We are dwelling into the world of Pop Culture associated with Motorcycling, we will be looking into some inspirational Quotes from some of the iconic motorcycling movies which will tell us about, how these motion pictures, created a pop culture impact on an entire generation at the given time.
We start the series with one of the most iconic Motorcycling Movie of all time ”easy rider”:
Line (Dialogue):
“Have you gotta helmet? George Hanson: Oh! Oh, I’ve gotta helmet? Ha ha ha! Oh, I gotta beauty!”
Courtesy: Easy Rider
This line of Dialogue or Quote is very small in content, what’s so great about It, why are we being compelled to discuss it,
First let us tell you the context, George Hanson played by the legendary actor Mr. Jack Nicholson, (who was there for the first half of the movie), made an impact and launched himself as a serious actor after this performance in the movie.
The scene begins with George (ACLU Civil Rights Lawyer) getting high for the first time, wanting to go to New Orleans Louisiana, Peter Fonda (Captain America) casually looks at him and ask’s, you got a helmet, and George’s response is Oh Oh I’ve got a helmet, a dialogue delivered in true Nicholson style, and then came out a cool football helmet.
The Scene then Cuts to a grinning George sitting with the guys telling weird stories about UFOs and conspiracies, (an epic scene in itself).
Now let’s keep our focus on the dialogue, why was this dialogue, (“You got a helmet?” – and George’s response: “Oh, oh, I’ve got a helmet. I got a beauty!”), so significant,
They understand the importance of this line, first, we need to understand the significance of that period, the reputation of Motorcycle Riders, and the unknown nature of Motorcycling culture in the minds of common people. The movie itself was a landmark counterculture film, depicting the beginning of the hippie movement in the 70s. The Movie depicts the free wheeling spirit of a Motorcycle Rider, although, via a controversial subject. Hmm we will not get into that, let’s focus on Motorcycling part, what does that line help signify, let’s try to dissect
The first part of the dialogue
(“You got a helmet?” depicts the feelings of a person, who wants to leave the daily grind of life, a guy that wants to go on a trip to enjoy life, someone who wants to see the fun in riding a motorbike into the sunset.
This line handles this idea beautifully, in just four words “You got a Helmet”, these words look so simple, yet the context here is superb, the idea, if you want to ride, let’s go, just get a helmet.
No hesitation, no regret, let’s just go our way, on our machines, if you want to join, you’re welcome. The idea of motorcycle riders hopping from one city to another without any worries or regrets is presented through this line in the best way possible.
Simple Subtle Words with heavy meaning.
Let’s move on to the second part of the dialogue,
“oh I’ve got a helmet, I got a beauty”, this simple line explains the mindset of a person who wants to be free, someone who wants to break his habits, desperate to go on a ride without any worries and regrets, when he says “oh I have a helmet”, the character (George Hanson) talks about a helmet that is not exactly Riding helmet, though it is something cool, a helmet of a different kind that would do, focusing on the fact even though he is not a rider, he wants to go on a ride, the importance of wearing a helmet before you take your machine for a ride is also stated here.
All these meaningful lines when presented in the form of dialogues had a significant impact on the generation at the time, for the first time the main streamed movie had shown the free-riding Hippie culture and fun associated with Riding your Motorcycles across the country without any plans dealing with issues affecting America at the Time.
The notion of riding your motorcycles across the country and being carefree had a lot of impacts as people started riding cross country as a sign of freedom and passion, starting a new revolution for the motorcycle industry, there was a lot of interest generated for Motorcycles and Riding.
No Wonder Mr. Jack Nicholson won an Oscar Nomination for this role and came into the limelight after this role, even though he was only present in the second half of the movie. What a superb Achievement.
Which one is your favorite dialog from Motorcycle Pop culture?
Tell us about it in the comment section below
