Preview

Easy Rider Culture

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
673 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Easy Rider Culture
As highlighted in the previous sources, the 1960’s counterculture revolution can be widely portrayed as an era where there was a clear challenge and feeling of hostility towards the older establishment generation of authority, as well as a period in American culture where psychedelic drugs and rock music were widely popular. The 1969 film Easy Rider is a very well known film, which portrayed many of the cultural aspects and characteristics of the Hippie age. The message of this film clearly is to make a statement that expressed the fact that many young college aged students resented traditional authority. The storyline of the film takes place in the late 1960’s, where sex, drugs, and rock and roll was the ultimate way to reject traditional values. The film stars Peter Fonda as Wyatt/ Captain America, and Dennis Hopper as …show more content…
The 1960’s experienced a lot of instances where hippies and non conformists would be subject to massive backlash due to the lack of conformity that they would give off. This film reasserts the fact that the 1960’s was a period in which anyone would get in trouble if they attempted to challenge the Establishment. While bikers may not have completely matched the image of a self proclaimed hippie, the time period in which this film was made sought to communicate that the 1960’s was a period that was all about being a rebel in a conformist society. Easy Rider reasserts the non-conformity crisis that many young people were exposed with, which was the fact that many young people felt resistant to the establishment set of rules, which were seen to be the societal norm. This was one of the first films that used the biker image as a symbol for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The film industry in the US changed radically during the postwar era, whereby there was changes on the type of films produced by Hollywood. Immediately after the war, many middle-class families moved to suburbs, deserting the urban centers where most of the movie theaters were located. This development forced Hollywood to produce movies that were capable of attracting the remaining urban audiences. As they were struggling to find their audience, there was the emergency of teenage audience who were intoxicated by rock ‘n’ roll culture. This teenage audience didn’t fear spending on buying or watching movies that fit their…

    • 1322 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fifties are sometimes considered a “golden age” within the history of the United States. The economy was booming, Elvis was rocking, and things were looking positive. The Korean War was ending, leading to a time of temporary Cold War “peace.” Jackie Robinson led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six National League pennants and one World Series title as the color barrier was slowly breaking throughout the a Civil Rights movement. The fifties were also a new era for Hollywood. Many movies around the time were about the Cold War and the spread of communism. Others, however, were more so about the teenage years of the baby boomers. One movie that highlighted this time period’s “beta” theme was Rebel Without a Cause.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America had two rebellious eras which was The Roaring Twenties and The Sixties but however there were distinguishable differences. The Roaring Twenties experience the change when people started to migrate from the rural to the cities. For instance, women begin to express themselves by dressing more revealing, drink publicly, smoke publicly, and are more sexually active. Not only that, during this time it was illegal to sell, consumer, or create alcoholic beverages but people however rebelled against the law to the point where the congress repealed prohibition with the 21 amendment. The Sixties however almost the same, except they went above and beyond when it comes to society norms. During this time, there was a dramatic growth of a counterculture…

    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life in America during the 1950 's was often described as somewhat sterile, orderly, and convenient.The media made this time period out to look like families were happy and joyous , when in reality it was time of stressed out families in the pursuit of the suburban dream life. The children of these families began to reject the lifestyles and values that their parents lead. As these children matured the 60 's began and this was the beginning of the counterculture movement. These children matured and began to make their own counter culture, consisting of sex, drugs, and rock 'n ' roll. The violence in Vietnam inspired these kids. They grew tired of it and wanted to spread peace and love. These times were characterized by passionate idealists seeking peace and a more loving world, dangerous radicals fomenting revolution, as well as non-conformists refusing to live by the laws in America. Some of these people were on ending the Vietnam war, Civil rights, or starting…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Ford built a standard that many future directors would follow with his classic 1939 film “Stagecoach”. Although there were a plethora of western films made before 1939, the film “Stagecoach” revolutionized the western genre by elevating the genre from a “B” film into a more serious genre. The film challenged not only western stereotypes but also class divisions in society. Utilizing specific aspects of mise-en-scène and cinematography, John Ford displays his views of society.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Culture In Camel Rider

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Getting left behind is pretty bad, but getting left behind in the Middle Eastern wilderness with a kid that only knows Arabic is a bit worse. Prue Mason’s novel Camel Rider tells the tale of a boy named Adam who was left behind by his mother and gets himself stranded in the middle of the desert. There he meets a boy named Walid, and together they find their way back to civilization even though communicating is very difficult. The major aspects of culture that change these heroes are religion, economy, and language.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    HUM3321 Capstone Essay

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Belton, John. "The 1960 's: The Counterculture Strikes Back." American Cinema/American Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 339-61. Print.…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1950s Paradox

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The paradox of the 1950s that encouraged conformity is displayed when observing both several social engineering videos, as well as some paintings from this same time period. The paradox was ultimately caused by these social engineering videos and the society of which they portrayed. The social engineering videos made by the government in the 1950s convey an entirely different society that the paintings of this time. The actions of Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, provide helpful insight to this paradox.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Throughout this essay I will be considering to what extent the Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) relates to both the punk and glam rock sub-cultures, which occurred throughout Britain and America during the 1970’s. To investigate the association between the RHPS, punk and glam rock sub-cultures, several aspects of the production and both the sub-cultures will be considered. Some of the aspects to be taken in to account are; the clothing, styles, tastes and attitudes of all the people concerned in both the production and the sub-cultures. In addition, the seemingly important features of the sub-cultures will be considered, such as a given definition and explanation of the term “camp” and how this has been linked with the RHPS and glam rock. Furthermore, there will be a consideration of how the film, in particular; affected, influenced and aided in creating a sense of rebellion amongst many of its audience members. There will also be particular focus given to how the Rocky Horror Picture Show relates to popular culture and how this relationship has altered over the years. For the purpose of this essay and from further research, the term popular culture will be defined as being the lifestyle and preferences of the majority of any given human population, the trends set by popular culture tend to be quite commercially orientated. In comparison to popular culture, the notion of sub-culture will be considered as, “a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger [more popular] culture” (Oxford Online Dictionary, 2012, [online]). To begin, a short history of the background behind the Rocky Horror Picture Show’s production could be helpful, so as to place the RHPS into context.…

    • 3518 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The film tells a tale of the restless and somewhat misunderstood rebellious and defiant American youth. The film highlights the conformance of 1950s America, through the eyes of the main character, who faces a new school environment and unsporting or ‘loving' parents. Though the film could be seen as bias, by portraying all 1950s youths as rebellious and engaging in "chickie runs" and knife fights, who would rather go against the grain of society, the film instead uses this bias to portray more of the internal seeking of youthful acceptance and love that all teens of this period were seeking, through rebelliousness and acts of promiscuity.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Quart and Auster, American film represents a point in time; it provides an insight into an era. Whether it is through the landscape of a particular scene or the outfits that an actor wears, they all represent a point in time. Also, the culture and general mindset of that particular age can be integrated by the development of characters or the setting of a film. For example, Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Dirty Harry (1971) both capture completely different aspects of criminal life. The reason why these films were able to achieve success is because it highlights the struggle of that time period. On one hand, there were the rebellious young who longed for political change while the older conservative left the government to handle “bigger” issues. A realization that Quart and Auster points out is that films, as opposed to other art forms, gains the upper-hand due to popular demand. In other words, the ratio of people who view movies reaches a peak that other art forms just simply cannot do. They explain that the reason why this is true is because movies capture the appeal of the viewers. Although it may not mirror any belief or understanding, it can represent the general mindset…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "What is not illusionary is the reality of a new culture of opposition. It grows out of the disintegration of the old forms, vinyl and aerosol institutions that carry all the inane and destructive values of privatism; competition, commercialism, profitability and elitism…It's not a "youth thing" by now but a generational event; chronological age is the only current phase". The previous quote was written by Andrew Kopkind in Rolling Stone on the Woodstock festival observing that a new culture was immersing from the roots of the adult American life (1960's 198). Words such as "counter-culture", "establishment", "non-violence", "free-love" and "Woodstock" were not even in the American vocabulary until the war against North Vietnam started in 1965 (Bexte). The counter-culture was a social movement between the late 1960's and early 1970's including generally young people who were opposed to the mainstream values of traditional American culture and life. The people who participated or started this whole movement were called "hippies" who were mainly white, middle-class families' children under 25 years old (1960's 193). Hippies gathered mostly in the Haight Ashbury district in San Francisco (Our Century 5). They were mostly college students or graduates and usually, hippies were the ones who opposed the old American values, culture, politics, the Vietnam War, racism and were concerned about civil and student rights. They wanted to change the things that they did not agree with and also create a new generation, expressing their individuality. Moreover, by moving away from the society, they felt free about using drugs, creating new trends and music (1960's 195). It was not just about hippies, drugs, new trends and rock music, but it was the anti-war movement and the social change. From the 1950's traditional ‘get a job and a family' concept and narrow mind, in the 1960's younger people started considering what happened outside their doors; becoming interested in politics,…

    • 1942 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Critical Analysis of Film

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An American cinema objectifies woman of the 1950’s as not having much diversity in their roles, but High Noon takes a different take of the norm for 50’s females. There are two types of women in these films: the civilizing woman who seeks to end violence and endorse the community; and the dark woman who understands the marshal and the need for violence (Matthew Costello;…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The hippie era was a time of change. Society did nott understand the hippie generation; therefore they started to fear them. Parents began to feel that this counter-culture was a bad influence on the youth; therefore they started to discriminate against them. The hippie culture had a whole different outlook on life and society, oppose to the previous generations. They believed in peace, love, freedom, and had a great amount of respect not only for others, but for our earth. Hippies believed that everyone should be equal, and money should not separate us. The main force behind their different outlooks were the drugs, free sex, and rock n roll, which then led them to protest. The hippies went against the American Dream, and American culture. The largest factor in their different style of life was the drugs, because it had altered their outlooks on various ideas and point of views. When the hippie culture died off, they left us with a great amount freedom in our society, and they taught us it's ok to do what you want, and to stand up for what you believe in.…

    • 1649 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hippies And Hipsters Essay

    • 1425 Words
    • 6 Pages

    “When nothings right, go left” (anonyms). This quote is defines the underlying philosophy behind two distinct, yet commonly confused counter cultures hippies and hipsters. One marked the time of the 70’s, while other plays a role in society today. The hippies are stereotyped as peace lovers, bell-bottoms aficionados, and supporters flower power; the hipsters are immersed in indie rock, avoiding labels, fitting into skinny jeans, and being as non-mainstream as feasible. These two cultures are sometimes considered interchangeable is due to their left wing values; focus on the arts and music, unique fashion choices, and offbeat ideals, but when comparing their codes, meaning, “a set of practices familiar to users of the medium operating within a broad cultural framework,” it communicates two very distinct stories (Chandler 148).…

    • 1425 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays