Generic Conventions of Teen Movies in the 1955 Film Rebel Without a Cause
'Rebel without a cause' was the first ever film to be targeted at the
newly established Teenage audience and caused the creation 'Teen
Movie' genre because of its incredible success. The creators of Rebel
without a cause saw that there was enormous potential for the teen
audience as they had never been targeted before and they had money to
spend on entertainment as they had no outgoings at all. The film
starred James Dean as Jim Stark the troubled teenager in a new town.
He is portrayed as the outsider and the protagonist as he fights his
oppressive authoritative figures.
James Dean: Role Model for teenagers
[IMAGE]The main theme running through this film is the outsider being
absorbed into the new community and the struggle for acceptance. This
can be seen in 'Rebel' as Jim is trying to be incorporated into the
new town and how he strives to overcome many obstacles. This theme can
also be seen in other films such as 'Save the last dance' as the white
protagonist Sara Johnson tries to fit into the very proud black
society. The narrative of initiation can be tied into the absorption
theme in that in Rebel the chicken run must be completed before Jim
will be accepted by buzz and the bully gang. This theme is reflected
in later films such as grease where the race must be completed to
resolve conflict between the opposing groups. Another theme which is
almost always seen in teen movies is the boy/girl romance. In rebel
without a cause this theme is reflected by the relationship between
Judy and Jim. This can also be seen in later films such as the
American ...
... middle of paper ...
...Pie where the
adults are seen as boring and only viewed as obstacles for the
teenager's hedonism. American Pie challenges this convention as it
uses an adult, Mrs Stiffler - a young mother trying to cling on to her
youth - who seduces the intellectual 'Geek' character, Paul Finch.
Rebel without a cause paved the way for hundreds of films targeted at
the teenage audience. It was created because there had never been a
genre which offered teenagers a way to communally express their
emotion before. The film gave iconic status to the name James Dean,
and gave thousands of teenagers a role model to follow. The film can
be seen in many other films which are constantly being added to the
genre. Hundreds of other teen films have elements of Rebel without a
cause and follow the generic conventions which it established in 1955.
The boy’s mother will take the easy way out for herself so that she won’t have to fight through the pain. By taking her own life, she will leave the boy in the father’s hands. The boy misses his mother everyday
Susie’s mother opened the door to let Molly, Susie’s babysitter, inside. Ten-month old Susie seemed happy to see Molly. Susie then observed her mother put her jacket on and Susie’s face turned from smiling to sad as she realized that her mother was going out. Molly had sat for Susie many times in the past month, and Susie had never reacted like this before. When Susie’s mother returned home, the sitter told her that Susie had cried until she knew that her mother had left and then they had a nice time playing with toys until she heard her mother’s key in the door. Then Susie began crying once again.
The girl's mother is associated with comfort and nurturing, embodied in a "honeyed edge of light." As she puts her daughter to bed, she doesn't shut the door, she "close[s] the door to." There are no harsh sounds, compared to the "buzz-saw whine" of the father, as the mother is portrayed in a gentle, positive figure in whom the girl finds solace. However, this "honeyed edge of li...
The 1920s were a time of change especially concerning the entertainment industry and the build up of movie companies. Entertainment is an important aspect in everybody's lives and just like people entertainment changes constantly. In the beginning of this time period people were becoming less confined and open their minds to new ideas this had an effect of new ways to entertain. The big operation of this time period was films it started out with silent films, until “talkies” pictures that synchronized sound came out. The creation of films especially “talkies” changing movie business, culture, and, created a lasting effect on visual entertainment.
This story speaks of a married woman who fell in love with a man who was not her husband. She bore this man a child and realized that she could not live without him. In the event, she decides to leave her husband to be with the child’s father. However, there is only one problem and that is that she has two other children by her husband. She has a daughter who is 9 years old and is very mature for her age, and a darling son who is 5 years old. As she leaves to restart her life again with this other man, the 5 year old son is left behind to stay with his dad, and the little girl is tragically killed by a pack of wolves. The little boy is devastated by his mom’s decision to leave him behind. He is constantly haunted by dreams and images that come to his mind surrounding his mother’s...
When this tale is looked at from a deeper perspective, it is learned that the mothers wish is to be loved and not have to worry about her child that has come in the way of her and her
the movie the audience knows whom the nanny is and it is just a matter
The wedding is celebrated an hour away from her hometown, so they are going to travel on a train. Every night, she would think about the long train ride over, but knew in the end, she would be away from the awful town. John Henry, her six-year-old cousin, always follows her around everywhere that she goes. He told her that he was running away with her, where ever she decided to go. After realizing that her brother was not going to let her stay with them, she runs away into the night. J...
... the model boat. In fact, the mother even recollects how like an infant he still is as she reflects on his birth and "the day they guided him out of me", representing her denial at her son's pending adulthood.
who wanted to enter her life, she is left alone after her father’s death. Her attitude
The mother in the story a nameless figure with very little description and almost no voice what so ever. She is a bitter reminder of how society views some woman. They are seen as a permanent stature of a home but not necessarily a figure in society. The kids both very loud and annoying portray a selfish, rude, an almost ignorant way of society such as Jo...
Who are you? This question could be exceedingly intricate to answer if you were to ask an adolescent. Teens are experiencing countless changes in their development, which is why it is such a significant time for them. During this time teenagers develop their sense of self. Film has helped portray some of the changes that occur during this evolving developmental period. For this paper, I will be describing the differences between two adolescent films to depict differences in developing the self. Some differences I will cover include types of self, Erickson’s Identity Crisis, Marcia’s Identity Status Interview theory, and culture over time.(Arnett, 2013)
Edna begins to question her role as mother. Edna's husband scolds her for her insensitivity to her children. Although Edna is fond of her children she, unlike the other women on Gra...
In the early 1950s the films of Douglas Sirk led the way in defining the emerging genre of the Hollywood melodrama. "Melodrama" strictly means the combination of music (melos) and drama, but the term is used to refer to the "popular romances that depicted a virtuous individual (usually a woman) or couple (usually lovers) victimized by repressive and inequitable social circumstances" (Schatz 222). Sirk's films were commercially successful and boosted the careers of stars like Lauren Bacall, Jane Wyman, and Rock Hudson, who was in seven of Sirk's thirteen American films (Halliday 162-171). Although critics in the fifties called the films "trivial" and "campy" and dismissed them as "tearjerkers" or "female weepies" (Schatz 224), critics in the seventies re-examined Sirk's work and developed an "academic respect for the genre" and declared that the films actually had "subversive relationship to the dominant ideology" (Klinger xii). Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959) are representative of the techniques melodramas used to address relevant fifties issues like class, gender, and race.