I watched this series for the first time last night and I would be interested to know what feedback there has been from biking groups in other countries, especially the USA where it was made.
I am a biker, I ride for a club that wears a patch on the jacket, and I can't see that this program can contribute anything positive to the image of bikers in the eyes of the general public.
In the episode I watched last night it was drugs, weapons trafficking, crooked cops, mayhem and murder. I know that there is a bad element in every facet of society but as someone who is getting tired of being called a "Hells Angel" just because I ride a bike I wonder if this show contributes to this stereotyping.
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RE: Sons Of Anarchy
I don't ride, but most of my friends do and the stereotype depends on what bike they ride. My friends that ride Honda and Kawasakis never get lumped into the biker group, nor do those that ride BMWs. My friends that ride Harley's get lumped into that group all the time. My buddy, Mitch, lived that biker gang life and it eventually killed him. He snorted too much cocaine and died when he was 29. Mitch was a biker gang member in a club that was not exactly on the up and up.
Around Detroit, especially in Wayne County, biker gangs are very well respected, even the shady ones. I have not seen that much in other parts of the country.
I would say it does. Also a lot of bikers, especially Harley riders, like to live or look like they live the stereotype. A lot of Harley riders around my area will dress very different than a Honda or BMW owner.
Around Detroit, especially in Wayne County, biker gangs are very well respected, even the shady ones. I have not seen that much in other parts of the country.
| Quoting Andz (Thread starter): I wonder if this show contributes to this stereotyping. |
I would say it does. Also a lot of bikers, especially Harley riders, like to live or look like they live the stereotype. A lot of Harley riders around my area will dress very different than a Honda or BMW owner.
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RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting Falstaff (Reply 1): I would say it does. Also a lot of bikers, especially Harley riders, like to live or look like they live the stereotype. A lot of Harley riders around my area will dress very different than a Honda or BMW owner. |
And a lot of them, people my age, still haven't gotten over the urge to profile as bad boys, even if they sell insurance all week.
If you believe in coincidence, you haven't looked close enough-Joe Leaphorn
RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting Dougloid (Reply 2): still haven't gotten over the urge to profile as bad boys, even if they sell insurance all week. |
That describes my buddy, Zac, perfectly. He works for an insurance company, but looks like a tough guy when he rides his Harley.
My mug slaketh over on Falstaff N503
RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting Falstaff (Reply 1): |
The Harley riders here also like to live the image and that alienates them from most others, they are seen as elitist and posers, people who ride a Harley because it is a "status symbol".
Here bikers are divided into two broad groups: Harley and the rest. We have lots of clubs here and lots of bikers who don't belong to clubs but there is mutual respect between them. My club has almost a hundred members and we are pretty well respected but there are dozens of smaller clubs that are sometimes treated with disdain due to their conduct. The members of my club ride almost anything from BMW tourers to Japanese superbikes and ratty old bangers, but no Harleys.
I was thinking more of the much broader perception that biker = criminal/low life. I use the word biker as someone who rides a motorcycle, period.
And, no one in the biking community here refers to "gangs" at all.
After Monday and Tuesday even the calendar says WTF...
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RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting Andz (Thread starter): I watched this series for the first time last night and I would be interested to know what feedback there has been from biking groups in other countries, especially the USA where it was made. |
I really liked this show when I first watched it a couple of months ago but honestly, I haven't seen much written about it nor has there been any reports in the media about any outrage in the biker community about it. Not that I have read about anyway.
I dated this girl whose dad was in a riding club and he explained that there's a difference between a riding club, R/C, and a motorcycle club, M/C, (Hell's Angels, Bandidos, etc.) IIRC the riding clubs are the "weekend warriors" (the insurance guy who wants to be a bad boy on his day off basically) who go for a ride with their buddies and the M/Cs are the dudes that do shady stuff.
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RE: Sons Of Anarchy
First off...Awesome show. You are going to love this season and I do remember reading somewhere that this show was picked up for a second season by F/X.
Now to the stereotyping aspect. There have been many good posts so far but let me just give my view of it. I truly believe people don't care so much about "Biker Gangs" anymore. I think during the 70's 80's and some of the 90's this was a hated group. But the view of biker gangs have been watered down with the influx of Japanese bikes being ridden around in groups. Most people understand its more of a weekend hobby than a so called "Set Group"
This didn't really get the same backlash as say a show like the Sopranos. People were screaming about the Italian gang stereotype, but like I said, no one really cared about SAMCRO
Now to the stereotyping aspect. There have been many good posts so far but let me just give my view of it. I truly believe people don't care so much about "Biker Gangs" anymore. I think during the 70's 80's and some of the 90's this was a hated group. But the view of biker gangs have been watered down with the influx of Japanese bikes being ridden around in groups. Most people understand its more of a weekend hobby than a so called "Set Group"
This didn't really get the same backlash as say a show like the Sopranos. People were screaming about the Italian gang stereotype, but like I said, no one really cared about SAMCRO
RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting Andz (Reply 4): The Harley riders here also like to live the image and that alienates them from most others, they are seen as elitist and posers, people who ride a Harley because it is a "status symbol". |
We have two kinds of Harley riders here. Posers and real tough guys. Sometimes it is hard to tell them apart. If you see a guy a leathered up on a Monday at 9am, you can bet he is the "real deal". If it is Sunday afternoon, it is hard to tell. If you stop by the Lowery Pub by my house you will see real biker gang types, along with the guns, drugs, knives, and fights. If you go to a trendy bar in Royal Oak you will see the poser types and no such entertainment. Once at the Lowery I saw a guy snorting "coke" off the bar.
My friend, Mitch, was the real deal. He would come to work covered leather and the booze from the night before. My uncle is the same way. My buddy, Zac, is opposite. He has a nice bike, but doesn't really live the life.
My mug slaketh over on Falstaff N503
RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting RGElectra80 (Reply 5): the M/Cs are the dudes that do shady stuff. |
Interesting, every club here is an MC.
After Monday and Tuesday even the calendar says WTF...
RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting JFK69 (Reply 6): First off...Awesome show. You are going to love this season and I do remember reading somewhere that this show was picked up for a second season by F/X. |
It has been picked up for a second season (Time to hurry up and wait.), tentatively scheduled to start airing this Spring.
Sons Of Anarchy is really the only other show on FX that I have really gotten into from the beginning (Rescue Me is the other one.).
There really hasn't been too much reported in the media about the Hell's Angels (who are obviously the model for SAMCRO) or any other M/C being irked by it. I guess since they aren't using any logo or names that might resemble the logos and names of the Hell's Angels and other "mainstream" outlaw M/Cs, they really haven't angered the groups (I know the Hell's Angels a few years back sued Disney over the unauthorized use of the Hell's Angels logos and names, as they are very protective of their name, logos, and associated trademarks and copyrights. This was ironic since Disney has sued and send C & D letters over unauthorized use of their trademarks and associated copy on numerous occasions in the past.) A lot of the story lines are probably based on events involving some of the outlaw M/Cs, so it's stuff that is essentially already publicly known.
What interesting is that the backstory and some of the plotlines are definitely pulled from Shakespeare. Even Ron Perlman has alluded to the fact that a lot of the elements are pulled from Hamlet (Jax is Hamlet, Clay is Claudius [In some ways is a bit like Macbeth.], and Gemma is Gertrude [In some ways, she's also a bit like Lady Macbeth.]).
RE: Sons Of Anarchy
| Quoting Srbmod (Reply 10): Hell's Angels logos and names, as they are very protective of their name, logos, and associated trademarks and copyrights |
This is true, and here they are quick to crack down on clubs who they feel are too close to the Hells Angels colours and emblem. For this reason you won't see many clubs here with red and white in their logos or the words hell or angels.
One very minor point: it is Hells, not Hell's.
After Monday and Tuesday even the calendar says WTF...
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