Easy Rider

I taped (OK, recorded, sorry) Easy Rider a few weeks ago and finally watched it yesterday.  I had imagined that I must have seen this movie at some point in my life, but if I had, I did not remember much of it so it was like seeing it for the first time.  While many scenes are dated, and those at the end which depict the two main characters along with the two women they were with, experiencing a "trip" of some kind are surreal and hard to fathom, I was struck deeply by two particular scenes.

For those who may not recall East Rider, or may have never seen it, the movie details the cross country motorcycle ride of Wyatt (played by Peter Fonda) and Billy (played by Dennis Hopper).  The two "hippies", (which in itself is a label that I may need to discuss in some future post), complete a drug deal in California, then decide to travel cross country on their chopped Harleys. 

I have no idea how this movie was viewed in 1969, but for me, the Billy character was presented in a limited way, reducing him to the most basic stereotypical version of a hippie, while Wyatt demonstrated some depth to his reactions and outlook.  One example of this was during their visit with a commune in the desert.  One of the women asks Wyatt if they could take her and her friend for a bike ride to a nearby place, a swimming hole it turns out.  Billy balks, telling Wyatt that they are not travel guides, or some such statement, while Wyatt calms him and says it is OK, reminding Billy that they had just eaten their food, which is portrayed in the movie as hard to come by.  Wyatt repays kindness with kindness.

Anyway, along their travels, they encounter a parade and join in with their bikes.  It seems harmless and just good fun, but the next scene finds them in the local jail.  This is where they meet George Henson, played by Jack Nicholson.  George is the rich kid of a local big wig, lawyer, drunkard.  He is treated deferentially in jail, unlike Billy and Wyatt but he also takes a liking to the two travelers, and gets them released from jail after paying a small fine.  When they mention they are going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, he reveals that he always wanted to go there, and that he has a free pass for a good time at one of the best whorehouses in the city.  So, off they go, George riding on Wyatt's bike.

The first scene of the two I mentioned in the beginning, occurs when they pull into a small town and stop for lunch at a local store.  It's funny, because the South has long been regarded as one of the most polite, friendly places in America, and by my experience, that is true.  Unfortunately for our 3 travelers, the South is also known for deep seated prejudices against those that seem different.  So, when the trio enter the luncheonette and sit at a table, they experience these 3 reactions:

  -  the waitress ignores them and does not approach to take their order or even offer them water
  -  the local men, including an officer of the law, make degrading comments about them in regards to
their long hair, and mode of transportation, using dehumanizing terms like gorilla.
   - the young girls at a nearby table, whisper among themselves, clearly interested, and there is even a
point where one of the girls is dared by another to get up and talk to the men. which our trio notices

After a few minutes, Wyatt suggests that they leave, but as they prepare to get on their bikes, the girls approach, asking for rides.  The men do not acquiesce, fully aware that the local men are watching their every move, just waiting for a reason to respond.

The second scene takes place a few miles out of town, the men camped near a fire, chatting before falling off to sleep.  Billy, again a character who seems perpetually stoned and oblivious to what is happening, wonders why they received such a cold shoulder in town.  George says it is because they are afraid, not necessarily afraid of them, but of what they represent.  He alludes to the all-American belief in freedom, but not the kind of freedom that allows for different forms of expression, different ways of searching for truth, different ways of looking and acting.  He comments that it is hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace, an obvious reference to consumerism, and the need for all of us to purchase things we don't need to fill holes in our lives that material objects can never fill.

Later, as they sleep, the men from town descend on their camp, beating all three seriously, George to death.  Billy and Wyatt continue on their trip, eventually reaching New Orleans where they use George's "free" pass, and party with the two girls as I mentioned above.

They say that fashion repeats itself.  What was "in" will eventually be in again, or at least with some minor tweak.  The challenge is, will you still fit those clothes!

Similarly, prejudice seems to be always in fashion, although its victims change over time.  I was certainly a hippie, or at least I took on the appearance of one in my youth.  My hair was long, I smoked pot, I hitch hiked around the country looking for truth, read Kerouac and Ginsberg, turning on, tuning in, dropping out.  A phase, I imagine, one I do not shy away from, but which seems so far away after having married, raised 2 children, and worked two jobs for 20 years to do my part for consumerism.
While I was never treated the way that Billy and Wyatt are, I do remember being offered a job at a local candy manufacturer.  The job was mine if I cut my hair.

The last two scenes in Easy Rider feature a pickup truck pulling alongside Billy, the passenger having said to the driver, let's scare the hippies.  When he points his rifle at Billy, Billy flicks him the finger.  Not surprisingly as I write this, but a bit surprising to me yesterday as I watched the movie, the passenger shoots Billy at close range.  Wyatt turns around, sees Billy in severe distress, and heads up the highway in hopes of finding help.  The shooter in the pick-up truck, having passed Wyatt, says to the driver that they better turn around.  In my naivete, I am thinking they are returning to help Billy, but as they pass Wyatt, another round of shotgun blast sends him skittering off the road, the bike in flames.  No loose ends.

I am not sure if it is ironic, or just incredibly sad, but the fact is, more Americans are killed by Americans than any other group.  It is not even close.  Terrorists?  A few thousand, 18 years ago, and we lose our collective minds.  Certainly horrible, but if we acted as strongly, addressed the problem of violence committed by our own citizens against each other as directly, educated our young that violence is not a solution, it is the problem, we might begin to make some inroads on the hate and fear of "others" that leads to tens of thousands of death per year, over 1 million deaths per year since the making of Easy Rider, if we include suicides, homicides and accidents.  Talk about a national crisis!

There is one point that is true about the typical gun-rights-above-all answer to gun violence; mental illness is a problem in America.  While we are certainly not more crazy than other nations, we do have much easier access to guns, which is why our gun related murder rate is 25 times that of other high-income nations.  And one big reason why, while our population is half of those other 22 nations, the US accounted for 82 percent of all gun deaths, 90 percent of all women killed with guns, 91 percent of children under 14, and 92 percent of young people between ages 15 and 24.  When we do have issues with mental health, or simply have a bad, or series of bad days, we resort to violence which becomes all the more deadly due to the easy access that exists for weapons.  And so often lands those we know best, or ourselves, in the morgue, public mass shootings aside

As I have said many times before, what do you call someone who lashes out by killing his spouse, kids, friends, neighbors, or strangers the day before his break with reality?  A law abiding citizen.

Easy Rider delivered a message about freedom, societal rules, prejudice, perception.  Substitute the wave of refugees and immigrants that are fleeing unstable countries, environmental changes, poor living conditions, etc, real problems, I might add, when compared to just riding across the country seeking truth, and the same old xenophobic reactions come spilling through.  Throw in some dehumanizing rhetoric from powerful leaders, along with hateful doctrines from long standing groups formed to correct white replacement trends, and it is no wonder that jailing children is accepted by self-proclaimed Christians, and laws and policies are invented which will legally keep "those people" from our country. 

Jim Crow laws aimed at a different shade of dark, length of hair no longer a yardstick. 

Not sure what lessons those who made Easy Rider were focused on, but for me, the most important one is that prejudice has no favorites.  Today's version of the vermin approaching our town, or country was different in the past, will be different in the future.  The lesson is that when you join the ranks of those advocating for the dehumanization of some "other" group, you continue the tradition of hatred, and perhaps, enable the conditions for your progeny to be the next generation of victims, the next group that is labelled "others".