The protestors?
What did they symbolize? Those members of the audience looking for a more straightforward film? (A large cohort, no doubt, but not containing me. I love odd shit!)
shareHope not to late in replying, but it will no doubt assist other viewers who were not around at the time or from the country where it was filmed, it certainly confused the "expert" who did the dvd commentary along with the Pride And Clark motorcycle supply shop which was painted red before the film.
They are students collecting for "rag week" which involved dressing up, performing stunts and intimidating the public into giving money for charity. The director incorporated them into the film probably because they were a reflection of it's theme of "ephemera"
Do you mean the car full of mimes, that's seen at the beginning and ending of the film? Because I thought they symbolized the youthful playfulness and innocence that the protagonist loses during the course of the film.
Or was there another protest I pain no attention to, because I know that every city was afflicted with constant public protests during the late 1960s?