Easy Rider

Matt Singer4.5

“This used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it."“Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened. Hey, we can't even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig? They think we're gonna cut their throat or somethin'. They're scared, man.”“They're not scared of you. They're scared of what you represent to 'em.”“Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut.”“Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom.”“What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.”“Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different thangs. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.”This movie is 50 years old.

fran hoepfner4.0

people used to be so mad at you if you didn’t get a haircut

Joe4.0

I hate this expression but in this case it happens to be the truth: Time has not been kind to Easy Rider. So much of its aesthetic, its depiction of freedom and adventure, even specific shots of our two heroes flying down the road on their motorcycles, have become fodder for commercials for banks and life insurance. But what the commercials miss is the heavy cloud of doom, gloom, and fatalism that hangs over almost every scene, with the possible exception of the one featuring Jack Nicholson as straight man to Peter Fonda's world's most laconic marijuana infomercial host. Unfortunately, even though there are now 45 years of progress standing between us and Easy Rider, it's still the pessimism that resonates the most. In some ways, the hippies won - the streets are full of long-hairs who can generally dress however they want, but life in the USA remains as violent and oppressive as it ever was, maybe even more so. Not only did we blow it, but we don't seem to be able to stop.