What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
I know, I know. It’s a classic road movie and in many ways practically invented the genre – so, as a lover of road trip movies, I should love Easy Rider. But, fresh off a month-long Southern road trip of my own, where I encountered some of the warmest hospitality I’ve come across anywhere in the world, I had trouble getting past the movie’s utterly one-sided, cartoonish portrayal of the people there. It’s only one aspect of the film – and there were lots of others that I enjoyed – but it’s the one that has stuck with me.
by Eva Holland | Source: Columbia TriStar DVD
20 May 2008 11:51 PM | Comments (2)
1969 vs 2008. A lot has happened since then, Eva.
Oh, I’m aware. But I seriously doubt that everyone in the South was narrow-minded, violently xenophobic, and downright murderous, even in the bad old days. (And for those that were, long-haired white boys weren’t exactly the primary concern… a fact the movie ignored.)
I’ve got a slightly more detailed response on this issue here, if you’re interested:
http://www.worldhum.com/weblog/item/did_easy_rider_get_the_south_all_wrong_20080507/
Cecilia
30 May 2008
11:56 AM