Rivera: Easy Rider

Ahhh...Easy Rider. The film that reminded Americans what should be important in life; freedom and equality for all men. The freedom to live a life without being imposed upon by "The man" or governments telling you what the norm is and how one should live his life. Okay, I realize this is slightly exaggerated, but the point is still certainly there. With words, its not as easy to explain what the characters in Easy Rider were riding away from, unless it is told through an exaggeration. That is what George Hanson is getting at when he discusses the aliens that live among us. Hanson describes the society, from which the aliens come from, as being highly sophisticated and advanced; there is no form of government, they rule themselves and have no worry of war or hate, and are completely self sufficient. Hanson is obviously eluding to what he, as well as Captain America and Billy and those similar, are aiming for. They want a life that is based on love; one can see this film is influenced by the Port Huron Statement of 1962. The most common way the film displays this message is through the use of wide camera shots of the vast, natural, terrain that the characters pass by on their journey. The film's cinematography glorifies natural landscapes to show how beautiful it all can be. The scene that I feel is most important as far a mise en scene is concerned, is a scene where Captain America is standing alone on the side of a road; he is standing in some grass and one hand is outstretched touching the grass. At one point the frame is focused on only his hand and the grass (not marijuana grass as would be believed due to the rest of the film). So, the shot includes: hand, grass, backdrop being natural desert terrain. This is very symbolic of the nature of the film because it shows man finding simple beauty in a very natural setting. The frame is intimate, allowing only these three elements of focus. Despite the intimate framing, the density of the shot does not appear to be cluttered, or remains a low-density shot, which allows for the feeling of freedom to remain. The shot takes place during the day so it is brightly lit, keeping the moment of discovery and "naturality" real. As you can see, this scene exemplifies all of the elements that can be found throughout the film, and it is done not with words, but with an image, as is most of the film.