http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081485/
As we approach the finality of this odd little biker themed experiment
I find myself wondering ultimately what these films truly represent.
By definition the Biker genre is exploitive since the movement itself
is exploitive in its transformations from its origins. The
motorcycle becomes popularly available sometime in the 1920's and
aside from limited usage in WW1 and WW2 remains a cheap recreational
vehicle in North America. Following the end of WW2 a new movement
evolves with US Veterans purchasing army surplus motorcycles and
forming loose knit clubs and heading off on weekend rides to celebrate
their camaraderie.
However something changes in the American psyche following WW2 and
either through exposure to the European and Asian theatres and a new
economics some of the returning vets are not prepared to return to
life as it was before and a number of these motorcycle clubs diverge
from the 'weekend getaway ride' to a more radicalized outlaw variant
and thus what we believe to be "The Biker" is born. From James Deen's
cultural persona of the Rebel Without A Cause to Jax Teller and Kurt
Sutter's somewhat misguided attempt to original suggest that there can
be "Bikers with hearts of gold" in Sons of Anarchy the Biker thematic
incorporates freedom, resistance to authority, criminality, sexual
promiscuity, rape and basically just sticking it to the man.
Unforutanately this iconic hasn't truly existed circa 1960 when these
post WW2 biker gangs moved from being the outsiders to essentially
becoming another branch of organized crime. To that extent I somehow
expect that the organizations themselves welcomed the imagery that is
found in the movies or in examples of the Rolling Stones concert at
Altamont where the band learned first hand that these so called
'anti-establishment bikers' were in fact just criminals since being
perceived as criminals and thugs is something that the American psyche
comforts itself into believing that is a problem when push comes to
shove can be irradicated if necessary all the while ignoring the
reality that these gang leaders ride their bikes for ceremony.
That said are there any real depictions of the Biker genre? Who knows
but ultimately the films of the 50/60/70's spoke more to constructs
and these last two films demonstrate what the genre became in terms of
media.
Serial is not a biker movie but it does invovle a biker gang in a way
that speaks more to where the very concept of this anti-cultural
symbol has become so mainstreamed that it takes no effort to provide a
duality of how dangerous and yet how false the iconic has become.
Plus its a really funny movie, granted my age taints my view.
T.
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