Five easy pieces and the reflection of alienation in the 70s - Essay Example

 ‘Five easy pieces’ and the reflection of alienation in the 70’s The art of film is a visual determinant of societal behavior. Film is the progressive force in any society and is a reflection of what happens in the society. In this regard, Bob Rafaelson’s film “Five Easy Pieces” through its characters and storyline depicts the theme of alienation in the mid-seventies era. ‘Five easy pieces’ presents the social attitudes and values held by the American society of the mid-seventies era. Even though, there are numerous aspects of the film that are progressive and influential for the mid-seventies era, the film is a reflection of the social context of the 1970’s America (Boyer 62). Rafaelson’s ‘Five Easy Pieces’ provides a mirror that reflects the mid-seventies era in America. The film reflected the social attitudes and values in the mid-seventies era. Bobby Dupea who is the film’s protagonist lacks an identity and shows signs of an individual that is alienated from his environment and society through his actions in the film. Bobby as the main character in the film exemplifies the American man of the mid 70’s who struggled to identify with his society, and thus became alienated from the very society. Five Easy Pieces directed by Bob Rafaelson is among the greatest films of the Hollywood 1970’s golden era. In the film, the character of Bobby Dupea is the archetype of numerous heroes from that period. Bobby gets stuck in two worlds (Rafaelson). He is a man who cannot fit into the American society and is making efforts to find a place where he truly belongs. One of the outstanding features of the 1970’s films was the character’s struggle to deal with the problem of alienation that was prevalent in the America at that time. This emerged from the sixties as the rejection of both the working class and leisure class values. The film portrays an individual trying so hard to deal with the alienation problem without being a counter culture hippie. Most of the post sixties era exhibited the theme of alienation. The theme of alienation also defined the 70’s era. However, in recent films of the 1990’s and 1980’s era, alienation has been reflected to the extreme with the so bloody and violent action films. The heroes in these movies are violent, anti-social and alienated. They have no societal respect at large. The first scenes of “Five Easy Pieces” show the main character Bobby as a typical oil mine worker. Bobby puts a lot of energy in his work to get his money. He spends his leisure time playing time drinking beer, playing cards, watching television and bowling. He stays with his girlfriend, a beautiful waitress named Rayette Dipesto. At the beginning of the film, Bobby gets reflected as a happy person, but as the film progresses he gets revealed as a man dissatisfied with his life (Rafaelson). Rayette’s clingy mature annoys Bobby so much. He loathes country music and dislikes the way his girlfriend lives her life through Tammy Wynette songs. Rayette seems to play songs for every occasion of her life. When they go out with their friends Stoney and Elton, Bobby could not enjoy the bowling. He is angry and highly competitive at Rayette’s inexperience in the game. At some point, he later cheats on his girlfriend with a woman named Sally Struthers. This shows the relationship trend at the time, where men cheated on their wives and girlfriends (Boyer 87). In contrast with his coworker and friend Elton, Bobby hates the life that comes with their job. Elton loves spending time with his wife and kid. His job at the oil field is due to lack of skills and that the job provides the basic needs for his family. Elton represents the working class who are in pursuit of the American dream. Bobby is more interested in worldly things. This film is a reflection of how the mid-seventies society got focused on the American dream. The contrast between the two characters gets clearly depicted in the scene where Elton and Bobby are in stuck in the freeway traffic, after getting sent home. They got sent home for drunkenness. Because of boredom from sitting in traffic, Bobby climbs at the back of the truck hauling some households. He uncovers a piano amongst the hauled households and begins playing it. He gets so absorbed in playing the piano that he does not notice the truck moving. The truck takes a wrong exit without Bobby’s knowledge. This leaves Elton bewildered and shocked wondering what has gotten into his friend. Later during a work break, Elton reveals to Bobby that his girlfriend might be pregnant. This news angers Bobby to the extent where he swears he might call off his friendship with Elton and reveals to his boss he is quitting. Bobby is scared of the prospects of getting tied down by his girlfriend as he prefers to live like a free spirit. The revelations from this scene are a reflection of life in the mid-seventies where men got scared of committing to relationships. “Bobby is a reflection of this theme of men alienated who do not know what their position in life is” (Schatz 91). At later scenes in the film, after the confrontation Bobby and Elton had, Elton gets confronted by a couple of men who chase after him. It is at this point that Bobby comes to Elton’s rescue. He finds out that the two men were federal agents who were after Elton for participating in a gas station robbery a year ago. Bobby sees how a secret past can come back to haunt one. Bobby’s secret past gets revealed when he travels to his sister Patricia a classical pianist who lives in Los Angeles (Rafaelson). His sister is so happy to see and reveal to him that their old man has had two strokes. The interaction between Bobby and his sister reveal a well-mannered man different from the rough wild blue collar worker. These multiple personalities displayed by Bobby are a reflection of how the theme of alienation gets displayed in the film and the reflection of the mid-seventies era. Bobby’s past life sheds some light on the reasons for his dissatisfaction with his lifestyle. It is evident that he tries in vain to adapt to the new life. He cannot free himself from the snobby prejudices from his upbringing. His reluctance to let Rayette accompany him on the family trip shows that he is ashamed of her. On their way to California, two women who have wrecked their car hike a lift on their ride. One of the women has plans of moving to Alaska because he believes it is clean just from a picture she had previously seen. She, however, continually makes statements of how filthy everybody and everything is. She has a terribly negative view of life and wants no relationship whatsoever with the American society. “She is a representation of cynicism and alienation of the American society during the seventies period” (Schatz 77). The four travelers stop over for some food at a restaurant. Bobby orders for toast after changing from his initial order of chicken sandwich salad. The waiter says that they cannot allow for substitution of the orders as it is against the rules. This frustrates Bobby until he violently clears the table (Rafaelson). This expression by Bobby is the frustration that most Americans had in an endeavor to deal with the uncaring and impersonal systems in place throughout America. After the incident at the restaurant Bobby kicks out the overly complaining woman out of the car. However when they get to a town near the island, Rayette checks into a motel while Bobby crosses the water heading towards the island. This is symbolic as it reflects how his family was out of touch with mainstream society. At the family reunion, Bobby finds that his father is in a worse condition, and his brother treats him as the biblical prodigal son. Bobby’s family is made of famous classical musicians. His brother is accompanied by a student, Catherine, a young divorced woman. In the process, Bobby falls in love with her even though she perceives him as failure by quitting on his life as a pianist. When Rayette shows up at the island, the romance between Catherine and Bobby ends (Rafaelson). His two siblings, however, embraced Rayette. This shocks Booby and during a party Bobby explodes to protect his love and the choices he made throughout his life. From this explosion of Bobby, the audience can tell that Bobby is experiencing issues with alienation and the two different lives he leads now. He later on makes amends with his father just like the biblical prodigal son. The issue of identity crisis and alienation in the mid-seventies gets revealed further when Booby abandons Rayette with his old identity and money to embrace a new life. This lack of responsibility by Bobby is a reflection of the mid-seventies era when people felt so trapped by their responsibilities. Bobby reflects the irresponsible American man of the 70’s. During the 70’s, most American men did not handle their issues head on, but rather so it easy to hide away or run from their challenges. Bobby picks the easy way out by abandoning her girlfriend whom he feels is nagging From Rafaelson’s ‘Five Easy Pieces’, it is clear that films are a reflection of the current prevailing societal attitudes and behavior (Schatz 43). The film ‘Five Easy Pieces’ reflected the societal behavior and attitudes during the mid-seventies era. The film’s protagonist Bobby displays the character of the American man during the seventies. He displays himself as lacking an identity and feeling alienated from his society. Works Cited Read More