ANOTHER MIXED BAG : REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

Rebel without a cause"


Now, forgive me if you're actually a fan, but I'm no great fan of James Dean. I objectively see that he has charisma. He is a good actor, although I ever really saw him act in a certain type of part (which isn't saying a lot really, I've only seen him in two films and this is one of them). I appreciate him, but like I said I could make do without him, if you see what I mean... But still, after having watched it, I cannot help but appreciate the power of the film "Rebel without a cause", especially seeing as it was one of the firsts of its genre... It seems rather infantile as films go in parts, but then again, you have to remember that this was a first. One of the first films that give "youth" a voice. And they are not exactly happy, much to their parent’s surprise.

But let's get ahead with the plot. Jim (James Dean) is a troubled young man of 17. His parents aren't quite sure why, but he just seems to get into trouble a lot. Well, his parents move around a lot as well, so he can't exactly "repeat" his offences but it's pretty much the same story wherever he goes. In their latest location, things don't seem to have altered much. Jim has the bullies of the school on his tail once again - only this time it's actually more complicated as he has a crush on one of the girls in the gang - and the school nut job thinks that Jim is his best friend - not that that matters either, he seems harmless enough. But then the bullies challenge Jim to a "chicky run". It's a potentially dangerous way to prove courage, but the only way of proving you aren't a "chicken". Jim goes through with it, only his opponent doesn't come out alive... This starts a positive avalanche of reactions... The kids are most definitely "not all right". And the parents have to do some serious soul searching if they want to understand why...

Broken home, uncaring parents, parents who just "don't understand". This is all day to day life now, but back in the 50's one didn't talk about it all that much... Heck, this was one of the first films where we see "well meaning but inefficient parents". This is why we needed "youth films" as a genre I suppose back in the day. Around the middle of the century the eminent grownups figured out that young people and teenagers are actually "thinking entities" in their own rights and not just things to be "seen and not heard". They needed a voice, and this is what these films provided... Funny, if you think about it they don't make this kind of "teen flick" anymore. I mean sure, we have films where teens are the heroes but very VERY few films that talk specifically about teenagers and their problems and their lives "out of context" so to speak. Nothing like this, or "The Breakfast Club", heck even "Grease" is one of the films from this genre...Now thankfully, a lot more is said and done about and for young people so they no longer specifically need this art form to reach out... And since the films are all very good films we can watch them as works of art in their own rights, but I think it's kinda important to remember they also had a serious function once. Long, long ago...