The Hells Angels are often depicted in a similarly mythical fashion as other modern-day legends like the [[James-Younger Gang]]; free-spirited, iconic, bound by brotherhood and loyalty. At other times, such as in the 1966 [[Roger Corman]] film [[The Wild Angels]] where they are depicted as violent and nihilistic, they are portrayed as a violent criminal gang and a scourge on society.ref
The club became prominent within, and established its initial notoriety as part of, the 1960s [[...|counterculture]] movement in San Francisco's [[Haight-Ashbury]] scene, London, in England, and elsewhere where it played a part at many of the movement's seminal events. Original members were directly connected to many of the counterculture's primary leaders, such as [[Ken Kesey]] and the [[Merry Pranksters]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Jerry Garcia]] and [[The Grateful Dead]], [[Timothy Leary]], [[The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Mick Farren]] and [[Tom Wolfe]]. The club launched the career of "" journalist [[Hunter S. Thompson]].refrefrefref
Criminologist Karen Katz said in 2011 that the Hells Angels were the center of a [[moral panic]] in Canada involving the media, politicians, law enforcement and the public that sensationalized the importance of isolated criminal acts.ref
