The movie "Easy Rider" opened in movie theaters nationwide on this day in 1969. "Easy Rider" told the story of two rebellious members of the young Boomer generation who set out on a cross-country trip to feed their free spirits.
"Easy Rider" reflected the young anti-establishment generation that defied and challenged the establishment in every way possible. Ironically - much of what members of the Boomer generation think about young generations today is exactly what the establishment thought to them when they were growing up.
The soundtrack to "Easy Rider" remains an iconic piece of rock history and songs like "Born To Be Wild," "Don't Bogart That Joint," and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" that spoke to the anti-establishment attitudes of a young generation.
[Spoiler Alert if you haven't seen the movie]:
The end of the movie caused me to leave the theater embarrassed that I was from the South and gave fuel to my individual efforts to be totally different from my parents' generation. The movie ends with the hippie characters played by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper being blasted with a shotgun from two men in a pickup truck on a two-lane road in rural Louisiana. The hippy characters were killed because they had long hair and long hair represented the anti-establishment generation.
When I witness the collective judgment of the Boomer generation on my talk show on WWL, I wonder how many Boomers remember that they were part of a generation that was judged for their rebellious long hair, justified drug use, promotion of equality with Blacks and homosexuals, and an anti-U.S. government sentiment.
The criticism many boomers have of today's younger generations parrots the criticism the establishment had of them when they were young.
The movie "Easy Rider" in the context of American society today - reminds us the Boomers were outrageously rebellious.
