Easy Rider 1969 Essay Example

There are movies that move from the conventional format that people are used to and have their unique style. It also emerges that a majority of the films are inspired by what could be happening in the society at the time. Such is the case for the ones that were there in the late 60s which were about various issues that were affecting the youth opposed to the authorities. This paper will be looking at one such movie by the name of Easy Rider 1969 done by Dennis Hoppa and Peter Fonda.

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This is a film that was done and released in the year 1969 representing what was happening in the society at the time. The movie has a running time of 95 minutes and is based on the emerging American culture. There was a rebellious culture where the youth had gotten into drugs, the hippie culture and other forms of vices. It showed the effects of all these vices and the struggle that was there when the society was fighting the so-called bad people (Karli 73). The film did not appear to have any condemnation of these vices and hence some of the youth ended up identifying with some of the stars in the movie.

This is one of those movies where the director and the producer had also allocated themselves leading roles as the main characters. Hill notes that the director, Dennis Hoppa, played the role of Billy the first rider and the producer Peter Fonda played as Wyatt the other one (83). The movie is based upon these two riders moving from Mexico to different towns in the United States. The other casts were Jack Nicholson and Antonio Mendoza who played as George and Jesus respectively. In addition, there was also Robert Walker who played the role of Jack and there were others who were involved in insignificant roles.

The movie was based on two riders who were crossing from Mexico bringing in drugs with them into Los Angeles. Along the way, they experienced different forms of reception depending on how they were perceived by the local community. There is a town where they befriended a hippie who introduced them to their aspect of sharing the love (Fonda 173). They were also introduced to drugs and given some of it to take with them on their journey. Once they got to Louisiana their presence attracted the attention of the local community who were not that welcoming. They ended up attacking them and throwing them out of their locality as they perceived them to be a bad influence on their community.

Conclusion

The movie is one set piece that did not follow the conventional format that is used in movies. It was surprisingly popular among most of the youths who appeared to identify with some of the characters (Hill 14). It was not outright in condemning their rebellious culture and at the same time could not be held responsible for promoting the same in the society. It could be right to say that the youth perceived it as supporting their uprising. There were some people who viewed it as a mirror of the society to be used to learn about what takes place. The best that should have happened was for the movie to condemn this and go down in history books as a movie that helped shape the society but the producer and the director were out to follow their own unique path.

Works Cited

Fonda, Peter. Don't Tell Dad: A Memoir. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print.

Hill, Lee. Easy Rider. London: BFI Pub, 1996. Print.

Karli, Shaun R. Becoming Jack Nicholson: The Masculine Persona from Easy Rider to the Shining. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2013. Print.