Known as the lead actor in "Easy Rider" and the son of a Hollywood legend, Fonda leaves behind a legacy of rebellion and cultural impact.
Henry Fonda, a luminary of classic Hollywood, raised his children, Jane and Peter, in an environment of privilege but marked by familial discord. Breaking away from their father and challenging the perceived constraints of the patriarchal system, both Jane and Peter took distinctive paths of defiance.
Jane, embracing the communist cause, garnered controversy by visiting North Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War, earning her the epithet "Hanoi Jane" and sparking debates in Congress about potential treason charges. Meanwhile, Peter Fonda's rebellion took a more understated form, as he emerged as a symbol of rebellion within the hippie counterculture through his biker films.
Before his iconic role in "Easy Rider," Peter Fonda collaborated with Roger Corman and Jack Nicholson on "The Trip" (1967), a psychedelic exploration that vividly captured the hallucinogenic effects of an LSD trip on screen. This film was a burst of naïve psychedelia, featuring kaleidoscopic colors, out-of-focus images, and a dizzying sensation created by superimposing Op-Art drawings that spun endlessly in Fonda's character's mind.
Preceding "Easy Rider," Fonda starred in "Hell's Angels" (1966), directed by Roger Corman and featuring Nancy Sinatra. This film marked the inception of cinema exploring themes of s-x, drugs, and rock and roll. Fonda's charismatic portrayal in these early films solidified his status as a rebellious figure within the counterculture.
In "Easy Rider," Fonda, alongside Dennis Hopper, embarked on a transformative journey through the heart of America, portraying bikers transporting cocaine. This film, a cornerstone of New Hollywood, elevated Fonda to the status of a symbol for the hippie rebel hero. The characters, embodying freedom and countercultural ideals, ultimately meet a tragic end, murdered by townspeople envious of their liberated lifestyle.
The movie unfolds like a postmodern western, with Fonda and Hopper as "camels" riding Harley-Davidsons dressed as hippie cowboys. Disdainful of those who fail to recognize their role as embodiments of a new America challenging the established "system," they attempt to liberate society through s---al freedom, goodwill, and drug-induced hedonism. In their megalomania, they are oblivious to the resistance they encounter, unable to comprehend why the rural inhabitants do not embrace them as the new Captain America of personal liberation.
