America in the 1960’s and 70’s was a time of a cultural revolution. Groups known as activists and hippies lead movements for black power, women’s rights, and gay rights all while attacking of the idea materialism and mainstream culture. These groups and groups like them are known as the counterculture (Kimbell, 2001). The counterculture of this time is represented in all types of media and film. Films like Easy Rider, The Graduate, MASH, Harold and Maude, just to name a few all have themes of counterculture throughout. The film Harold and Maude was first released in 1971. It was written by Colin Higgins and directed by Hal Ashby. It is a ninety one minute long film that features an odd relationship between a teenaged boy and older woman. According
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Clearly, their relationship is a very odd one. Harold is a very young man and Maude is a seventy nine year old woman. On a deeper level however, their relationship, is not a typical relationship between two people of their age difference. All parts of their relationship are representative of the counterculture in some way. It was very typical, and almost expected, for people to get married young, settle down, and have kids at a young age during this time. Harold did the exact opposite of this throughout the film. He ruined his mother's multiple attempts to set him up with a young woman to marry. Instead, Harold spent most of his free time with Maude developing a romantic relationship with her. During their relationship, Harold opened up to Maude about his dark thoughts and explained to her why he acts the way he does. In the film he specifically said “I haven’t lived, but I’ve died a few times.” Maude helped open Harold’s eyes to life and what it means to truly live. Their relationship was nothing typical of what a relationship would be during this time. They followed their own path without caring about what anyone else thought about their relationship. When Harold announced his marriage to his mother, she forced him to talk to his therapist, doctor, and uncle all about why he should not marry an almost eighty year old woman, but they got married
Clearly, their relationship is a very odd one. Harold is a very young man and Maude is a seventy nine year old woman. On a deeper level however, their relationship, is not a typical relationship between two people of their age difference. All parts of their relationship are representative of the counterculture in some way. It was very typical, and almost expected, for people to get married young, settle down, and have kids at a young age during this time. Harold did the exact opposite of this throughout the film. He ruined his mother's multiple attempts to set him up with a young woman to marry. Instead, Harold spent most of his free time with Maude developing a romantic relationship with her. During their relationship, Harold opened up to Maude about his dark thoughts and explained to her why he acts the way he does. In the film he specifically said “I haven’t lived, but I’ve died a few times.” Maude helped open Harold’s eyes to life and what it means to truly live. Their relationship was nothing typical of what a relationship would be during this time. They followed their own path without caring about what anyone else thought about their relationship. When Harold announced his marriage to his mother, she forced him to talk to his therapist, doctor, and uncle all about why he should not marry an almost eighty year old woman, but they got married