Because *Scorpio Rising* (1963) is an experimental, non-narrative film, the main character’s "goal" and "obstacles" are expressed through ritual, symbolism, and atmosphere rather than a traditional plot. The character, **Scorpio** (played by Bruce Byron), is a biker who functions as a symbolic icon of the 1960s counterculture.
### **The Main Character's Goal**
Scorpio’s goal is twofold: one literal and one symbolic/ritualistic.
1. **Literal Goal: Preparation for "The Night":** On the surface, Scorpio’s objective is the meticulous preparation for a night of racing and revelry with his biker gang. The film is divided into movements that track this progression: "Boys & Bolts" (mechanical preparation), "Image Maker" (grooming and costume), "Walpurgis Party" (the gathering), and "Rebel Rouser" (the final race/destruction). He seeks to perfect his machine and his persona to achieve a state of "cool" and dominance.
2. **Symbolic Goal: Transcendence and "Rising":** Symbolically, Scorpio seeks to "rise" above the mundane, repressed reality of 1960s America. As a follower of Aleister Crowley, director Kenneth Anger designed the film as a "cinematic spell." Scorpio’s goal is to achieve a transgressive apotheosis—a state of power and rebellion that merges the mechanical (his bike) with the sexual and the occult. He aims to embody the "Rebel" archetype, modeled after his idols James Dean and Marlon Brando, and to replace traditional religious icons (Jesus) with his own brand of "mechanical folk art" and dark divinity.
### **Specific Obstacles**
Scorpio faces obstacles that are largely systemic, internal, or existential, rather than human antagonists.
* **Societal Repression and Law:** The most pervasive obstacle is the rigid, heteronormative society of the early 1960s. At the time, the homoerotic subtext and leather subculture depicted were not only social taboos but often illegal. Scorpio’s rebellion is a direct response to a society that brands him an outsider. This tension is visualized by intercutting images of Scorpio with clips of Sunday-school films of Jesus, highlighting the friction between his transgressive lifestyle and the dominant Christian morality of the era.
* **The "Death Drive" (Thanatos):** Scorpio’s journey is hindered by an inherent pull toward destruction. Anger uses heavy death iconography—skulls, a noose hanging over Scorpio’s shoulder while he snorts meth, and "The Point of No Return" on the soundtrack—to suggest that Scorpio’s quest for freedom is inextricably linked to a desire for self-destruction. His own recklessness and the "death drive" of the biker subculture are the primary threats to his survival.
* **Substance Use and Internal Decay:** In a specific sequence, Scorpio is shown using methamphetamine (meth), which creates an internal obstacle of volatility and psychological fragmentation. The film’s pacing becomes increasingly manic and "trippy," suggesting that his pursuit of a "high" (both literal and spiritual) is leading him toward a "wipeout" rather than a true ascension.
* **The Inevitability of the "Wipeout":** The ultimate obstacle is the physical reality of his chosen lifestyle. The film concludes with the "Rebel Rouser" sequence, intercutting a motorcycle race with strobing police lights and a drawing of a skull. The "goal" of the race is blocked by a literal crash—a "wipeout"—implying that the height of Scorpio’s "rising" is also the moment of his fall, as the siren of the police and the reality of mortality finally catch up to the myth.