Easy Rider-- Little Steven's Comments-- Part 2

A big old thanks out to Little Steven in his Underground Garage radio show for reminding me that this was the 40th anniversary of one of my favorite movies, "Easy Rider." I saw it nowhere else.

Continuing with his comments.

"But really, he didn't have a choice. His destiny was set, just like Jesus in the novel "Last Temptation of Christ," he knew he had to stay nailed to that cross.

Dennis Hopper's character, Billy, named after Billy the Kid, on the other hand, for all his totally authentic hippy-cowboy-outlaw appearance actually, under the surface, would share the philosophy of short term greed with the establishment and have more in common with them than he would ever have recognized and in some ways, every thing he and Peter Fonda's character were fighting against was alive inside him.

Peter, Dennis, and Terry Southern wrote it. Dennis directed it, Peter produced it, Jack Nicholson would get famous from it, and Burt Schneider and Bob Wrinkleson paid 500 grand for it; a pretty good deal.

It broke all studio rules and virtually single-handedly created the independent film industry. It reflected the European film industry, but remained deeply red, white and blue, even though those colors were smearing a little bit.

It was, in the end, Cassavettes with drugs. It revealed an America terminally hypocritical, unable to reconcile its ideals and its reality. If you go back and watch the film now and it doesn't particularly appear to be revelatory is because what was shocking truth back then has now become every day mundane reality and we've learned to accept and ignore and deny."

Well Said, Little Steven. --RoadDog