The 1950’s movie “A Rebel Without a Cause” follows the life a young teenage boy named Jimmy in the same time period the movie is made. The movie begins as Jimmy moves to a new town and new school. In this town, Jimmy begins to fall into the rough behavioral routines of the teenagers there. As the movie progresses, Jimmy continues to become more in tune with the new town, however it is clear he never truly fits in with his teenage peers. Throughout the movie, many themes are explored, however the highlighting factors that seemed to make this movie so popular are it’s clear attention to relationships between youth and adults, and what the teenage generations true place in society really was. While many attributes of the movie are that which are …show more content…
The main character of the movie, Jimmy, is able to give a good view at these relationships, as he struggles to fit into school after school, never truly knowing what the purpose is. As Jimmy says to Buzz when contemplating the “chicken” game they are about to partake in, “Why do we this” to which Buzz replies “Well, you got to do something. Don’t you?”(). While this dialogue is somewhat unrealistic, it serves to show how a lack of real responsibility, and control in society, can drive youth to do unpresented, and sometimes even stupid actions, with no visible outside reason as to why. With countless more of these depictions of the relationship between youth and society, “A Rebel Without a Cause”, proves to be a great movie, for teenagers looking to understand themselves, their peers, and the world around them, and also provides a good look for adults to understand the youth of their society in a clearer
Rebel Without a Cause is an unconventional story with a conventional, classical approach to storytelling. The film follows the seven traits of Classical Hollywood Cinema and is adapted to the hybridization of film noir, which was primarily a style of B movies, and teen drama films, which was newly emerging in the 50s.
The 1960’s were a time of going against the norm, breaking the rules, acting against authority. Kenneth Walsh describes the decade as “a decade of extremes, of transformational change and bizarre contrasts: flower children and assassins, idealism and alienation, rebellion and backlash.”(Walsh) Rebelling against conformity was exactly how the character of Lucas Jackson is portrayed.“The film 's protagonist is not a recognizable figure of the era 's counterculture; he 's no free-love hippie or dedicated anti-war activist, yet younger audiences were drawn to his rebellious nature” (Nixon). Although Luke is far from a hippie, he still relates to the way the hippies were in the 1960’s. “The hippies” primary tenet was that life was about being happy, not about what others told them they should be. Their “if it feels good, do it” attitudes included little forethought nor concern for the consequences of their actions” (Haddock). Luke relates
Following the defeat of the Confederacy and to lift the morale of a shattered people momentum gathered to enshrine the Myth of the Lost Cause which would transform the Southern soldier living and dead, into a veritable hero.
The youth of the 1950s were built off of their rebellious personalities, their sense of morality, and the metaphorical phrase of being rebirthed. This is best shown in the film Rebel Without a Cause, where teens are seen running away from their parents and getting involved in stuff they shouldn’t be. The reasons why teens were depicted as rebels against conformity was because of how youth culture formed, such as the growth of cars, being involved with love, and forming gangs within their group of friends. When comparing 50s kids to today’s kids, it can be seen that the generation’s culture is drastically different. The biggest goal for parents today are to wipe out the source of rebellious thoughts, and keep strict conformity amongst their family so it would not cause society’s downfall.
The famous the note that was left by the teens in detention at the end of the movie shows the social connection between each of their roles in society and how those are tie to society. The teens use the stereotypical names to tell Mr. Vernon who they think they are; the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess, and the criminal, they use the names that society has given them because of their reputations, hobbies and looks. They each realize throughout the movie that there is something that connects them to one another which makes them all realize that no matter the stereotypical separation between them, they all have some things in common and can work together for a common goal.
Brassy fanfares, sweet flute melodies, and intense strings. These are the types of music that are used in the film “Rebel Without a Cause”. This film was released in 1955. James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo star as the lead characters of Jim Stark, Judy, and John "Plato" Crawford. The orchestra music for “Rebel Without a Cause” serves three functions: it reflects the emotions of the teens, it acts as element of the mise-en-scène, and it causes the audience to feel a particular emotion.
John Beckett mentions that the Glorious Revolution has been considered a historical event related to the political issues. The main target of this historical event was to create a commercial freedom in Europe. After this revolution was done, trade relations in Europe went up, and the Bill of Rights was also created in 1689. Today, the Bill of Rights is shown and known that it was the first building stone for the British constitution because it limited the monarchic power. During the eighteenth century, the period of the Age of Enlightenment is considered between 1713 and 1789 because Anthony Pagden states that Europe was like a republic of states, and it was like a union acting together and talking with one voice. The Age of Enlightenment
The movie “Rebel Without a Cause” by Stewart Stern, clearly demonstrates how living in the 1950s was for any civilian. It shows their everyday lifestyles and agendas for this time period. This movie has many themes, but one of the most important is the examination of the 1950s life. Unambiguously, the film reflects on how families, friends, and everyday people lived in the glorious “perfect” society of the 50s.
Rebel Without a Cause calls attention to society’s obsession over hyper masculinity, fears of overly dominant women, homosexuality, and juvenile “delinquency” during the 1950s. Popularity of suburban life arose – along with the necessity to fit in. Accompanying the pressures of gender roles were also the rise of alcoholism, depression, anxiety, and rage. Moreover, the film explores the conflicts that lied within teenagers because of the social standards that were forced upon them.
What strategies has Malala used to get the public involved in the movement? (speeches, wrtings, books, etc.)
Teenage films are often thought of films focused on issues such as teen angst, conflict with parents, coming of age, and most notably rebellion. Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause(1955) is one of the first films that could be classified as such. In today’s times, many films that fall into this genre follow the same structure as Rebel without a Cause in that perceptions and activities of youth defy what is considered to be a seemingly more stable adult life. Prior to Rebel Without a Cause, there wasn’t a film that challenged the ideas of masculinity in society and the struggles that teenagers endured in that era, so it is no surprise that the film is considered to be the poster child of youth rebellion in the 1950’s. Ray brings to light a
Rebel without a Cause is a powerful performance that demonstrates the struggles of an all-American, middle-class family. James Dean, Natalie Wood, and San Mineo are remarkable actors that play significant roles of adolescent characters in the film. This tale is based on teenagers that have troubled lives due to the ignorance of their parents. The main message the film portrays is that children’s behaviour is influences by their parents and their parenting skills. There are several themes in this film, however the predominant theme is that conflict within the family can encourage disaffected youth.
Be a rebel. Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, claims that “The belief-transmission game explains why we believe some things about happiness that simply aren’t true” (Gilbert 216). What Gilbert means by this statement is that our whole lives, we accept facts about the beliefs of others who pass them down to us and make them appear true and positive. They want others to think like them and view the world like them because they simply believe their beliefs and views are accurate. Are they really accurate? Probably not, due to the large amount of varying views and beliefs in our world based on religion, family, and values. Therefore individuals seeking happiness and true fulfilment of their expectations need to make their own decisions based on their desires in order to be truly satisfied with their lives. Others argue that you should check-in with others and try to see which experiences have made them content.
In every society, there is conformity and nonconformity, although we may not notice it. Conformity is when someone is doing the same thing as others because they do not want to be the only one doing differently. Example, if there was a whole class raising their hands would you want to be the only one with your hand down, no so you would raise it with the rest of the class to not look like you don't know anything. This is called social pressures it when a large group is doing something and you're the only one not then you want to be doing whatever that large group is doing.
This chapter talks about social change and how it happens and the theories behind social movements. The five essay questions at the end of this chapter are answered below.