"Easy Rider" was born in 1969 and was one of the most influential films of the 1960s. The film describes the story of two leisurely "hippie" youths riding motorcycles in search of freedom in corrupt, traditional American soil. As an "originator-level" road film, its own value is beyond the reach of its younger generation. The shadow of this film can be seen in many road films after that, and the Harley motorcycle is a symbol of that era.
The 1960s was an era of continuous social unrest and surging social movements. The emergence of a series of new things and black events, such as hippies, rock music, drug addiction, sexual liberation, the Vietnam War, and assassinations, impacted the previous traditional values. Therefore, for a film, it is particularly important to understand the background of its birth, so the meaning it transmits cannot be ignored in the historical context, and the greatest significance of "Easy Rider" lies in the popular culture of that era. and the reflection and performance of history and culture. The film involves elements such as drugs, sex, violence, death, lack of belief, and rock music, which are almost the most direct feedback to the 1960s. Fallen, beat thinking. In addition to bold and innovative artistic techniques (moving editing techniques such as jumping, flashing and flashing back, etc., as well as shocking audio-visual elements), the cultural significance represented in the film makes young audiences at that time and even now, It's all like a collective carnival and emotional outburst. It is similar to an advanced religious ceremony, in which the audience expresses their identification with freedom, liberation, and romance in the vicious circle of unease, confusion, nothingness, and existence.
The original production cost of "Easy Rider" was a mere $370,000. There were no big-name productions and big-name stars. Most of its producers were a group of energetic, high-spirited young people who were ready to show their talents. In the past, this unpopular genre was only seen by hillbillies in low-end drive-in movie theaters. But when the film finally came out, it was a huge hit, shocked the film industry, and won an award at Cannes, earning a full $50 million, more than 100 times the cost. As a low-budget, counter-cultural independent production, it fully expresses the rootless state of hippie youth, and it is also a modern allegory of the apocalyptic vision of the spiritual world. The two representatives of the "Beat Generation" in the film were deliberately hidden by the director of their identity background and social background. They are false escapees and seekers of courage and freedom. However, the desire for freedom has been despised, crushed, and crushed by the defenders again and again. This is also said in the film through the mouth of the lawyer played by Jack Nicholson: "They are not afraid of you, they are afraid of what you represent." In the
end, the two died inexplicably under the gun of the truck driver. It seems that there is no sign and it seems extremely absurd, but in fact, the martyrdom of the two is more like a critique of conservatism and hypocritical humanity. Only death is the greatest redemption and the flame of life that heals the wound. . For the audience at that time, it was a spiritual victory, the charming, blurry, coarse-grained picture effects, the panorama photography with rapid push-pull, telephoto, follow-up, and continuation, and the mix of rock and natural sound. The "explosive" sound undoubtedly increases the charm of the film as a mass media with audio-visual elements. To this day, that strong sense of unease and helplessness still reverberates in film history.
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The more the media emphasizes, the higher the public's level of the issue, and triggers a series of discussions and reflections. This is the so-called "agenda setting" function, that is, social issues. The issues reflected in the film work are also reflected in the public consciousness as "big events". If the same subject or the same phenomenon is frequently expressed in a certain period, it will strengthen the public's impression of the matter and cause a hot spot of public opinion. The Vietnam War provided a wealth of inspirational resources for American film practitioners, so films about the Vietnam War continued to emerge during that period, and the public’s attention to the Vietnam War also increased. The film "Taxi Driver" was a cultural reflection on the Vietnam War, and its influence was quite a sensation at the time, and director Martin Scorsese won the Palme d'Or in one fell swoop. But behind the movie, an event that shocked the whole country happened: a rich boy imitated the plot in "Taxi Driver" to assassinate then US President Ronald Reagan, but Reagan was rescued in time and survived. But what's astounding is that the rich boy's motive was to attract Jodie Foster, who played the young prostitute in "Taxi Driver". Although the motives of the rich boy are pure, on the one hand, it also shows the inferiority of the film as a communication medium and the "weakness" of the audience in the face of socio-cultural manipulation.
Many movies render a lot of violent, bloody, and pornographic images, which will lead the audience to wrong values to a certain extent, and even cause them to take the road of crime under the influence of this. However, from the perspective of film art itself, some negative film elements assist the whole film plot. After the release of "Easy Rider", it was accused of depicting too many scenes of drug use and pornography. In fact, this criticism is one-sided. If these scenes are lacking, The film would not have presented the cultural state of that era, nor would it have had such an impact. In the Golden Lion Award film "Lust and Caution", Ang Lee's handling of sex is particularly bold, even to the extent that the Chinese are unacceptable. Some critics have criticized the film as too erotic, too revealing, and very vulgar, and accused Ang Lee of declining filming skills. Their criticism seems reasonable, but like the critics who criticized "Easy Rider" decades ago, they did not see the artistry of the film clearly, but started from the agenda setting alone, and did not combine the film with the communication and even the audience. the relationship between, then such a critique is not only narrow, but also ignorant. The reason why Ang Lee created too many sex scenes is to describe how Wang Jiazhi and Mr. Yi fell in love. Obviously, Ang Lee told the audience through a lot of sexual descriptions that they were in love because of sex, so that persuasion would be more powerful. The reason for such nudity stems from the struggle and distortion of human nature in that era, as well as the suppression of sexual culture and the release of desire. This is the theme of the film, and it is also the purpose that Ang Lee wants to communicate to the audience.
But from the perspective of audience acceptance, those critics are understandable. After all, some movies use pornographic violence as a gimmick, and now they can use negative energy elements to create art like Kubrick and Pasolini. And there are not many master directors of social education. The agenda-setting power of the film medium is daunting. In addition to the critique of the film’s morally depraved, entertainment-to-death plot, should the audience also learn how to deal with a seductive cultural environment, and should also learn to read, critique, and resist film Cultural manipulation. Because the hybridity of film culture itself requires the audience to conduct a correct analysis of a film, establish and maintain the independence of the audience in front of the film culture, and enable them to have the power to manage their own cultural environment.
When the audience watches a movie, he not only accepts the value and meaning conveyed by the movie itself, but also subtly accepts the social value of movie culture. Jacob, the former chairman of the Cannes Film Festival in France, once said in response to the globalization of Hollywood, "The United States is not only exporting its movies, it is actually exporting the entire American way of life." What Jacob said is true is the importance of the social value of film. "Easy Rider" as a counter-cultural hippie film, its social value is even greater than the value of the film as an art. And its social value is reflected in the audience's strong recognition of its film culture. The youth culture conveyed by the film is a powerful feedback to that era and an important part of social values. The so-called youth culture is a type of "subculture" or "marginal culture" with youth as the main body and concentrated expression of youth ideology. It is an unconventional and exaggerated "stylized" resistance to the norms, order, and values of adult society. The three protagonists of the film are just representatives of youth culture, and they are also opposed to the traditional values followed by their fathers. The result of the opposition is that none of the three have escaped the tragic ending, and their deaths are a cry for traditional values. , resistance to the old morality.
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Its strong identity comes from two aspects in the film. The first is through the image and cultural concept, the second is the style of music and performance. Identity is formed in a field of struggle through which individuals choose their own cultural meaning and style within a differentiated system that always involves the identification of certain representations of identity. Confirmation and negation of some other representations. In layman's terms, the audience selectively finds their own identity through the elements in the film. It is a function of predetermined people's social roles, and it is a traditional mythological system that provides a sense of direction and religious support. Determining man's place in the world also severely limits man's scope of thought. That is, identity is some kind of textual material that determines who I am. In "Easy Rider", Billy and White, as "hippies", ride Harley motorcycles to find freedom, which is also a process of finding themselves. In the film, the creators do not directly explain the background of the story, and even the origins of the two are blurred. From the film itself, this is to better illustrate the theme: the existential self, the environment of unease and panic, the freedom of freedom Desire, yearning for the spirit of earlier America. But in fact, aside from the film itself, the creation of the film itself is also a "happy journey". According to director Dennis Hopper's recollection, the filming was completely free and casual. Even Peter Fonda, who played White, and Dennis Cooper, who played Billy, were really taking drugs, and some clips even asked passers-by to help with photography. It is such a "semi-amateur", seemingly insane, incredible shooting method that makes the film a great success.
The process of filming is a process of finding identity, and the process of audience viewing is also a process of finding identity. The audience and the creators have a "heart-to-heart" resonance. It's no wonder why it was so popular with young people at the time. Young people find identity in the characters and fashion consumption in the film. From Billy's long hair, long beard, ivory chain around his neck, "weird" clothes and his behavior, it can be seen that this is a A typical hippie image, unlike Billy's cheerful and optimistic personality, White looks more calm and even a little pessimistic. Although there is no more typical Billy in image and clothing, in fact, his heart is more radical than Billy. . Because in the film, White is a leader, a spiritual leader, a true hippie. And the clothes he wears and the space cap he wears are all printed with the American flag, which is actually a yearning for the early American spirit, because the early American spirit was the free spirit of the western pioneers, which has something in common with the hippie spirit. It's no wonder why the film spends a lot of ink on describing the American pastoral scenery, which actually means a desire for "spiritual return".
Halfway through the film, the lawyer played by Jack Nicholson brings a lot of fun to the film. He is a lawyer, a representative of the middle class, a model of traditional values. But in fact, his behavior is a little crazy and uninhibited. Although the film does not explain his background in detail, it can still be seen that his family is rich and he is a rich second generation. prison. The shaping of this image is exactly that of a man who grew up in traditional education but contradicts traditional norms everywhere. It can be seen from his untidy suit, whisky he carries with him, messy hair, intoxicated affection and cool and ostentatious space hat. He and Billy and White are actually "all the way". In the 1960s, American society was extremely turbulent. The assassination of Kennedy, the Cuban crisis, the black civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War, the entire social contradictions intensified unprecedentedly, the so-called "American Dream" broke down, and the younger generation experienced a serious crisis of belief, revealing Empty, confused, overwhelmed, depressed and dull negative emotions. If Billy and White are the representatives of the hippies, then the numb and sinking lawyers are the portrayal of the American youth at that time. But the bold and fearless lawyer used his wild behavior to resist his parents and declared war on the traditional mainstream culture, but he ended up being beaten to death. The road ahead is still confused, in fact, this is also the dazed reality of American society at that time.
As an existential road movie, its "existence" is based on social unrest. Due to the various turmoils of the 1960s, people are no longer content to support the original political, religious and ethical concepts, but to find new ideas of survival. The most striking thing about existentialism is the idea of human existence. Among them, survival consciousness and situational consciousness are the most distinct, and they are also the starting point of existentialism. "Survival" is not an object, but a loose body. Like the protagonist of "Easy Rider", he wanders the land of the United States, and the surrounding objects are combined with "survival" to become a "situation". Obviously, the three The situation of the male protagonist was very bad, and he was suppressed or even killed by traditional defenders. The collision of the two kinds of consciousness produces a sense of doubt. It is the so-called "God is dead". God represents the essential world and provides people with standards, and people are content to enjoy it, but when life is no longer quiet, everything is no longer. Quiet, then as the lines in the film say: "If God does not exist, it is necessary for us to create a God." This reflects the crisis of one's own beliefs and the mentality of confusion and panic. In existentialism, the most emphasis is on realizing one's own essence in action, that is to say, in the limited situation of society, one should also invest in reality, exert one's subjective power, and then realize one's own value. In the film, the three young people "exist" all the time. The confused mental state makes them forget and deny themselves. They embrace the reality and find their own value with the concept of "I am not me, I just exist". In fact, isn't this a feedback from the reality of American society at that time?
In addition to the audience's recognition through images and cultural concepts, the music and the style of performance also give the audience a strong sense of identity. Different cultures use popular music to establish their own identities. The mainstream culture of the hippies in "Easy Rider" used rock music to express their roars against the traditional mainstream. When they longed for a return to the early American spirit, they were nostalgic. The folk songs are matched with American customs, which appeared slowly with the galloping of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which greatly touched the hearts of confused young people in the United States who were eager to "go home". The state of rootlessness, the deep feeling of bewilderment and indulgence, is also expressed through the sound of nature - this is a turbulent era, and an era of hypocrisy. The last 15 minutes of the film are completely crazy, completely negated, and completely sinking. They are the epitome of that era. Coarse-grained images, throbbing camera movements, dazzling scenes, lost actors' performances, and the helpless and hopeless voice-over, this is simply an audio-visual feast, and finally set off an extreme climax—— A ceremonial collective carnival. Sex, drug addiction, self-denial, and confusion have finally reached the commanding heights. This is a physical revolution, a spiritual revolution, and a huge, absurd collective masturbation. After the carnival, it was still on the road, and it was still a blur, which was very much in line with the mental state of the American youth at that time. The future is at a loss, where is the way out? In the film China, from an inexplicable trip to an inexplicable being beaten to death, in fact, everything is moving inexplicably, but isn't this inexplicable second emotion the one recognized and fed back by the audience, isn't it the United States at that time? The emotions of the young generation?
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