Hopper is a director who was very familiar with the French New Wave of the 1960’s. He was inspired by the movement and subsequently incorporated many Nouvelle Vague characteristics into his movies, contributing to their artistry. Many of the New Wave filmmakers were anti-mainstream and this was visible in their films. For example, in Jules et Jim (François Truffaut, FR, 1962), Truffaut is clearly venting his feelings of resentment towards the government. With some the filmic techniques and themes present, Easy Rider is very similar to films like Jules et Jim.
Location filming and natural light was favoured amongst the directors of the Nouvelle Vague. This gave the films their organic, casual look. In both day and night, Easy Rider utilises these elements in its journey scenes on the road. The New Wave also introduced a number of innovative editing strategies. This transpires several times in Easy Rider when scenes are connected through a series of jump cuts. This transitional device indicates a voyage from one scene to the next, augmenting the theme of journey. Moreover, the French films recurrently violated Hollywood conventions and mainstream principles regarding film making. Easy Rider does this by disregarding the laws of classical editing – the 180° rule is ignored innumerably. Furthermore, the film’s representation of non-stereotypical female roles, such as the bohemian Lisa and Sarah, further aids the films anti-Hollywood perspective.
The films of the Nouvelle Vague contained numerous moments of casual, and sometimes, anarchic humour. This can be located in Easy Rider whenever Jack Nicholson’s character, the intoxicated George, takes a drink. He follows up his mouthful with an eccentric arm and head movement whilst emitting a loud indiscriminate noise. He completes the routine with a random word such as ‘Indians’, ‘swamp’ or ‘firecracker’. Another facet of the French New Wave was its sudden shifts in tone and unpredictable constituents. The final sequence of Easy Rider conveys this as the mood alters from being content and relaxed to shocking and distressing in a matter of moments. The deaths of Wyatt and Billy come as more of an astonishment as seconds earlier the audience are led to believe that the film will hold a happy ending.
Whilst the film makers of the New Wave did not approve of Hollywood and its customs, they were appreciative of its auteurs (as this reinforced the idea of authorship) and consistently made reference to them within their productions. In Easy Rider, respect is paid to the work of John Ford through the use of Monument Valley and other Western references. Additionally, the French aimed their films at young, intellectual audiences. Easy Rider reflects the collapse of the idealistic 60’s that revolved around youth. Therefore, it was the youth of America that related to the film on its release. Countless educated remarks are made on the social situation within USA, intensifying its intellect. Furthermore, the Nouvelle Vague continually reminded the audience that they were watching a film. Hopper achieves this with his drug trip sequence in New Orleans. A brilliant montage of weird camera angles, psychedelic bursts of light and inane murmurings successfully interpret an LSD experience, whilst recapping to the audience that it’s a movie.
The New Wave also implanted certain qualities into its characters. They were often young, marginalized anti-heroes – a perfect description of Wyatt and Billy. They are outlaws who do what they want and take orders from nobody. The characters of the Nouvelle Vague behaved spontaneously, insubordinate to society. Wyatt and Billy do this throughout the film, such as when they “paraded without a permit”. Similarly to their creators, the French characters were anti-authoritarian. The characters of Easy Rider adhere to this attitude as they frequently discuss how they are against the ‘system’. Finally, the characters in the New Wave films had a tendency to act immorally. Wyatt and Billy gain their funding for their journey by drug dealing and they spend some of that money at a brothel – two things considered particularly debauched.
In all forms of art cinema, themes of freedom are often employed. Firstly, art films possess the freedom to be low budget and break rules. Easy Rider only cost $340, 000 to produce and I have already exemplified the films insurgent desires.
The freedom of Wyatt and Billy is symbolised in the films Western imagery. To begin with, their names are references to the cowboys Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid. Instead of horses, they ride through the vast landscapes on motorbikes – modern day steeds. This is intensified during a scene when they’re repairing Wyatt’s flat tyre. Through the operation of cross-cutting, a visual parallel exists between Wyatt restoring his bike and a farmer fixing a horseshoe onto a horse. This juxtaposition is another link to the Western outlaws who were also known for their uninhibited way of life. Furthermore, when Wyatt notices indications of freedom within someone else, he shows great admiration towards them, further strengthening the importance of the theme. When they have dinner with the farmer’s family, Wyatt comments: “You’ve got a nice place. It’s not every man that can live off the land, you know. You do you own thing in your own time. You should be proud.” A similar occurrence materializes again later when he observes the ‘city kids’ planting seeds. Moreover, at the beginning when they prepare to set off on their journey, Wyatt throws his watch to the ground. This symbolises their rejection of time constraints, enhancing the theme of freedom.
Coupled with the freedom of the open road, the rock soundtrack also facilitates in depicting the theme of liberty. Roger McGuinn’s Ballad of Easy Rider tells of a man who yearned to be free like the rivers that flow through America’s natural landscape. The song begins shortly after Wyatt and Billy die. When the words “All I wanted was to be free and that’s the way it turned out to be” are heard, Hopper is implying that death is the only freedom in America’s corrupt society.
Another movie that expresses themes of freedom is A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (Jean-Luc Godard, FR, 1960) – a film that epitomizes modernist narration. Despite killing a police officer, Michel ceases to get arrested throughout the entire film, elucidating his personal freedom. Whilst Breathless illustrates the theme positively, Easy Rider takes a negative perspective. Hopper’s prevailing message is that the notion of freedom is an illusion in the conformist and corrupt America.
Easy Rider is littered with societal messages and themes throughout its duration. Getting its messages across to the audience is a major trait of modernist films. Consequently, many art films reiterate similar connotations, amplifying the significance. Easy Rider does this with its messages revolving around the shortcomings of US society. The characters’ dialogue is the central tool in exposing these themes. In George’s ‘alien speech’, he describes how the Venutians’ civilization is more highly evolved as it is based on equality. He declares that if they reveal themselves to human society it would cause “a tremendous shock to our antiquated systems”. This signifies America’s conservative ideals and fear of equality. This is fortified during the films fourth campfire scene when George’s prophetic words to Billy also underscore society’s fears: “…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.” A short while later on the same night, the rednecks that had tormented and insulted them earlier return and set on the three with baseball bats, killing George.
Initially, Wyatt and Billy began their journey in search of the American dream. The film continually mocks this traditional, patriotic US principle. Firstly, Wyatt and Billy acquired their funding by selling drugs (questioning USA’s ‘Get Rich Quick’ fantasy) and secondly, their travels uncover the severe intolerance that exists in USA. The illusion of the American dream conceals the copious amount of corruption that is present in the United States. This theme is developed by the movies tagline: ‘A man went searching for America and couldn’t find it anywhere’. Whilst at their destination of New Orleans, the characters experience an LSD trip in a cemetery – a place of institutionalised death. This is where their search for freedom and the American dream has taken them, stressing that in America both these ideals are dead.
For the most part, Easy Rider serves to celebrate the beauty of the scenic American countryside, but following George’s death and the LSD experience, more industrialised areas become prominent. In the final campfire scene, Wyatt exclaims “We blew it”. By this he not only means his and Billy’s unsuccessful endeavours for freedom, but also America’s failed society. With his ‘Captain America’ nickname and the numerous stars and stripes motifs linked with him, it is evident that Wyatt is the personification of America’s lost soul. He has witnessed both the bigoted attitude of society and the visual, industrial change in the landscape – corruption that has prompted him to articulate USA’s collapse.
Finally, the messages in Easy Rider are not unlike themes present in many other art films. La Haine (Hate) (Mathieu Kassovitz, FR, 1995) for example, exhibits anti-institutional themes within its negative portrayal of the police. In addition, films like My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant, US, 1991) also mock corrupted American values. However My Own Private Idaho concentrates more on the family values side of the American dream.
After studying several aspects of the film, I consider Easy Rider to demonstrate many examples of modernist narration. By comparing it to films that are typically art cinema, I discovered that Hopper’s movie conveys modernist qualities such as an open-ending and non-linearity. Also, through analysing its textual links to the French New Wave, I unearthed more art cinema attributes. For example, Easy Rider chronically disobeys Hollywood conventions by using typically non-mainstream characters and alternative editing techniques. Additionally the themes and messages depicted in the film are similar to those expressed in other art films. The anti-establishment tone of La Haine assists in exemplifying this. Finally, whilst Easy Rider is not predominantly seen as a member of art cinema, it definitely possesses many imperative elements of modernist narration.
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Bibliography
Film Art: An Introduction, Bordwell, D, and Thompson, K, McGraw-Hill (2000)
Film Criticism – ‘The Art Cinema as a mode of Film Practice’ by Bordwell, D, (1979)
The Oxford History of World Cinema – ‘Art Cinema’ by Nowell-Smith, G, Ed. by Nowell-Smith, G, Oxford University Press (1996)
The End: Narration and Closure in the Cinema, Neupert, R, Wayne State UP (1995)
Filmography
8½ (Federico Fellini, IT/UK/FR, 1963) Jules et Jim (François Truffaut, FR, 1962)
A Bout de Souffle (Jean-Luc Godard, FR, 1960) La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, FR, 1995)
Blowup (Michelangelo Antonioni, UK, 1966) My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant, US, 1991)
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, US, 1969) Performance (Donald Cammell and Nicolas
Fellini’s Roma (Federico Fellini, IT/FR, 1972) Roeg, UK, 1970)
Irreversible (Gaspar Noé, FR, 2002) Todo sobre mi Madre (Pedro Almodóvar, SP/FR,
1999)
