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42 43 ARTLINES 4 | 2020 MOTORCYCLES ON SCREEN ‘ Filmmakers were fascinated by biker gangs not only for the dramatic possibilities but also because of the bonds shared by their members ’ That sense of rebellion would be potently harnessed in perhaps the most iconic screen portrait of motorcycle culture: Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider 1969. It is a film that understands and interlinks the thematic threads of freedom, danger and fraternity. Easy Rider acknowledges that these are not discrete ideas, but instead that they are often inescapably linked. As a story about outsiders on the open road, under threat and unable to assimilate into mainstream society, it also offers a counterculture parallel to the biker film genre. The rise of biker gangs in postwar America — driven in part by the yearning of returned servicemen, freshly trained in motorcycle- riding, for camaraderie — provoked a surge of films showing (largely fictionalised) accounts of life and death within their cloistered worlds. This fascination would spread internationally with films such as the Japanese Stray Cat Rock series, which follows an all-female gang of bikers battling it out in Shinjuku, and the Australian cult classic, Stone 1974. Filmmakers were fascinated by biker gangs not only for the dramatic possibilities in fatal rivalries and criminal enterprises, but also because of the bonds shared between members of the groups. Films such as The Loveless 1981 and Rumble Fish 1983 explore these intimate ties and how personal and group identity can blur together within communities. ‘Motorcycles on Screen’ also looks ahead for motorcycles, presenting speculative visions of the designs and roles of bikes in future societies. From the custom vehicles mounted in the Mad Max films to the light cycles of Tron 1982, through to the striking red bike Kaneda rides through Neo-Tokyo in Akira 1988, the practicality and dynamism of motorcycles means they regularly play a central part in shaping filmmakers’ representations of futuristic worlds. It is important to note, too, that the history of motorcycles in cinema is still being written: new entries to the canon continue to emerge in exciting and unexpected ways. Films such as Dylan River’s riveting documentary Finke: There and Back 2018, which surveys the famed dirt bike race in the Australian outback, and Diao Yinan’s Chinese crime saga The Wild Goose Lake 2019, showcase the ongoing breadth and richness of these machines on screen. Rob Hughes is Assistant Curator, Australian Cinémathèque and Programmer, Brisbane International Film Festival. ‘Motorcycles on Screen’ runs from 28 November 2020 to 25 April 2021 at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA. Opposite, from top Production still from Easy Rider 1969 / Director: Dennis Hopper / Image courtesy: Park Circus; Production still from Akira 1988 / Director: Katsuhiro Otomo / Image courtesy: Madman Films Above A black-and-white production still from Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss 1970 / Director: Yasuharu Hasebe / Image courtesy: Nikkatsu