In my exploration of the American new wave, I will be looking in particular at the first few years of this movement and the social and political contexts that are echoed in this time. I will be studying The Graduate, 1967 [1] Midnight Cowboy,1969 [2] and Easy Rider, 1969. [3] The American New Wave, sometimes referred to as New Hollywood refers to the time from the late 1960s to the early 1980's when a new generation of film makers in the United States influenced the type of films produced, their production and marketing the way studios approached film making.
The 1960s is a crossroad in the whole of American history. The counterculture youth had became identified by the idea that they rejected the conventional social norms and cultural standards of their parents and the 1950s as a whole. This was especially in respect to racial segregation and the initial widespread support for the Vietnam War. [8] (Hirsch, Eric D. 1993) Many young people also feared that the nuclear arms race coupled with America's involvement in Vietnam would lead to a nuclear holocaust. [9] Widespread tensions developed in society between generations regarding sexual liberation, women's rights, race relations, traditional roles of authority and of course a materialist interpretation of the American dream. Thanks to a widespread economic prosperity, the white middle class youth, the bulk of the western counterculture, had far more time to turn their attention to social issues. [10] (Krugman, Paul. 2007)
Mike Nichols' The Graduate, released in 1967, follows the story of 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock, who has recently graduated from college but has no aim in life, much to the annoyance of his parents. Ben is seduced by an older woman, Mrs. Robinson, but then proceeds to fall in love with her daughter Elaine. Benjamin, a confused and innocent youth, is exploited, misdirected, seduced and betrayed by a corrupt, decadent and discredited older generation, a perfect metaphor for how the disaffected youth felt at the time. The film perfectly captures the spirit of the time and reflects the confusion and helplessness of the American young people in the 1960s. Instead of just being a comedy, the graduate plays an essential role in reflecting and promoting the culture and ideology of the 1960s America. It shows more sympathy than satire to the young generation at that time. There was already a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo and middle-class values and The Graduate mirrored that anarchic mood perfectly for America's youth of the 1960's during the escalation of the Vietnam War. Benjamin is the epitome of how aimless and unenthusiastic the young disaffected youth of America was or at least would become as they approached middle age and worked in sterile corporate settings.
The Graduate begins with a close-up on Ben's face, showing his void, loneliness and helplessness, at first it appears he is alone until the camera zooms out to reveal that he is on an airplane surrounded by bored, sleeping, expressionless people, and importantly, Ben blends in. The following shot is Ben standing expressionless on a moving walkway; he is about to return home to a world full of superficial people and this shot represents it visually. Ben is being propelled towards his future as if just another cog in the wheel but he is unsure if this is what he wants for himself. This shot lasts for over a minute and allows for a careful observation of the protagonist, which leads to the interpretation that Ben is in a daze. Ben seems almost out of place, he seems unhappy and out of his element as he moves forward. The important thing to remember is that Ben is the visual representation of the disaffected youth of the 1960’s; we as the audience are made to think critically about who Ben is. Not only does this slow pace allow the audience to think about the protagonist, with the help of Simon and Garfunkel's relaxing score, the audience is put in a somewhat sedated state of mind, specifically how Ben feels throughout the majority of the film. Sound of Silence is essentially the theme song of the film and expresses a stuck and hollow feeling, which is inherently the keynote of the whole film. Nichols quickly introduces us to the major thematic premise of the film, as Ben's bag travels down the baggage claim it passes a sign that says, "Do they match?" The film is about Ben feeling as if he does not fit in with superficial world that he lives in. The narrative follows Ben as he tries to find where he fits in, where he feels comfortable, where he matches. This reflects the general attitude from the youth of the time, they were unsure of how they were supposed to fit into a society that they didn't agree with.
The film is largely silent when it comes to actual social issues the counterculture youth cared about but does a good job of using subtly to demonstrate some of the issues. For example, one scene of the film shows Ben sitting in the campus of Berkeley whilst the American flag waves high above his head. This is an important image because Berkeley was one of the most active campuses during the anti-war movement in the 1960s. [11] (Gales, Kathleen E. 1966) It was world-famous due to the strike against the Vietnam War organised by the students at the time and the Free Speech Movement in 1964. [12] The anti-war movement was key in showing the youth's sense of social responsibility and their desire for a better world. Hippies were also a good illustration of the youth culture at that time, as they had become the largest countercultural group in the United States. Hippies were against the mainstream reacted to the difficult times by dropping out of society. [13] (Yablonsky, Lewis. 1968) There is one scene in the film that perfectly captures the hippy movement. Whilst Ben and Elaine are talking in the car, there are some hippies playing rock music beside their car. When Ben asks for them to turn the music down they respond by turning it up, their reaction shows the idea of counterculture and disapproval by the social mainstream. Being a strong symbol for the 1960s disaffected youth culture; hippies are remembered for their fancy clothes, psychedelic rock and deviant behaviour like taking drugs. [14] (Pendergast, Sara. 2004) Sexual revolution and women's rights were also part of the counterculture movement and it is shown in the film by the character of Mrs. Robinson and specifically her seductive behaviour. This new culture of 'free love' encouraged millions to accept that sex was a natural part of everyday life. [15] (Allyn, David. 2000) The affair between Ben and Mrs. Robinson also shows Ben's loneliness and helplessness, an emotion shared by many of the youth of the 1960s.
At the start of the film, Ben and his father have a conversation about what is troubling Ben, he is hesitant in answering but declares that he just wants his future to be different. Behind them is a fish tank; this image of Ben being underwater becomes almost a motif of the film, implying that he drowning a world that he doesn't agree with. The combination of the fish tank behind Ben with Ben declaring his need for a different future establishes Ben’s dramatic need. Being they keynote of the film, this hollow feeling lasts till the end of the film. At the end of the end of the film when Ben and Elaine are making their getaway on the bus, their facial expressions are quite calm compare to how ecstatic they were before they boarded the bus. They may have escaped their families and finally been able to make their own decisions but that's useless if they don't know what to do next. This kind of hollow feeling shows exactly the ideology of the disaffected youth of 1960s America. Unlike the older generation who had a strong idea of the 'American dream', the youth of the 1960s had not experienced the hardship caused by war. [16] (Roszak, Theodore. 1968) The older generation hoped the young people would cherish their peaceful life and to continue fighting for the 'American dream' but the younger generation did not understand why and as such starting disagreeing with social situations. The conversation between Ben and his father shows the difference in the sense of value between the two generations, which further reflects the attitude of the young people towards the value of tradition, Ben doesn't know what he wants to do but he at least wants it to be different. The two different values had conflicted with each other for several years, and by the late 1960s there was a strong dissatisfaction of the current social situation among the young people. With the outbreak of the Vietnam War, both the counterculture movement and anti-war movement culminated in around 1967 and The Graduate exactly shows the idea of counterculture of the time.
John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy, released in 1969, follows Joe Buck, a handsome texan dishwasher, and his move to New York. Here he hopes to make easy money as a prostitute for what he percieves as a rich middle-aged class of bored women. he finds that New York is a lot tougher than he thought and his hunting is unsuccessful. He meets a crippled street con man, Ratso, who eventually seems to have a heart of gold, and the two bond over surviving with very little money. They struggle as Joe's clients offer little money and Ratso's health diminishes. Everything seems positive as Joe get's some work but he returns to find Ratso's health has worsened and what follows is a heartfelt attempt to get Ratso to Miami.
Joe Buck's story is an old one, with it's roots in the American dream but Midnight Cowboy has an anti-American dream narrative that seeks to show America's underbelly, the greasy, dark and starving lifestyle that so strongly juxtaposes the ideal American dream. Joe Buck is entirely American, a bright eyed, handsome youth with dreams of making it big in the city, all while refusing to remove his American costume, his cowboy attire. Joe has an almost romantic fascination with the cowboy life just like the American media does, despite westerns rarely depicting what the life of a cowboy is actually like, the films have become a symbol of an ideal American ambition, with actors like John Wayne enforcing this ideal. Therefore it is appropriate when Ratso tells Joe he will be perceived as a homosexual prostitute by clients on the street if he does not lose the cowboy clothes. Joe refuses to believe that his ideal image of the American man is a sign of homosexuality in New York City and challenges Ratso, "John Wayne, you're gonna tell me he's a fag?" he cries, almost in tears. The depiction of homosexuality must be read at face value, Joe sees homosexuality tarnishing the American cowboy image, which in reality was merely a fictitious, romantic and naive version of the truth. In westerns, cowboys are shown to be tough, hardworking and above all, a symbol of justice and the American way, but the hero cowboy is a Hollywood lie and Joe Buck never realised this.
When on the bus to New York, he listens to his radio and when the he knows he has arrived when the radio picks up a New York City station. It is the radio that leads Joe Buck when he doesn’t have a friend in the world. Joe’s obsession with his radio embodies America’s own fascination with media, be it a moral or immoral one. the film revolves around joe's need of money, and another of it's motifs is the Mutual of New York Building, which flash MONY in the night sky. Commercialism and bright lights line the streets of New York, and each street seems to be hiding gold, but New York is not the city Joe thought it would be. In one poignant scene, Joe sleeps with a woman in a penthouse with the hopes she'll pay him and while they're in bed the TV changes channel at a fas pace, showing a large number of adverts as well as other pointless programmes. This scene mixes together advertising with sex, money and lust, to create an unreadable and unreal situation that is, uncomfortable to watch and for Joe, unrewarding. In one poignant scene, Joe sleeps with a woman in a penthouse in the hopes that she will pay him, and while they’re in bed, the tv flips through channels at a schizophrenic pace, showing an absurd number of advertisements and other inane programming. This scene mixes together commercials with sex, money and lust, mixes them into an unreadable, unreal situation that is nauseating, confusing, and, for Joe, unrewarding. While the scene may seem a bit too precise for contemporary viewers, it holds the film’s thesis, that Joe’s naive ambitions and his ideal America are just that, naive, and that he will not earn money, no matter how many bus trips he takes.
Midnight Cowboy is a film that begins on a bus, and ends on a bus. The American cannot sit still, he must constantly travel, gaining experience, in order to 'make it big' as it were. The film embodies the notion of leaving the country for the big city and if anything is an education against it, a wary tale for starry-eyed kids. In another Dustin Hoffman film, The Graduate, Hoffman's character escapes on a bus with the girl he claims to love. that film too dispels an American myth and Midnight Cowboy can almost be read as a sequel, about what happens when Hoffman gets off the bus and back into the gritty world. Midnight Cowboy's title brings to mind the essential American narrative, the western, but it is no such thing. The film attempt to portray the truth, in as honest way as possible, of life on the streets of Times Square. It's thematic premise may not be as striking today as it it was when first released, and sometimes it feels particularly dated. If nothing else, the film succeeds in it's portrayal of the friendship of Joe and Ratso, two outcasts try make a living. While initially rocky, their friendship blooms into an married couple-esque relationship, and in the end, each truly cares about each other. Against the sex and ads and MONY sign, Joe and ratio's relationship is the only real thing in the whole film. The film dispels the American dream in favour of the American people, the counterculture youth didn't follow this American dream their parents had believed in but instead each had their own dream, this film very much promotes this but just like The Graduate it shows the hopelessness of the people as they each achieve their own American dream.
Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider tells the story of two bikers, Captain America and Billy, who travel through the American southwest as they look for America but can't seem to find it anywhere. Easy rider explores the social issues and tensions in 1960s America, such as the rise and fall of the hippie movement, communal lifestyle and drug use. The film presents something fairly alien in cinema, two characters attempting to escape from a country they never asked for, in any way that they can. A landmark counter culture film, it defies as many conventions of America cinema as it does conventions of American social life. By changing the conventional road movie narrative, incorporating modern folk/rock music as non-diegetic sound and using shocking imagery, both socially and in terms of editing style, Easy Rider stands as a testament to the changes going on in 1960's America.
As much as Easy rider seems to follow the traditional road movie, it does not. It seems as though the Captain and Billy are attempting an exodus from normal life but it could be argued that they have long dropped out of the 'normal' way of living and are merely trying to complete the final phase of their journey, implied by Billy when he speaks of retiring to Florida. It seems as though the Captain has a realisation of sorts after taking LSD in New Orleans graveyard and as such has a subtle change of identity, but this is never stated explicitly, only implied in the captains despondent demeanour after the Mardi Gras festival when he tells Billy "we blew it". When the conventions of the road movie are used very sparingly, it becomes very difficult to argue that Easy Rider is following typical narrative conventions. Another instance of violating narrative conventions are a little mote subtle, but even more meaningful in establishing Easy Rider is what is is. The narrative structure of Easy Rider is set up so that as the film progresses and the two drifters ride further from the Pacific, their interactions with everyone from George the lawyer to local townsfolk begin "casting judgement on American society's failure to live up to it's ideals." [17] (Cummings, William. 2005) Easy Rider is a movie about being a stranger in your own country, the land they live on doesn't really belong to them anymore. When the Captain and Billy travel from West to East, the opposite of traditional road movies, it is because they have nothing left to gain from the old America. The Manifest Destiny [18] (Miller, Robert J. 2006) has run its course, the atomic bombs could fall at any minute and none of the old fashioned patriotism seems to mean anything anymore. The characters show a sense of this when the bikers are in the desert and the hippie hitchhiker says that "the people this place belongs to are buried under here." Perhaps the Captain and Billy feel like that in travelling back to the East they are, somehow, giving back the land that may not have been theirs in the first place.
There are many scenes in Easy Rider that transgress acceptable American film imagery, it is important to note that these visual 'social sins' are ones which can be taken out of narrative contact and still hold meaning as standalone images. There has always been a rule in mainstream cinema that drugs should either be detrimental to a character's life or to signify the deviant behaviour of a character, neither of these things are true about the Captain or Billy. Their use of drugs is portrayed sympathetically throughout the film, marijuana in particular being shown as nothing more than a means of evening relaxation, to add to the controversial nature of drug use in Easy Rider, it is worth mentioning that all illegal drugs used in the making of the film were in fact real. [19] Although the drug use of the bikers is meant to separate them from mainstream society and as such mainstream protagonists, all it really serves to do is highlight their sense of disappointment with the American dream. As Billy and the Captain wander through New Orleans during an acid trip, we do not see images of decadence or deviance, but those of fear and loathing. This all occurs after the death of George, a man with such deep concerns for the state of his country, who could actually see past the bright colors, through the pot haze and understand that this new generation was restless for a reason. A man like George, with his eloquent speech and unique outlook on America, could have been the salvation of his country; instead, he is killed by the members of what he referred to many times as the “antiquated hierarchy” that exists in the U.S.
Even the use of non-diegetic sound in Easy Rider shows a disassociation from the old America, in terms of cinematic conventions. The film has always been noted for it's use of popular music of the day like Jimi Hendrix and The Byrds, instead of typical methods of soundtracking like an orchestra. There is importance to be found in the use of rock and folk music for the soundtrack. (Biskind, Peter. 1998) It helps to establish the counterculture which the Captain and Billy are supposed members of, not as a hollow extension of American society but as a living subculture, complete with its own attitudes, modes of living and music. At times, the music even has direct meaning, as the two vagabond riders move through the desert, 'The Weight' by The Band plays in the background. This is a song ironically juxtaposed to the situation of the Captain and Billy. The song follows a man who carries a burden because he has a definite place to go and do something specific, whereas our travellers carry a weight on their shoulders because they have no where to go and nothing to do. They are part of a counterculture which feels disregarded by establishment for possessing 'radical' views on the Vietnam War, use of drugs, styles of dress and has chosen to wander until a place can be found which accepts them. They are "Born to Be Wild", they will not be able to "Take a Load Off" within the realm of mainstream society.
The films closing scene is also very visually startling, in addition to it being narratively curious. Almost without warning and within only two minutes of screen time, both Billy and the Captain are shot down on the road by a shotgun-wielding man in a truck.After Billy is shot, the Captain circles back aid his dying friend. Right before he leaves to get help, the Captain removes his jacket and covers Billy with it, leaving an image of the American flag lying face-up on his body. This moment, in which the flag which is supposed to be protecting the hippie motorcyclist is the same flag which the man in the truck uses to justify his hatred, is rife with irony. Even though the American flag looks the same to both men, there is a great difference in opinion over what it really stands for. On one side is exceptionalism and the American dream; on the other is the death of that dream, where progress is no longer an “unalterable destiny with our civilization as the essence” [21] (Nisbet, Robert. 1961)
Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider was the filmic signifier for a new ideological structure that began to congeal in 1960s America, a mode of thought that would be met with resistance by the establishment. It was also the sign, along with movies like Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate, for a new era in American moviemaking. An era not about perpetuating the outdated ideals of a nation through the medium of film, or upholding the status quo through conventional techniques . With a little bit of hand-wringing over who is ‘really right’, Easy Rider took the position that Tocqueville’s assessment had fallen short in the second half of the twentieth century. It showed not a seedy underbelly of America, but a frustrated ‘other half’ expressing itself though an unconventional narrative, soundtrack and visual composition. Through the antics of Billy and the Captain we can see what happens to the American dream deferred, first it dries, like a raisin in the sun, then it explodes.
The American New Wave was very influential for the decades of American and world cinema that followed was rife with work that rejected cinema before it. Films no longer need a typical narrative structure, they can reject typical conventions of film because it has already been done and people identified with it. New wave films were incredibly popular amongst the younger generation, this is important because this was the future generation of film makers, the youth of the world realised that they did not have to live a life that was put in place by some sort of establishment, they could pursue their own dreams much like Benjamin Braddock, Joe Buck, Captain America and Billy intended to do. They cannot beat society but that does not mean they can crete their own, counterculture is very much live in both film and society today, almost to the extent that some would argue counterculture is the new culture. The movement of the 1960s American disaffected youth stood as an example for the world to follow if you don't agree with something then don't do it. Do not let someone else run your own life, in a world where we have so little real choice to make, make your own choices when you can and remember that the life you lead is only as real as you make it.
[2] Midnight Cowboy. 1969. [DVD] John Schlesinger. United States. United Artists.
[3] Easy Rider. 1969. [DVD] Dennis Hopper. United States. Columbia Pictures.
[4] King, Geoff. 2002. New Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction. London. I.B. Taurus.
[5] James, David E. 1989. Allegories of Cinema, American Film in the Sixties. New York. Princeton University Press.
[6] Lewis, John. 1998. The New American Cinema. New York. Duke University Press.
[7] Collins, Jim. Radner, Hilary. Preacher Collins, Ava. 1993. Film Theory Goes to the Movies. New York. Routledge.
[8] Hirsch, Eric D. 1993. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
[9] Rockin' At the Red Dog: The Dawn of Psychedelic Rock. 2005. [DVD] Mary Works.
Monterey Video/Sunset Home Visual Entertainment.
[10] Krugman, Paul. 2007. The Conscience of a Liberal. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
[11] Gales, Kathleen E. 1966. A Campus Revolution. The British Journal of Sociology. 17.
[12] Berkeley in the Sixties. 1990. [DVD] Mark Kitchell. California Newsreel First Run Features.
[13] Yablonsky, Lewis. 1968. The Hippie Trip. New York. Western Publishing Inc.
[14] Pendergast, Sara. 2004. Fashion, Costume and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations and Footwear Through the Ages. Detroit: UXL
[15] Allyn, David. 2000. Make Love, Not War: The Sexual Revolution: An Unfettered History. Routledge.
[16] Roszak, Theodore. 1968. The Making of a Counter Culture. University of California.
[17] Cummings, William. 2005. Easy Rider and American Empire: A Postcolonial Interpretation.
[18] Miller, Robert J. 2006. Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark and Manifest Destiny. Greenwood.
[19] Easy Rider: Shaking The Cage. 1999 [DVD] Charles Kiselyak. United States. Columbia TriStar Home Video
[20] Biskind, Peter. 1998. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. New York. Simon and Schuster.
[21] Nisbet, Robert. 1961. Foreign Policy and the American Mind.
