Easy Rider : ridiculous demonization of the American South

ridiculous demonization of the American South

I grew up in the area and time where the murders in the movie take place and now live in New York City. I'm always shocked when seemingly intelligent, educated, adults believe that this was a plausible, commonplace, occurrence in the South at that (or this) time. There are many people in the North who still think that below the Mason Dixon lies a lawless, unaccountable country that none dare enter with Yankee plates.

Do your research people! All the images associated with the 2nd & 3rd Klan (burning crosses, white robes) were created by Hollywood for "Birth of a Nation"

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Copy/pasted below info from article that I just happened to be reading today online. I've read dozens of articles like this as well as history books.


According to the Tuskegee Institute, between the years 1882 and 1951, 3,437 African-Americans were lynched in the United States, mostly in the heart of Dixie. Felonious assault and rape (read: corrupting "the flower of white womanhood") were the two most frequent justifications for lynch mob actions.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Really? I lived in Greensboro, NC in the early 2000's.

And guess what? I saw this *beep* happen. Not only that, but it's still amazingly segregated, as is a lot of the south.



http://us.imdb.com/name/nm2339870/

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

In 1973, a friend of mine and I drove from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to New Orleans, where he was attending Xavier University. He's black, I'm white; we were high school best friends. We were stopped by police, local and state, SEVENTEEN TIMES on that trip. Not one of those times was in NH, MA, CT NY, PA, or MD. Then we hit Virginia, then the Carolinas and Georgia (we'd planned a stop to see some girls we knew in Jacksonville, Fla, but had to forgo that after a night in jail in Norcross, GA put us behind schedule), then deeper into lovely Dixie. We weren't at any point speeding (in fact, I think we kept our speed increasingly under the limit as we became more and more fearful), we weren't carrying drugs, we didn't drink. We were stopped for, essentially, having "yankee" license plates and, in his case, adding the offense of being black. And this was '73, when things had allegedly improved (Jimmy Carter, a "progressive," was governor of GA at the time).

Of course, at least we weren't murdered like the three civil-rights workers a few years earlier (see "Mississippi Burning")by rednecks who'd bury us in a dam then be let off by an all-white jury.

Don't tell me about the poor "demonized" American South. The Easy Rider ending was, sadly, ENTIRELY plausible.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Or I could tell you about the time (also in '73) when I was getting gas in Vinita, OK while driving my Dad's '71 Cadillac (registered in his name which is similar to mine) back to Tulsa from Joplin, MO. Apparently because I had hair down to the middle of my back, one of Vinita's Finest busted me for vagrancy (I did have a purpose in being there--I was gassing up my Dad's car, remember?). I later found out that the fine for vagrancy is $96.42 which just so happened to be the amount of cash that I was booked into jail with.

Oh, well. I guess I was lucky that I wasn't riding a Harley and wearing a "Yankee Flag" on my back.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

In 1972 I hitchhiked from Chicago to NYC in 2 days. Then I went down the east coast easily getting rides until I got to North Carolina. The cars went past me as they stared at my Charles Manson long hair in fear and whatever. I waited hours for rides in the south and often just started walking doing about twenty miles in a day. I was an 18 year old who had just finished high school and wanted to explore America as a vagabond. I had $300 in my pocket and often helped the people who picked me up pay for gas. In Greensboro, NC my ride dropped me off when they were turning where one interstate went into another. Cop picked me up and I spent two nights in the Greensboro jail for walking on the shoulder of the interstate highway. When I got out in the morning I took a bus back home to Chicago. A week later I hitchhiked west and had smooth sailing all the way to California. I live there today and have bad memories of the south.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Im really scared of the south after watching the documentary Paradise Lost http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost:_The_Child_Murders_at_Robin_Hood_Hills and its sequel.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

The problem is not EVERYONE in the south is like the ones depicted in the movie. And southerners that are not like the ones in Easy Rider get very offended at being lumped into that category just because they're from the south. No one likes to be stereotyped!

But I can tell you with absolute certainty that in every small town in the south, you very well can be at the mercy of the opinions and whim of the local law enforcement. I have to think it's not just the south, but everywhere south of the Mason Dixon line and from east Texas to Florida - certain stereotypes still hold true, good as well as bad.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Northern pigs will roust you if they feel like it and kick your ass for fun, too. There are Adam Henry cops EVERYWHERE.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

osopestoso wrote:
"Northern pigs will roust you if they feel like it and kick your ass for fun, too. There are Adam Henry cops EVERYWHERE."
-----------------------------------------------------

Northen cops don't just beat you up. They're also fond of sodomizing suspects with a stick.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Or shoot you 41 times (just because you're Black and you're reaching for your wallet). Then the Coroner says that the first shot was the kill shot and the other 40 bullets were redundant.

~~Bayowolf
I see the fnords!!

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Cops, bureaucrats, public officials, Northerners, Mid-westerners, Westerners, H.O.A., & the rest of us are like Southerners are all alike in wanting to control, manipulate, judge because people are not all that different anywhere. And cops, not just southern cops, are the same everywhere. In fact they probably have or will have the capacity to read all your internet post, etc. to determine if you're OK, if you fit in & conform, so as to judge & sentence you upon coming across you.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

more in the south



is Santa so jolly because he knows where all the bad girls live?

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

You got that right...........North is just as bad......

You Have a Hard Lip, Herbert..

Better Living Thru Chemistry

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South


The problem is not EVERYONE in the south is like the ones depicted in the movie.


Of course not. Many of them were decent, easygoing people. Just like George Hanson - as depicted in the movie.

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Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Hey, those rubes killed two drug dealers. Medals for everyone!!!

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

congrat, ranmel. Hands down the stupidest comment I have read this year.

the dudebert abides

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

The conditions in the south have improved quite a bit, but it is still home to some of the more close minded people in the country.

But at the time this film was made, the circumstances were entirely plausible.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

kenny-164 said:

The conditions in the south have improved quite a bit, but it is still home to some of the more close minded people in the country.

Have you forgotten the BOSTON busing crisis (1974-1988) in which both black and white people were murdered for racist reasons? Until the Civil Rights Act, there was segregation in all major USA cities, not just in the South. Don't kid yourself.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

"Do your research people! All the images associated with the 2nd & 3rd Klan (burning crosses, white robes) were created by Hollywood for "Birth of a Nation""
--------------------------------------------

Be that as it may, it is a FACT that the strongest opposition to the civil rights movement was down south, and it is in this context that Easy Rider operates. Never heard of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner have you? Ever heard of the musician who went by the stage name Johnny Rebel? Here's a hint: he wasn't the product of a northern state. Not even the midwest. Nope, good ol' Johnny Rebel (Clifford Trahan) was from the Pelican State.

Where you appear confused is in thinking that because certain people recognized that the lion's share of politically active racists were down south it necessarily means that us northerners automatically assume that all southerners are racist. Even in Easy Rider, the righteous and fun George Hanson hailed from down south, right??? Hell, even the very film you complain about perpetuating this stereotype doesn't categorically dismiss every southerner as a racist. In fact, Easy Rider did its fair share, via Jack Nicholson, of portraying southerners as far more colorful and intelligent than their northern and western counterparts.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

I went to college in the south and the freshman dorm was very noisy except on the 2nd floor where the dorm mother lived. I therefore asked an Ethiopian exhange student if I could room with him and he said yes. I was then told that the last white kid to have a black roomate was met in the parking lot at night by the KKK. To me, wanting better grades and more sleep was worth it so I told them to bring it on. There was never a problem and we became great friends.

Years later, I moved to Dallas and went to the rec center to play basketball. There I met the most racist people I ever encountered - the southern black, who did not comprehend Dr. King's message and felt he was entitled to everything. I did not notice this among the blacks who played from the north or those that had been in the military. Hopefully Obama will change the feeling of entitlement and we can all live equally.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Besides the prejudices I thought they made the south look beautiful.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

You expected Obama to REDUCE racial divisions? I sure didn't, and I haven't been surprised. Were you?

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

I don't like Southern accents, my ancestors fought for the union, and I have black relatives. I don't really like the South but I do agree that intolerance can be found everywhere, the South just has a wider and longer history with such things.

Maybe...Maybe Not...Maybe F@ck Yourself

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Rather a stupid thread, obvously, considering that the most charismatic and sympathetic character in the film was a Southerner. Also, if Billy and Wyatt's journey took them from, say, New York to Seattle rather than LA to NO, they'd have surely encountered an equal amount of hostility in the small towns in Montana or wherever, so it's not just a Southern thing.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

scottythefield, you wrote:
" Rather a stupid thread, obvously, considering that the most charismatic and sympathetic character in the film was a Southerner. Also, if Billy and Wyatt's journey took them from, say, New York to Seattle rather than LA to NO, they'd have surely encountered an equal amount of hostility in the small towns in Montana or wherever, so it's not just a Southern thing. "

You display your prejudice toward people living in small towns. Do you know the people living in small towns in Montana? I do. They're wonderful folks.

Many times people looking for bigotry need look no further than their mirror.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

QMan000, you wrote:
"I don't like Southern accents, my ancestors fought for the union, and I have black relatives. I don't really like the South but I do agree that intolerance can be found everywhere, the South just has a wider and longer history with such things."

Yes, intolerance can be found everywhere. Just read your own post.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

I can assure you all that the backwoods psycho murderers in this film and films like Deliverance are nothing more than hillbilly caricatures created in the name of sensationalism.

That's not to say there aren't the same problems that every place in the world faces.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Tell that to the people down here who've had crosses lit on their front lawns.
Or to the students who discovered a dead baby bear w. an Obama sign wrapped around it. Or to the people who got their tires slashed at an Obama rally. The no-hoods thing really becomes a moot point.

Racism is alive and well and I don't think it's too much of a stretch that it was even more overt 30 years ago. Small towns don't take too kindly to people who are "different". Of course you are right that this problem isn't limited to the South...but it's much less subtle here & would have been worse when this movie was made.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

I am from St. Louis (possibly the most racially polarized place in the country) and whenever I have been down South (always en route to a Florida vacation) it seems to me that whites and blacks co-exist and interact more easily than they do in the north. Also couldn't help but notice that there is no shortage of attractive African-American women in the south. There is something about them, a softness I'd call it, not found in black women up here.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

You're a *beep* liar. I've lived in middle GA since I was 5 and this place is filled with bigotry, stupidity, and an unwillingness (I dare say at this point, inability) to change. It's true that all of the south is that, but the backroads, where I lived, are that. Either you lived in Atlanta or you're a goddamn ex-Klansman, you piece of dog *beep*

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

I am a northerner that lives in Florida and I meet people everyday that have the same mentality as the sheriff and the rednecks in the diner in Easy Rider.

last movies seen: A Zed and Two Noughts (1985)8/10
Psych Out (1967) 8/10

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Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Completely Plausible and similar senseless murders happen all the freaking time in the United States....IN ALL STATES! Not just the South.

The South/U.S. has it's racist past and Hollywood will play off that. That is a fact and I don't think the movie was trying to stereotype all Southerners as racist murderers. Look at the southern rancher who lets them fix their bike and feeds them. And the educated LIKEABLE southerner George Hanson. Who I think was drinking because he HATED the racism and bigotry around him.

My Black friend was shot at (to kill) by two rednecks in a truck in Texas in the 90s. They fired multiple rounds and one bullet impacted 6" from his head. All he did was ask them if they saw who stole the radio out of his (Probably them). All southerners are NOT like the two Rednecks in the movie of course, but that doesn't mean they don't exist even today.

I'm from the North living in the South and I enjoy the friendliness of Southerners. I really notice the RUDENESS when I travel up North now.

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Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

My dad was stopped and held at gun point because the cop 'didn't recognise the car' he was driving.

Bit overboard pointing a gun to his head. This was in Texas though, I'm not sure if that's the 'south' you're referring to.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

The town wasnt mentioned so are you just saying this because you know it it nonsense and trying to provoke the reaction you received?

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Everybody all over the country has stories about jerk cops that threw their weight around. The fact is people in the south don't like people telling them what to do, and the stereotypes against the south tend to fuel the fire - pitting the south against the north. The civil war is still a sticking point to a fair lot of southerners who saw that war as a war that raped the constitution (at least the parts around state's rights.)

The north has a stereotype of presumed superiority over the south - as shown on tv shows and hollywood versions of a cartoon-like south. Many people in the south resent this and feel like the alienation between the south and the government (as represented by the north) is warranted.

Having said all that, there are hicks in the south that fit every stereotype shown in the movies. But it's not fair. But Hollywood has never been fair - it's full of phonies who don't know the real world. If you get your sociology or history from movies, as most people unfortunately do, you'll live in a fantasy land.

But as a Texan, in Easy Rider, the depiction of the rednecks were unpleasant, but not unrealistic. I'm not proud of that, but there it is. Still, without that conflict the hippy movement would've been even less impactive!

While I'm on the subject of Texas, I've heard Texas being thrown around too. Texas is an extremely big state with regions bigger than most states. It's also got more big cities whose populations are bigger than that of most states. It is absolutely impossible to stereotype Texas. It just can't be done - too many transplants and way too much diversity. But if you follow civil rights news, a few bad TABC cops can do a lot of damage. Another shameful strike against Texas since the James Byrd incident.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

It seems to me that Hollywood has catagorized the South in 3 different genres:

1. The Good Old Boy South--as seen in "The Dukes of Hazzard," and "Smokey and the Bandit."

2. The Ante-bellum South--as seen in "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Gone With the Wind," and "Jezebel."

and last but not least

3. The Redneck South--"Easy Rider," "In the Heat of the Night," and "Deliverance."

You're going to find narrow-minded people everywhere; it's just that the South had a reputation for many years as being more narrow-minded and prejudiced than the rest of the U.S. I live in NC, moved back in 2006 after spending the last 30 years living in Spain, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, California (twice), Florida and Alaska. My impression is that the South--at least my state--has changed dramatically in the last 30 years because of the influx of illegal aliens and Northerners. I guess there's still pockets of the "Old South" but I'm sure you'd have to look hard for them and they're probably more in the Deep South than anywhere else (IMHO)

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

People like that do exist in the south. But in all fairness some of the most racist people I've met were from New England. But I think the many people who think that are people 90 years old or older. I think your gripe is exaggerated on a lot of levels.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South



In 1961 a group calling themselves "the freedom riders" took to busses and transported civil rights advocates. The busses were attacked and at least one was burned. The civil rights museum in Birmingham has one on display. Easy Rider was filmed in 1968, 7 years after this incident. Therefore, I believe that what was depicted in Easy Rider is entirely plausable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_ride#Into_Mississippi

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Yep, your right, its totally not like that these days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2syY12OPkwI
Friendly folks.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

as I recall, Peter Fonda stated in the DVD-extras that spectators booed in California movie theatres after the final scene, but appplauded in Arkansas theatres. Might be his personal delusion. If not: frightening.
PS: in "First Blood", released 1982, the main character gets beaten up by local, rural, north-western-state police officers who did not like his appeareance ("long hair", "wearing 'the flag' etc.).So, Easy Rider is not Anti-South, but rather Anti-Square. Frightening again.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

Why would you care what ignorant people think anyway?

My body's a cage, it's been used and abused and I...LIKE IT!!

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

This film makes me terrified of rednecks! Why the hell they be so crazy, dog! Crazy Random violence.
I mean if ordinary 'white' guys who just look a bit different get that much hate and prejudice...

I don't even live in the US, but I have my own version of "rednecks" and "hicks" out here too.

Then again crazy random violence happens in the cities too hmmm.
However Nicholsons character is a Southerner, and he's awesome. hmmm.





Im just rambling.

Re: ridiculous demonization of the American South

I know for a fact people in small towns are very nice and accepting...If you look and act like they do.
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