Content area
Full Text
Let us first examine this idea of Guilty Pleasures. When I was young, the world was so new with promise that it was impossible to find that feeling of self-conscious embarrassment in secrecy that could bring guilt to any pleasure. It is only in early adulthood that we come to measure our passions and, in time, forget them. So it was always in the first light that I was influenced by the movies I liked, as if seeing an ocean for the first time, or being taken to an airport to watch the planes land. There is no judgment good or bad, just noise and movement, intensity and rhythm. This is not to say that I have no guilt. But life hands out few enough pleasures.
Biker movies. This whole genre has been overlooked probably for good reason. One thing that can be said about all of these films, from The Wild One to The Losers, is that they have a rich tradition of social irresponsibility. I mean, these films should make you feel guilty. Of course, they have little to do with real bikers. Real bikers are like real Mongols -nomadic, simple hunters whose only crime is that they are the descendants of Genghis Khan. But the bikers in the movies and the ones on the road share one thing in common which has made them appealing, fascinating, and dreaded. They are free. Next time you drive up to a couple of bikers cruising slowly on their hogs, take a good look. They don't live like you. They are outside your life, your law. They don't share your morality, ethics, your humanity, or your conscience. They are free of all that shit.
Let's talk about the movie that started it all, The Wild One. (1953, directed by Lazlo Benedek). This has to be one of the most important Marion Brando movies ever made. Forget your James Dean-Fifties-introverted-troubled-youth crap. Forget Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront. We're dealing with guys that rode into town like Tamerlane-no ambitions, no apologies, and little restraint. Where else can you find such a pure sense of anarchy? Who else in modern culture really lived like Vikings? And what for? "What are you rebelling against, Johnny?" occasioned the best line...