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Blue Jeans, Black Leather Jackets,
and a Sneer: The Iconography of the 1950s Biker and its Translation Abroad

In 2004, The Wild One turned fifty. In 1954, Brando and his band of outlaw motorcycle riders stormed across the screen and into the popular imagination. The anniversary marked fifty years of “What have you got?” quotes, fifty years of parental fear, and fifty years of adolescent longing for Brando’s particular brand of cool (see Figure 1) The image of the biker that the film popularized has since become one of the classic representations of American youthful rebellion, both within the United States and abroad. How did such a dangerous figure become so embraced? Emerging in an era charged with political and social suspicion, and showcasing rebellion and nonconformity, the biker seems an odd choice to represent the United States in any way. Yet, the blue-jeaned, black-leather clad biker that is the movie’s hero is undeniably an American icon. Johnny......

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Approximate Word Count: 5608
Approximate Pages: 23 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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