Trippin' A kid gets a Ride on a Harley Davidson.

This was probably my first student film ever, shot on 8mm film. It stars Allen Mellen, my eccentric, still-hippy uncle that, until recently, lived in my Grandma Mellen's basement. The "kid" is Willie Holdman, a fantastic landscape photogrpher from UT, where we filmed this. Google Willie, you will be impressed. There is a strange homoerotic quality to this film that almost got me in trouble at BYU. Though I am entirely straight, I'm sure the Phallic symbol that appears early in the film in the form of a tower of some sort, may argue against me. Uncle Allen was such a weird guy. Haven't seen him in years. Was going through alcoholic rehab after Grandma died. I felt like I was throwing him a bone, trying to get him out of his life's stupor. Seems very arrogant and presumptuous of me now. I do remember riding on his '48 or so Harley when I was a very young kid
(8?), and the embarrassment I felt which gradually gave way to not really giving a damn what onlookers thought. Allen taught me a lot that day about self-conciousness as I rode on the back of his Harley.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• old
• harley
• davidson
• Utah
• riding
• bikers
• hippies
• phallic
• symbols
• phallus
• motorcycle
• leather
• chaps
• beatnicks
• Embarrassed

[mellenheadprods]

@alwaysuseless You've actually given a very insightful review here. Thanks for giving my work such a complete thought. I think you got much of what I was going for here. The rider is actually my uncle Al Mellen. He is a fascinating and complicated guy. When I was a kid, uncle Al gave me a ride (just like this) on his Harley, I was very self-conscious, but quickly got over it. Al helped me to not care so much about what others thought about me.

[alwaysuseless]

@alwaysuseless (continued)

Where are they going? Joy ride or kidnapping? The onlookers, too, (disapproving proxies for self-consciousness & BYU) speak volumes wordlessly. Innocent, or is it? The homoeroticism is not your problem or the film’s. In fact, it’s no problem—except to BYU. Being gay or straight is like being left- or right-handed, biogenic conditions with no moral significance, while homophobia is a disease.

Thanks for an interesting video.

[alwaysuseless]

The poor video quality must be due to the 8mm source. Despite that, the look & tension hold our interest. (The noncommittal music contributes.) What's the kid doing? Uh-oh, here comes the biker! Driving away, then returning is a tease. With no words exchanged, the kid climbs on. This in itself is homoerotic, though it would be more so, if the biker were some good-looking hunk. As if a Harley between a man’s legs were not sufficient phallic symbol, you pan (lovingly) up the tower. CONTINUED →

[bj616]

Cool vid.

[Tuberriffic]

Interesting - Nice work!