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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. In one of the scenes, Jim is caught between trying to prove his masculinity or staying home and being the good son that his parents have yearned for. He struggles emotionally and physically, mainly because his parents do not live up to society’s expectations of
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 1955 film, Rebel Without a Cause is a seminal film for its period, not for its cinematic or literary excellence, but for what it conveyed to post-war adolescents embarking on a trajectory of shifting social mores, namely a paean for emotional expression and acceptance of social outcasts. The story fearlessly exposes elements of the dreaded rebellious adolescent; an age group alienated by parents and family, seeking greater meaning and value through questionable means, lacking confidence, and only acquiring validation and acceptance from peers. The writer/director of the film seems to take the point of view of a juvenile delinquent, constructing a sympathetic portrait of maladjusted youth rather than that of standard 1950’s middle class adults. The story does not condemn nor promote the wild behavior it depicts, but rather holds it up to an ambilivent kind of scrutiny. Subjected to widespread censorship, the film was daring for its time for failing to uphold production code standards in its representation of criminal behaviors that go unpunished. More importantly, Rebel Without a Cause struck a chord for many teenagers who were moved by honest depictions of irreverent adolescents empowered to stand up against the hypocrisy of an older generation. The story models a level of compassion and sensitivity for the human condition that allows the viewer to question social prejudices of the time and the moral courage it takes to face down those prejudices.
Why does the theme teenage rebellion seem to appear so frequently in movies, literature, and music? One may see this theme appear in William Shakespeare’s, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” as well as in Something Rotten the musical and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. There are many reasons that this theme emerges in media substantially, such as to teach a moral lesson as well as the actuality that any audience can relate to the theme. Whether it be disagreeing with a parent’s demand or belief, or because of the yearning for independence, striplings have all experienced some sort of yearn for rebellion. When commenting on what one may learn from this theme, many stories of teenage rebellion teach unique, yet important, morals that all focus around
This essay is a cross-cultural examination between the movies “Rebel without a cause” by Nicholas Ray and “Clueless” by Amy Heckerling. Although these two films take place in the same American city of Los Angeles (LA), they were set nearly 40 years apart. Thus this essay looks at the LA society through the cross cultural theme of time. This essay focuses on the teenage demographic in LA in 1955 and 1995. This essay looks at the continuities and differences between:
Jim tries to model himself after a man who is crushed by the yoke of caring for his family. Since he has no paternal figure in his life, Jim is unable to decipher the emotional pain of Mr. Shimerda. At this point, Jim first starts to contemplate his romanticized view on life. The irony of this is when Mr. Shimerda promises to give Jim his gun after he becomes a real man. Antonia translates it into, “My tatinek say when you are big boy, he give you his gun” (Cather 32). Mr. Shimerda defines being a real man as being able to provide for your family, which he has been unable to do since they migrated to Nebraska. This causes a chain reaction in Jim and Antonia. Mr. Shimerda's death causes Jim and Antonia to sort of diverge paths with their decision making, and as Antonia begins to age. She takes on the parental role, or catalyst, that Jim needs to develop as a character.
1950’s culture revolved around predetermined roles in society that caused numerous issues, both within an individual and within the society. The stringent society caused teenagers and parents to act a certain way, and if they did not, they were viewed with suspicion. Conforming to the society was challenging for many, and if one did not conform, he or she would be face mental issues or societal issues. In Rebel Without a Cause, Nicholas Ray depicted the culture of the 1950’s by showing the type of dating, juvenile delinquency, and parenting that took place during those times and showed its effect on not only that decade, but how it would shape the future years.
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
Others often use masculinity, most often associated with strength, confidence and self-sufficiency to define a man’s identity. The narrator perceives Tyler Durden as a fearless young man who is independent and living life by his own rules. So is Tyler Durden masculine because of his no nonsense attitude or are his law breaking antics and unusual lifestyle seen as a failure because he is a man with neither family, money nor a well respected job? These typical aspirations are commonly defined as the male American dream, but does following life by the rulebook placed on males by society really make a male masculine? Fight Club specifically debunks the male American dream. It challenges’ the idea that the masculine identity is defined by material items and instead embraces the idea that masculine identity can be found in liberation from conformity and the ability to endure pain.
Fight Club is a 1999 movie by David Fincher about a bored office worker who creates a fight club to find meaning in his life. It was created during a time when men were perceived to be in the middle of a crisis of masculinity. The film suggests that violence is the solution to emasculation that has been caused by consumerism. Men have been feminized by a materialistic society and their identity is now tied with product. They have lost their masculine identity within a culture that has seemingly made men domesticated. “...vulnerability of the male self-image...” (Gronstad, 2014, pg177)
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.
Jim serves as a paternal figure for Huck, contrasting with the actions of Pap, as he cares for Huck’s safety and wellbeing. The reader learns that Jim can properly fit the role of a “true father” for Huck because Jim has a family. Twain reveals that his “wife and his children” are away from him, causing him much sadness (Twain 225). Thus, he attempts to fill the gap by acting as a father towards Huck. Jim shows great love and care while constantly protecting Huck, even though Huck seems to be uncaring. He does not wish to see Huck in any pain or danger, and therefore keeps the truth away from Huck. When the pair finds the floating house with supplies, they also see a dead body. The reader notices that Jim is...
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever” (Lance Armstrong). Men have given up, making the pain prevalent and everlasting, causing feminine tendencies. The men in this respective novel don’t have any opposition standing in their way, to prove their masculinity. “We 're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War 's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives” (Chuck Palahniuk). Proving your masculinity used to not be a problem. It was simple to prove your manhood by various ways throughout time such as; hunting, joining the
Teenagers in the media are often represented as rebellious, mood driven vigilantes. But is this the reality of teenagers today? Or is this just a cruel stereotype based off a minority of teens that is affecting those who aren’t like this from getting jobs and being taken seriously in the adult world.
When Jim leaves society, he finally gains his individuality. But once Jim returns to civilization, he is immediately marginalized once again, representing the effect of society on the portrayal of Jim. The development of Jim from a caricature to a real person throughout the novel conveys the oppression of African Americans and their struggle to show their true identity in antebellum America. In the beginning of the book, Twain portrays Jim as a caricature with limited individuality, demonstrating the dehumanization of slaves. When Tom and Huck first come across Ms. Watson’s slave Jim, the boys treat Jim like an object: “Tom whispered to me and wanted to tie Jim to a tree for fun” (Twain 19).