Film Analysis: A Rebel Without a Cause

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Movie Review of A Rebel Without A Cause A Rebel Without A Cause is a movie directed at the young adults of the 1950s. Teenager, a new term for young adults, is brought about within this film as a way to describe the character of the young adults. The movie was directed towards the teenagers because of their growing population and use of money for fashion and entertainment. However, within this movie, some of the most important understandings about family life during the decade are manifested. The issues of teenagers erupt because of family and school life, and as a result, the teens took drastic actions. The use of tobacco cigarettes and dangerous car races are two of the evident examples within the film. This movie focused on teenagers and family life because the ideal image of the 1950s family was a perfect family consisting of a mom and dad with two children. Everything with the family appears to be great and full of happiness. The father went to work and provided for the family, while the mother stayed at home and tended to her children and maintaining the home. This thriving period can be described as the golden age of family because the 1950s stereotype of the perfect family life instigated this suspected boom of happiness of the American family. However, A Rebel Without A Cause expresses that the times were not as perfect as they were depicted. Dysfunctional families that led their young adults to rebellion shape the movie. The dysfunctional of the Stark family is evident at the beginning of the film, when Jim appears drunk in the police station. As his family enters, his mother gives him a hard time, as his father is more passive to him and condones his actions. His parents roles are reversed because usually the fathe... ... middle of paper ... ...Without A Cause because I believe that the message about family is the most important message to be delivered in any decade. To help young adults face difficulties of the teenage years, they need guidance from a stable family or a model figure that they can trust and receive an honest answer on various matters. This film explains the negative consequences that can occur when teens have no guidance and sense of structure, like the deadly car crash that killed one of the teens and could have taken Jim’s life. Teens cannot be sheltered through their teenage years because it is in their nature to want to be on their own sometimes and have responsibility, but they need the guidance that will keep them from crossing the boundaries into life threatening situations. I believe this film best explains this and why I believe it is one of the most meaningful film’s I have seen.

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