Easy Rider (1969)
One of the earliest films of the New Hollywood era, this classic counterculture film is also one of the most interesting critiques of the American Dream. After scoring a huge sum of money from a Mexican drug deal, two hippies, Wyatt and Billy, make the road trip from L.A. to New Orleans in the hopes of going to Mardi Gras and then blissfully living out their lives in Florida.
Along the way, Wyatt and Billy meet George Hanson, brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson. Hanson, a lawyer and an alcoholic, delivers the message of the film. He states that while America talks constantly about freedom, it is secretly hostile to anyone who is actually free. In other words, everyone wants to achieve the American Dream, but no one wants to see anyone else achieve it. That analysis of America is made manifest in the film’s violent climax.
This idea also plays out against the backdrop of the hippie movement, which sought freedom through the liberal use of drugs. Near the end of the film, Billy proclaims that, “We’ve done it. We’re rich!” To which Wyatt replies, “We blew it.” For Wyatt, the Dream isn’t just about reaching financial success as it is for Billy. It’s about freedom, and he believes that drug use has corrupted his sense of that. He wanted a utopian fantasy of freedom, but instead ended up with nothing more than a bad LSD trip and a pair of hookers for company. The hippie version of freedom has its own fatal flaws.
Easy Rider is one of those films that perfectly captures a moment of history. It depicts two very different Americas, each with its own imperfect definition of the American Dream.
Read more: http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/the-10-best-films-that-redefined-the-american-dream/#ixzz3XJmBdae7