Easy Rider Formalistic Editing and Meaning essays

Easy Rider Formalistic Editing and Meaning essays Dennis Hopper injects many different cinematic styles; notably his use of editing and camera movement throughout the film resulting in the counter-culture flavored film Easy Rider. From the establishing shot of Wyatt tossing away his gold watch- literally tossing time away- to the cuts of him (Wyatt) and the Kid about to depart cross-country on their Harleys, he sets the theme of freedom in America and personal discovery. There is spacial continuity in several scenes such as the long shots when Wyatt is changing tires in the barn cut with the shots of the farmer changing the shoe on his horse, symbolizing the quest for freedom and a new frontier. Camera angles and lighting are used well to capture the feeling of freedom using telephoto lenses and dolly shots as seen in the bike/road scenes as they embark on their quest seeking a new frontier. The majority of the film editing is jarring and creative, ignoring the conventional 180 degree rule. The varying camera angles, quick cut s and zooms distort the scene in the graveyard to mimic an LSD trip. This scene symbolizes that using hard drugs will lead to death. Hoppers use of jump cuts, crossovers, and the quick cuts that are reflective of formalistic discontinuity editing are notably visible in the closing scenes that create anxiety and disorientation in the viewer leading up to the suprising, violent and symbolic ending of the film. The high angles and birds eye-view camera angles in the final scene along with the wide pans give the film realism and brings closure to the theme the film was trying to get across. As we see the final arial shot of the road and the burning bike we know and realize that the carefree ideology the 60s counterculture generation represented was gone. The only freedom, as Wyatt and the Kid show us, is through death. The cultural meaning, the ideological theme of Easy Rider was about freedom, reb...