Easy Rider Counterculture

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Throughout the films we have seen, many challenges were illustrated such as social, cultural and political issues. Several films developed in the early/mid-sixties challenged society’s cultural propositions and strived to be an agent for social change. During the end of the 1960s, many films displayed reactions to these changes proposed by the counterculture. In the films, Blowup (1966), Wild in the Streets, and Easy Rider, the tensions existing between youth and adults are illustrated. The utilization of youth, character development, and forms of art show the reactions to these changes developed by the counterculture. This paper will be focusing on the tensions of the emerging generations and youth by examination of various characters, their …show more content…

The film encompassed many concepts relative to the changes proposed by the counterculture during the 1960s. Unemployment and radical changes within society were occurring all over the industrialized world in the sixties (Bodroghkozy, 2002). Antonioni has stated that he found the anti-authority rebellion of youth culture extremely fascinating (Classical Art Films). Blowup demonstrated the undeniable tensions existing between youth and adults, rejections to authority, a sense of naïve optimism, along with illustrating that the audience is ready for more sex explicit content. According to Megan Williams, Blowup captures the cultural and historical movement by representing the past through photographs and objects, such as the park. Throughout the film Thomas’ relationship with the photographs he captures suggest that the past can be represented and transformed through objects as well as works of art, like photography. Antonioni quietly places youth festivities in connection to the depicted scene environment. The beginning of the film illustrates young adults running ramped through the streets and offers the audience a glimpse of factory workers leaving the factory while the main character, Thomas, rides in his nice convertible. Through this scene, Antonioni highlights the gap between a new youth ideals and the harsher realities with London’s industrial economy (Bodroghkozy, 2002). This theme is represented through the famous cocktail party sequence in which Thomas asks Veruschka why she wasn't in Paris like she mentioned and while taking a hit from a marijuana cigarette, she says, "I am in Paris."(Blowup, 1966). Most notably, the film stresses how superficial the younger generation connections to their supposed lifestyle with the rock concert scene (Williams,2000). The youth are displayed disrespectful, confused, and useless. Antonioni depicts youth at the rock-and-roll club and the pot party

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