I enjoyed it. If you like obscure Westerns with homoerotic undertones, it's one to add to your collection!
I like obscure Westerns, but normally they needn't have homoerotic undertones.
We city dwellers are rather naive. This happened all the time in Wyoming, and still does, probably. Strangers passing each other on country roads are careful to follow a ritual of safe passage that I learned on my first trip there. I imagine it's much the same in the deep South.
Well, I lived in just about the deepest South you can get, geographically speaking anyway, and although there were plenty of shootings they were rarely by rednecks and never, to my knowledge, at random passersby just because people didn't like the way they dressed (my awareness would have extended to rural areas outside of New Orleans). In the city, there were plenty of shootings -- with approximately a murder a day, New Orleans had a higher murder rate then than Chicago does now, not even per capita, just total -- including one across the street from my apartment, so I wasn't exactly naiive on that subject. The victims sometimes were random passersby, often children, but in those cases usually the shooter would be aiming at someone else, for a specific reason, and the passersby just happened to be in the way.
I can't speak for the late '60s, but I'm pretty sure if it were happening all the time in Wyoming now -- random people getting shot by strangers -- we'd hear about it. Actually, I've traveled in Wyoming a fair amount and never heard of following a ritual of safe passage (except don't feed the bears in Yellowstone). At least, I didn't follow any, and I emerged unscathed. Of course, I wasn't much of a hippie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_in_the_United_States_by_stateAccording to this Wikipedia chart, you are far less likely to get murdered in Wyoming than in either of our states. In 2010, there were 8 murders in Wyoming, 91 in Minnesota, 117 in Colorado. In total murders, Wyoming was the second-lowest state after Vermont (7) and just under North Dakota (9). Of course, Wyoming is sparsely populated. But even per capita, WY's murder rate is lower at 1.4 (MN: 1.7, CO: 2.3). For gun murders, the rate per capita is WY is 0.9. In MN: 1.0, CO: 1.3. This despite a much higher rate of gun ownership in Wyoming than in either of our states. (Note: not an argument against tightening gun laws.)
Jeff and Chuck, I hate to say this, but you guys are relatively doomed. The gun murder rate in Pennsylvania is higher than Texas (!), 3.6 vs. 3.2. New Jersey's is lower: 2.8. That surprised me a bit -- sorry, Chuck, but I guess NJ just has that reputation,
thanks a lot, Sopranos -- but the overall murder rate is lower in NJ, too: 4.1 vs. PA's 5.1.
But getting back to Wyoming, we all know the story of Matthew Shepard, so obviously the state is not without risk. Depending on who your traveling companions were, sadly, they may have felt the need to be extra cautious.
Here's a page that discusses
Easy Rider's ending. From what I can tell in a quick google, it was intended more as symbolism than realism.
http://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/37203/explanation-of-the-ending-of-easy-rider
