Hill, Lee.  Easy Rider.  London: British Film Institute. 1996
This book is broken into three parts that provide different insights into the film. Written with the help of Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, the book explores the making of the film, its social aspects, and its role in the film industry. In the first part, the author discusses the decisions made for the development of the film’s plot and casting of characters. It gives a bit of background into the thought process behind the film. The next part of the book elucidates the roles of the characters in society. While Billy and Wyatt represent Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp, George Hanson represents the straight-laced man who sees society’s faults. The section of the book also touches upon the film as an allegory for society because of its structure as a modern western. The last part of the book describes how the film affected other films made by Hopper and Fonda as well as its role in New Hollywood.
The first and third parts of the book provide a bit of background for the film and some context for the time period. The second part however, seems to be the most helpful in analysis of the film. It discusses indirect characterization and the characters’ roles in the critique of the American Dream. The part of the book provides section by section description of how the film parallels societal issues of the 1960s. It gives good analysis of how scenes in the film contribute to the overall message of the film. It also describes the use of film editing techniques in order to add to the development of the story and its affect on the viewer.  The section of the book hints at moods of the film in various scenes and the effects of cinematography and editing on the film’s message.

Derek Nystrom. “Hard Hats and Movie Brats: Auteurism and the Class Politics of the New Hollywood.” Cinema Journal 43.3 (2004): 18-41
The article describes the role of auteurism in 1960s and 1970s Hollywood, and discusses New Hollywood’s relationship with the working class.  The centralization of the director’s ideas caused a drift away from labor unions as directors wanted to make sure that everyone who worked on their films stood behind his vision. The article claims that may films focused on trying to get middle-class youth, specifically college students, to disaffiliate from their societal standings by highlighting counter-cultural ideas. The article mainly discusses however, New Hollywood films that elucidate the struggles of the working class and its backlash against the ideas of the counter-cultural movement. It discusses the New Hollywood films about the working class, Joe and Five Easy Pieces, and their roles in modern society and the film industry.
The article helps one to understand the film Easy Rider because it describes the popular concept of auteurism in the 1960s and 1970s. It shows the effects of the concept on the film industry and allows the reader to have some insight into the different social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. While the article mentions that many of the New Hollywood films, like Easy Rider, dealt with the idea of counterculture, it discusses two films that are somewhat adverse to the counterculture of the time. This allows the reader to understand the historical and social context of Easy Rider. While many affiliate New Hollywood with counterculture, it is important to note that auteurism is an important aspect of the movement and weighs more heavily in the vision of the director than the concepts that were popular.