Motorbikes and bikers have been cool ever since they were invented, and people making movies quickly saw this and began making movies using cool bikers to make their movies cooler, even some movies just about cool bikers. The very coolest motorcycle riders in movies or TV all have one thing in common though, something that is gold dust for Hollywood scriptwriters and directors, that they are all cool.
The original motorbike anti-hero is perhaps Marlon Brando’s iconic portrayal of a rebellious leader of a biker gang who clashes with small town America in the movie The Wild One. His defiance of authority and middle American morality became a symbol both of inspiration and fear. Never bowing to anyone or letting rules stand in the way of his beliefs he remains cool to this very day.
The mid 60s saw the birth of the hippy movement as many young Americans rejected conventional America and set out on the road with dreams of freedom inspired by the beatnik writers of the 50s. The spirit of optimism and a new dawning was captured brilliantly in the movie Easy Rider where two hippy bikers carry drugs around America and chase the hippy dream on their bikes.
The 70s saw the role of bikers in movies change, rather than peaceful warriors they more and more became menacing gangs. Although this role had always existed, the 70s love of movie excess saw bike gangs become more and more dangerous. This represented a turning point in America in many ways as old social mores began to disappear.
The culmination of this trend is arguably best symbolized by the Mad Max trilogy. The series depicts a world where resources are low and society is disintegrating with many of the roads controlled by sadistic biker gangs. The world of the movies allowed for insane tribes of bikers to develop and wage war on not only the road warrior, but anybody who was unlucky enough to be in their path.
An honorable mention should also go to Che Guevara, played by Gabriel Garcia Bernal in the 2007 adaptation of Guevara’s novel ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ which tells the true story of the revolutionaries travels around South America before meeting Castro. Although more about the man than the bike, he is still one of the coolest motorcyclists ever and the film is great.
The overall winner though has to be Marianne Faithful in the equally controversial and ridiculous art movie Girl on a Motorcycle where the star escapes from the eve of a wedding that she does not want to ride a powerful motorcycle around the highways of Europe while fantasizing about steamy sex scenes and wearing nothing but a leather jumpsuit. If you don’t know why that is cool, no one can tell you.
Motorbikes have been in films ever since people have used them. The freedom and power of the machines makes them an easy candidate for this kind of thing. Whether they are representing free individuals or marauding barbarians they remain a powerful symbol in the language of cinematic expression. The coolest motorcycle riders in movies or TV may not even exist yet.
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