Easy Rider Movie Analysis Film Studies Essay

Easy Rider Movie Analysis Film Studies Essay Easy Rider à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ invokes both affirmative and critical visions of 1960s America, making it more of a measure of its times than either its original or later audiences could imagine (Klinger, B. 1997, p.199). Through close textual analysis identify and discuss the ways in which the affirmative and critical visions of 1960s America are represented. Easy Rider was a little road movie that came out of nowhere to change Hollywood forever Upon release, the film became an essential part of the 60s iconography, embodying the hopes and fears of the time. (Hill, L, 1996, pg 8) Easy Rider (Hopper,D, 1969) is an independent American film which was directed by Dennis Hopper and predominantly produced Peter Fonda, the film was only given a budget of approximately $400,000 (International Movie Database, no date) by Columbia Pictures but due to its success through controversially displaying critical visions of America it produced a gross profit of $60,000,000 (International Movie Database, no date) within the ten years it was released. The themes of, drugs, sex, hippie culture and racism are portrayed within the film through the protagonists representations and reactions, the way in which these themes went against the conventions of American film making by not portraying an idealistic America created controversy but also made great success as audiences could align with the true happenings in society. Easy Riders main ideology is freedom, Billy and Wyatt, the main characters, went looking for America, but couldnt find it anywhere (Durks ,T, no date) , they appear ed to find a corrupt society instead of the American Dream lifestyle which had always been portrayed previously; This film broke the conventions of American cinema and gave inspiration and freedom to all future film makers. Through close analysis of the characters representations and specific scenes within Easy Rider the critical visions of America which are displayed will become clear. The scenes I will analyse are: Junk yard, Parading without a licence, cafe, Jacks death, Whore house, We blew it and the final shootings, these specific scenes clearly portray zeitgeist creating clear ideologies which are critical about the American society. Billy and Wyatt are represented as Hippies; Hippie culture began to have a serious impact on Americas society in the 1960s, The Hippie movement started in San Francisco, California and spread across the United States, through Canada, and into parts of Europe. But it had its greatest influence in America. During the 1960s a radical group called the Hippies shocked America with their alternative lifestyle and radical beliefs. (Huber, A, Lemieux, C, Hollis, M, no date.) The clothing codes and the characters appearance instantly makes the audience aware that they both belong within this controversial culture, the conventional jackets, trousers, cowboy hats, sunglasses, biker gloves, neck scarves and long hair displays this. Billy and Wyatt did have the radical beliefs associated with the Hippie lifestyle, they had ambitions of becoming free and living the American dream; in The south the characters would have already been classed as having freedom because of their long hair , long hair is seen as representing freedom; however because Billy and Wyatt cannot find the American lifestyle that they are searching for they think that all they represent is someone who wants a haircut. ( Hopper, D, 1969) The protagonists compulsive search for untrammelled freedom (Lawrence,JB, 1970, page 665) continues and the road trip begins. A huge part of the Hippie culture included drugs, the theme of drugs is very apparent within Easy Rider this therefore displays a critical America, during the rise of Hippie culture it was estimated that around 800,000 Americans had tried marijuana; Marijuana is the predominant drug that is presented to the audience within the film. During the opening sequence of the film Billy and Wyatt are established as drug dealers, close up shots of the characters sniffing the drugs creates pessimistic thoughts about them, showing them as unlawful citizens, also emphasising the notion of Hippies being outcasts. Throughout the protagonists journey drugs play an important part in their actions; this becomes clear to the audience as drugs are presented within every major stage of their journey. After ironically selling junk at a junk yard, Billy and Wyatt next travel to a commune. The first few seconds of footage makes the audience believe the commune is going to represent a beautiful America, a mid shot of a tranquil valley portrays this idea. The real lifestyle is then revealed; a colourless pallet of browns makes the commune instantly look mundane as this is juxtaposed in the audiences mind to the valley of vibrant blues and greens. When the characters arrive, diegetic sound codes of laughter and singing makes the community seem very welcoming and living a happy lifestyle, this notion is soon changed when close up shots of feet walking on bare ground reveal their desperation for crops and food. A long camera pan then shows the depressed and desperate faces of each person in the commune, this could also represent the struggle that Hippies are having in the American society. A prayer for simple food makes the audience empathise for the characters, the man who says the pray er could be perceived as being a Jesus figure, his appearance of long hair, a beard and a necklace present the audience with this notion. Even though Billy and Wyatt are convinced that the people in the commune will make it ( Hopper,D,1969) the prayer for good crops visually foretells the disaster that lies ahead, the commune will fail because its hope and idealism have outstripped reality. ( International Movie Database, no date) Sexual innuendos are also created between Billy, Wyatt and two females from the commune, flirtatious conversations and having a naked swim together displays this idea, whilst also portraying a sense of freedom. Billy and Wyatt then move on to their next destination, they end up riding in a parade. Up-beat diegetic music of the band playing, helps the audience to escape into the world of the characters, the music also portrays an idea that America is a country of celebration; soon after the celebration begins the sound of police sirens take over and instantly the audience are aware the characters have been unlawful again. Billy and Wyatt are put into prison for parading without a licence, Billy cannot believe they have been put in prison because Wyatt is Captain America and he is Billy. Ironically Wyatt has been given the nickname Captain America, Captain America is a comic book super hero, who wears American motifs which is similar to Wyatt who has the flag on his helmet and his jacket; the fact he has been given the name Captain America connotes that he is a powerful character. Billys name could also be perceived as relating to Billy the Kid who was as an American outlaw in the 19th Centur y, this is because Billy is also classed as being an outlaw for being a Hippie. In Prison Captain America and Billy meet and American Lawyer called George, George states that he can tell that they have just arrived because they have still long hair in a scissor happy society. This displays zeitgeist in America; in Texas in 1968 long hair was not allowed, citizens had to have their hair shaved off which would beautify America, this could be portrayed as America shaving away peoples freedom, again creating a vision of a critical America. George uses his high status career to get them all out of prison and they decide to continue their journey together. During a break from their journey, Billy and Wyatt convince the American Lawyer to smoke marijuana; this could represent how the Hippie culture is starting to take over the American Society. The next critical stage in the characters journey is in a cafe, the cafe conveys messages that America can be a racist and homophobic society. A panning shot establishes that everyone in the cafe is white and instantly displays the idea of a racist society. When Billy, Wyatt and George enter the cafe a sheriff stereotypes them, referring to them as trouble makers, another man then calls Billy a she because of his particularly long hair, these phrases cause the audience to think that these men are intimidated by the Hippies which is why they are reacting to them in this manner. The notion of America being a racist society is reiterated when one of the men says that he should mate Billy with one of those black winches out there as thats about as low as they come. This dialogue confirms the audiences original instinct about a racist America. Billy, Wyatt and George are also referred to as having green skin not white, this may be perceived as representing that they are alienated from soc iety because of their hippie culture. The ideology of homophobic America is also displayed within this scene when the men call the hippies Yankee queers as they leave the cafe. After the cafe scene George is shown as the conscience, he states that this used to be a hell of a good country, this displays zeitgeist about how American society is changing and becoming more critical. Because George used to be a true American he knows what the main problem Americans have with the Hippie culture and why they react in such a pessimistic way, he informs the characters and the audience that the Americans are simply scared of what the Hippie culture represents, freedom, this explains the attitude of the men in the cafe and almost allows the audience to align with their point of view. This also makes the audience realise that this may be the reason all Americans in Texas had to have their hair shaved off, to avoid the representation of freedom. Later in Easy Rider the conscience is killed by th e men in the cafe, this displays how Americans are scared of freedom and do become dangerous to try and stop it, just like George stated earlier in the film. The next stage in Billys and Wyatts journey revolves around a whore house, this scene explores the themes of drugs and sex displaying Americas women as not living the conventional American dream, but in fact selling their body to men and being easily lead. The camera follows the characters around the house allowing the audience to see many women are waiting for desperate men to pay for their services, this creates a pessimistic view of American women displaying them as weak and dependent of men. It is in this scene where the audience realise that Billy and Wyatt have made it to Mardi-Gras, instead of flirting with his whore Wyatt asks whats happening out on the streetsMardi-Gras. The loud diegetic sounds of the celebrations combined with the overriding noise of the police sirens reminds the audience of the earlier parade and creates an enigma that something is going to happen. When the hippies and the whores take to the streets of Mardi-Gras everyone in society appears to be staring at them, again creating a sense of being outcast and alienated. The theme of drugs becomes dominant in the characters actions when they all arrive in a cemetery; after taking the drugs quick cross cuts of, religious readings, the sun, the cemetery, the sky turning in circles, Wyatt sitting on a statue, a whore naked and a deathly figure, this puts the audience in the position of the characters creating a sense of disorientation, forcing the audience to see the effects of the drugs clearly, this emphasises the influence that hippies are having on American society and the rise of drug use because of their culture. The figure in black is perceived as representing death, when Wyatt his sitting on the statue saying why did you leave me like that he is seen to be holding the figures umbrella, this creates an innuendo that the characters may be close to death, the statue in which Wyatt is sitting on may also be seen as representing the statue of Liberty, displaying that he feels America ha s let him down. Next, the iconic phrase stated by Wyatt, we blew it, is presented to the audience when the characters are sitting round a camp fire, this phrase displays how the character could not find the America he was looking for, and did not make any change to the critical American society. In the final scene, Billy is shot off of his bike by two American men in a truck, who decided to shoot him because he was a hippie; Wyatt drives back and places the jacket with the American motif over Billy before going for help, whilst going to get help he himself gets shot by the same men, a crane shot of the flame from Wyatts bike displays that their journey is over; because Hippie culture made them so alienated in American society they were killed. The final songs lyrics where ever the river flows is where I want to be connotes a final message of freedom. The shootings also display zeitgeist, in the 1960s 5 political leaders were assassinated, Malcolm X, John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. In conclusion an affirmative and critical America is represented within Easy Rider, the way in which the themes of, drugs, sex, hippie culture, freedom and racism are portrayed show a critical America. The affirmative characters seek to find the American dream lifestyle but where ever they travel all they can find is a critical America. The film leaves the audience wondering why the American society does not let people have freedom and makes them question as to why the American dream lifestyle is always represented in films when it is so hard to find in reality. Through not displaying the conventional American lifestyle the director and producers of Easy Rider have challenged Hollywood cinema and created freedom for future film makers. From the lowest-Budget, most formally audacious or politically radical to the quirky, the offbeat, the cultish and the more conventional, the independent sector has thrived in American cinema producing a body of work that stands out from the dominant Hollywood mainstreamIt represents a challenge to Hollywood. (King, G. 2005, 1) Word count: 2310 Filmography Easy Rider, 1969. Film. Dennis Hopper. America. Columbia Pictures. Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage, 1999. Video. Charles Kiselyak. America. Columbia TriStar home video.

Child Psychology Services (Part 1) Essay

Explain the importance of safeguarding children and young people Safeguarding children and young people is a key for all professionals who work in all settings where they have contact with children, more so children who could be more vulnerable than others i.e. a child who struggles with a physical or mental disability. All children need to feel safe and secure and are being taught or mentored by adults they can trust. It is of the upmost importance that the correct people, whether they are full time employees or volunteers are given CRB checks. All agencies involved with children (more so, vulnerable children and young people) must take practical measures to make certain that the risk of harm to children/young people’s wellbeing is minimised. If there are concerns about a child/young person’s welfare then all agencies must take appropriate action to deal with these concerns, i.e. working to the agreed local policies and procedures for safeguarding children, keeping records of all reports made about the child is essential as a source to safeguarding children. Explain the importance of a child or young person centred approach Essential to safeguarding and encouraging the welfare of a child or young person is having a child’s centred approach. This could include seeing and keeping a child focused through difficulties they could be experiencing. Listening and ascertaining a child’s wishes and feelings will be important for the child, especially if they have formed a strong bond with the professional they are opening up to. It will also be imperative to a child if that professional close to them understands their daily lives and what they might be experiencing, no matter how hard it could be for the adult to hear. Crucially the child or young person will know there are people out there to help and support them when they need advice or guidance. It is important for a child centred approach because every child is different and a unique individual. A child’s wishes should always be taken into account. The national framework for Every Child Matters (Children’s Act 2004) was set up to support children or young people to ensure the joining up of services to ensure that each individual achieves the five Every child Matters Outcomes which offer support to children to enable them to be; †¢ Healthy. †¢ Stay safe. †¢ Enjoy and achieve. †¢ Make a positive contribution. †¢ Achieve economic well-being. Explain what is meant by partnership working in the context of safeguarding. When it comes to safeguarding, children are best protected when professionals know what is required of them and how they work together. This means that everyone who works with children has a responsibility for keeping them safe which involves identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action. To carry this out effectively professionals need to work in partnership with each other. Unfortunately, the importance of doing this has come about from professionals failing to protect Victoria Climbie who died in 2000. Her death was preventable as doctors, police and social workers all came into contact with her and had concerns. However, the doctors who treated her discharged her to her abusers care and admitted they assumed the social services would investigate. The social workers were described as incompetent and Victoria’s social worker felt unsupported by her supervisor and described her colleagues as conflicted and chaotic. The police too failed to fully investiga te Victoria’s home (for fear of catching scabies) although close family members and Victoria’s child-minder raised their concerns. Following this case lessons were learnt and recommendations put into place to try and prevent another tragedy where successful partnership working for safeguarding should have stepped in earlier to avoid this abuse. To provide adequate safeguarding measures it helps to have a complete ‘picture’ of the child. Partnership working means each professional, (whether it’s the police, NHS, educations departments, NSPCC or social workers), if they have concerns to do with safeguarding, welfare child protection, they should work with the other agencies in contact with that child. Each of these professionals may have one snapshot and a concern that  may, on its own, not necessary need intervention. By working in partnership and sharing information the bigger picture evolves and, if each profession has a different concern, together the dots can be joined and a clearer decision can be made on any intervention measures. To help co-ordinate partnership working professionals use the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) to assess a child’s needs and use the outcomes to provide access to services to provide necessary support. CAF is a voluntary process which is used with informed consent so families do not have to engage and if they do they choose what information that they want to share. The CAF process is aimed to be used when a teacher, the child concerned or their parent raises concerns about that child’s health, development, welfare, behaviour or progress in learning/wellbeing. The information gathered enables an assessment to be made of what help is required and how it will be delivered and by whom. A Team around the Child (TAC) is then created to implement the requirements. The professionals that make a TAC vary from child to child depending on their needs and within the TAC a lead professional will have the responsibility to coordinate the work. Describe the roles and responsibilities of the different organisations that may be involved when a child or young person has been abused or harmed. When a child has been abused or harmed the first line response will be at the point of the allegation or discovery. This could happen in any number of settings, for example at school, in a medical setting or by a child calling child line. All of the agencies or organisations will need to work together but have their own roles in helping the child. – Social Services have statutory responsibilities to provide support to vulnerable children and families in need. This may be after a death or when families are finding day to day life difficult. Most social workers are employed by social services. – Health Visitors have a responsibility for the health of babies and young children under the age of five. They provide support and guidance to the parents of young children and carry out assessments of the child’s development. – General Practitioners (GPs) work in the community, usually from health centres, and are the gateway to other health services. GPs are often the first people to identify possible abuse when a child attends the surgery. – Probation Services support people convicted of some offences to be rehabilitated into the community. They have a key role in monitoring people convicted of offences against children and should ensure that those people do not pose a threat to any local children. – Police are involved in the criminal proceedings that may result from safeguarding issues. – Schools and Training Organisations are key to identifying and supporting children between the ages of 5 – 18 years when they are in need of help. All staff working with children and young people should be trained in safeguarding and protection. – Child Psychology Services will often be needed to support children who have experienced harm or abuse.

The Issue Of Gender Roles - 1791 Words

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Should Marijuana Be Legalized - 973 Words

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