are camped out, forced out of society…George makes his infamous speech - perhaps the film’s message, if it has one - about how America used to be a great country, but that people have become scared of people.” (Laderman 74). In the movie Easy Rider; Wyatt and Billy set out on a journey to look for “America” and “freedom”. After leaving their chaotic lives in Los Angeles they set out on the road on a quest for a new beginning. What they begin to realize is that the freedom they are seeking is not an easy find, if it possible to exist at all. Despite attempts at finding freedom and a “new America” they have not escaped the hardships and stress of everyday life. Wyatt and Billy are not your typical looking characters, they are considered “outlaws” which enables much discrimination and ultimately being outcasts in the societies they passed through. Easy Rider was framed in a very white masculinities view point- Wyatt and Billy chose to be different and in turn were “outcasts” but it displayed women and those of different minorities as outcasts already (without trying). They are treated poorly because they are not considered to be the norm like white males are. This movie although based in the 1960’s portrays many difficulties that we here in America are still dealing with, such as; finding ourselves in this crazy world, racism, sexism, and much more…