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Masculinity in the 1800s
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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 …show more content…
Back in the 1950’s the idea of masculinity was a loosely-defined term. It was a time in which the country was dealing with men returning from years at war and struggling to assimilate back into society. As a result, many were forced with the challenge of being the breadwinner of the family while maintaining what were considered conventional fatherly characteristics of that time. Rebel Without a Cause challenges this notion through the portrayal of Jim’s father Frank Stark. Frank is not the typical post-world war two breadwinner of a father, rather, Carol Stark provides for the family. Additionally, Frank lacks the ability to stand up to his wife, something Jim longs for. As a result, Frank lacks the ability to control his own son. Jim’s insecurities about his father further influence his impulsive nature. We first see this when the teenagers take a field trip to the planetarium. Jim is approached by Buzz and his friends who start clucking like a chicken. At first Jim doesn’t want any trouble, but after Buzz kicks Plato, a switch goes off in his head and a fight breaks out. Acting on impulse, Jim yells, “All right--you want it, you got it!” (Stern). Jim’s impulsive nature and need to prove himself gets him into even more trouble when he agrees to a chicken-run with Buzz. Jim doesn’t want to race, but does not back down as his pride is questioned. This feeling of peer pressure is one that is all too familiar with any teenager. When Jim asks his father for advice on the situation, he replies, You know I never stop you from anything. In ten years you'll look back on this and wish you were a kid again” (Stern). Unsatisfied with his father’s answer, Jim storms out of the house as his desperate father tries to reason with him. The chicken-race that follows is a great illustration of masculinity, for what is more masculine than loud, powerful American automobiles.
Jim is a “man on the run” moving from school to school to avoid trouble and feels alienated from his family and peers. The film is stylistically noirish with Nicholas Ray’s use of low-key, garish lighting, the use of shadows cast on character’s faces, and the setting of a city street at night in the opening scene. The film also deconstructs film noir conventions by including a fatherly policeman, white heterosexual antagonists, and a female love interest that isn’t responsible for his troubles. Themes of the teen drama genre are also heavily present, such as Jim being the “new kid” in school, choosing the popular girl as a love interest, being late to the trip to the observatory, and a fight with a bully on the first day of
He is a troubled teenager who has just moved towns to Los Angeles with his family. Jim has become the target of many of the bullies in his new town which make his life tougher than it has to be. Jim became close to two people he met at the police station the night he was arrested for being drunk in public. Plato was a boy younger than Jim who wanted nothing more than to have Jim as a friend considering his parents were never around, and Judy who ended up falling in love with Jim and separating herself from the bully group. Jim feels that his father is incapable of upholding and opposing his mother; which we find out for certain in the film when he asks his father, “What do you do when you have to be a man?” He has major issues with his parents, for he feels they are unable to support him as well as be caring of the person he yearns to be. Buzz Gunderson is the leader of the school bullies. He has made it his life’s mission to be a complete nuisance to Jim and instigate a clash no matter the conditions. This clash lead to the climax of the movie; the knife fight and the chickie run. After watching the bullies slash a tire for absolutely no reason, Buzz challenged Jim to a duel with knives in which Jim won, although both parties were walking away with slight injuries. After the embarrassing loss Buzz needed to one up the stakes by provoking a “chickie” run. The “chickie” run was a catastrophe; Buzz got stuck on the door handle
Jim Burden’s early years follows the structure of the idealized childhood of the American West, one where he can run freely in the country and is surrounded by the natural world. However, prejudices are still prevalent in his community, and have a noticeable effect on its inhabitants as they mature. From a young age, members of the Black Hawk, Nebraska community are instilled with the idea that daughters
When men refuse to fight, they are pegged as ‘not real men,’ ‘woman-like’ or ‘gay. (Module 3) At first it appears that the hoodlum Buzz is merely jealous of Jim’s attempt to befriend his girl Judy, but as the film progresses it appears that Jim bugs Buzz on other levels and the boys’ rivalry becomes increasingly homoerotic. Jim draws attention to this during a fight when he reminds Buzz that only “punks use knives”, “punk” being a code word for gay men. The switchblade knife sticks up in the middle of the frame like an erect phallic symbol. The possibility that the cause of Jim’s chaotic behavior is a fear of queerness is also raised by his disgust at his father’s emasculation in the family home. We see his father wearing a woman’s apron and being dominated by his mother and grandmother. Jim begs his father to beat his mother to bring her into line. In a misogynistic culture, the only solution to sexual ambiguity is violence against the female, but what Jim really seems to want is for his father to beat the threat of femininity, which his mother has come to represent out of the family. Jim fears that unless his father becomes a real man, he will be tainted by this emasculation and unable to become a real man himself. Like the film Full Metal Jacket the gun becomes a “phallic symbol,” or a representation of the power associated with the possession of a penis. (Module 3) It is
Generations of kids have now grown up with John Hughes's teen movies, and they continue to speak to teenagers. John Hughes was able to create realistic teen dialogue in his movies, but more importantly, he was able to capture real teen dilemmas. It's no wonder that his films could transcend individual generational experiences.
Many find it true that many teenagers in the 1950s were rebellious and it was because of their consumerist traits, how they fit in society, and their strained relationships with the adults. When Jim Stark yells at his parents, “You’re tearing me apart!”(RWOAC), he describes how his parents are the reason why his life is suffering. Great examples from this film of its rebelling would be Jim’s actions to keep his pride even if it comes to
In the short story “With All Flags Flying” an old man leaves his house and his family to live in an old folks home because that is what is best for him and what he thinks is best for his family.The old man seems to be leaving his family for the old folks home to benefit his family, but he also seems to be doing it for himself. Anne Tyler’s “With All Flags Flying” explores the theme that humans are innately selfish.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
Youth have a certain quality and charisma that has made making films about them not only an interesting endeavor but also fundamental to cinema (Shary, 2002). Representative of hope and change, children are viewed as the future. Youth culture, with its ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ kind of dynamic, suggests that children are also the future of film. For decades the film industry has relied on young audiences for patronage and also looked to youth for inspiration and just the kind of material that makes a relevant and refreshing script (Shary, 2002). Youth-oriented film has subsequently become a genre all its own (Shary, 2002). A history of American youth cinema would indicate no different. It is thus interesting to explore youth-oriented films and how films across time, namely Lolita (1962), Marathon Man (1976), Rain Man (1988), Kids (1995), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), have depicted youth culture, specifically the theme of “Coming-Of-Age.”
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
In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
Societies standards are what everyone wants to fit into it is the norms that are used as a guide to living life. The grandmother and the misfit in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” follow the way of social values, thoughts, and way society sees one another closely in 1953. Both the grandmother and the misfit are different in many ways, but have one common value of society’s views are important to them. The way society views and judges people causes both the misfit and the grandmother to act differently but subtly makes them more alike than either of them could tell. The shared value of society’s point of view on a human being can explain both characters views, behaviors, and actions because of how heavily it weighed on the grandma and
Director Nicholas Ray was lucky to have a talented composer create an original score for Rebel Without A Cause. Leonard Rosenman was born in 1924 and studied music in New York and Europe. His work as a film composer and arranger is very traditional, and has been regarded by some music critics as "insignificant." However, Rosenman received Academy Awards and Oscar nominations for his work. Along with film scores, Rosenman wrote theme music and scores for numerous television shows. The score in Rebel Without A Cause is much like another film starring James Dean, East of Eden.
Have you ever had one of those days that were so bad that you desperately needed a night at the ice cream or candy store? The 1970’s was that really bad day, while the night of self- indulgence was the 1980’s. Americans love to escape from our daily stress, and of all the products that allow us to do so, none is more popular than the movies. Movies are key cultural artifacts that offer a view of American culture and social history. They not only offer a snapshot of hair styles and fashions of the times but they also provide a host of insights into Americans’ ever-changing ideals. Like any cultural artifact, the movies can be approached in a number of ways. Cultural historians have treated movies as a document that records the look and mood of the time that promotes a particular political or moral value or highlights individual or social anxieties and tensions. These cultural documents present a particular image of gender, ethnicity, romance, and violence. Out of the political and economic unrest of the 1970’s that saw the mood and esteem of the country, as reflected in the artistry and messages in the movies, sink to a new low, came a new sense of pride in who we are, not seen since the post-World War II economic boom of the 1950’s. Of this need to change, Oscar Award winner Paul Newman stated,
‘Lad flicks’ or ‘lad movies’ is a type of film genre that emerged in the late 1990s. They are defined as a “‘hybrid of “buddy movies”, romantic comedies and “chick flicks”, which centre on the trials and tribulations of a young man as he grows up to become a ‘real man’. ‘Lad flicks’ respond in part to the much-debated ‘crisis in masculinity’” (Benjamin A. Brabon 116). This genre of film explored what it meant to be a ‘real man’ in the twentieth century and in order to do so, they would have to grow up and leave their juvenile ways behind to enter the heterosexual world. Gender relations in ‘lad flicks’ portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category hiding behind a humorous façade and also rely greatly on a knowing gaze and irony. The two ‘lad flicks’ that will be analyzed are The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005) and Role Models (David Wain 2008).