Vatican newspaper pays tribute to 1969 hippie film Easy Rider, takes swipe at Hays Code
April 03, 2009
Calling its soundtrack “the musical manifesto of the hippie generation,” L’Osservatore Romano is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the film Easy Rider. In one article, Giuseppe Fiorentino and Gaetano Vallini discuss the movie’s songs, including Bob Dylan’s “It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding),” Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild,” and Jimmi Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9.” In a second article, Emilio Ranzato analyzes the movie’s significance and cultural context, and in doing so takes a swipe at the Hays Code-- which promoted wholesomeness in movies between 1930 and 1968-- as “hypocritical and anachronistic.”
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Further information:
- Giuseppe Fiorentino e Gaetano Vallini: Il manifesto in musica della generazione hippy: Nati per essere selvaggi (L’Osservatore Romano)
- Quarant'anni fa l'America della crisi del Vietnam e del dopo Kennedy tornava a nutrirsi di una nuova leggenda: Easy Rider l'epica della contro epica (L’Osservatore Romano)
- The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 (Hays Code)
- Easy Rider (USCCB review)
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Posted by: Chestertonian -
Apr. 12, 2010 7:55 PM ET USA
I, for one, would be quite happy if the Hays code were put back into use. I saw Easy Rider at the ripe old age of 17, on a date with a guy who was only interested in it for the music--and for the double feature, "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice"--we didn't date for long. I found both films to be forgettable, at best. Cultural icons? Maybe, if you agree the culture is rotting from within.
