Easy Rider
 |
Get your motor runnin' |
 |
A 1969 film directed and co-written by Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider starred Hopper, co-writer Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson in his first Oscar-nominated role. Since its release, it's been identified as the counterculture film.
It follows the tale of two dope-dealing bikers, Wyatt aka "Captain America" (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper), who decide to take their bikes across the country. They have no aim other than pure freedom, which is not appreciated by the locals they encounter. Only one man, liberal lawyer George Hanson (Nicholson), shares their sense of freedom. As they ride along, they wonder what ever happened to America.
Tropes used in Easy Rider include:
- Badass Biker: Averted. The bikers are harmless hippies who just want to find the American dream. It's the Good Ol Boys who are the ruffians.
- The Band: "Take a load off Fanny..."
- Bottle Fairy: George.
- The Cameo: Captain America and Billy sell their cocaine to no one less than Phil Spector.
- Conspiracy Theorist: George Hanson, is fairly certain that aliens already live amongst us, and that they are not revealed by our government because of the general panic that would ensue.
- Cool Bike: Captain America's bike especially.
- Corrupt Hick: The sheriff in the cafe.
- Deep South: Portrayed as xenophobic and violent.
- Diabolus Ex Machina/Downer Ending/Shoot the Shaggy Dog: A most triumphant example as our heroes are about to embark to Florida to start their life of luxury, and then, some hillbillies shoot them.
- Everybody Must Get Stoned
- Good Ol' Boy: The southern locals don't take kindly to long-haired city boys riding through their communities.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: Wyatt and Billy.
- Hot Springs Episode: In the Southwest, Wyatt and Billy play around in one with some of the local female commune members.
- Jerkass: Billy. Then again, he was played by Dennis Hopper.
- Mushroom Samba: After taking acid in the New Orleans graveyard.
- New Age Retro Hippie: The commune in the southwest is full of them.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Billy is a hothead; Wyatt is contemplative and spiritual.
- Road Movie: A quintessential example. The characters are on their way from Los Angeles to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
- Scenery Porn: They're riding through the American Southwest, what do you expect?
- Shout-Out: The very name of Captain America.
- Walking the Earth
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Captain America carries multiple versions of the Star Spangled Banner around with him at all times (on his helmet, on his shirt and on his bike), and is one of the most iconic examples of this trope in recent popular culture.