Live Life Team
Genre: Drama
Director: Nicholas Ray
Starring Cast: James Dean, Natalie Wood
One of the edgiest, rawest movies ever to be created in the 1950s, “Rebel Without a Cause” paired a young Natalie Wood with Hollywood’s leading heartthrob at the time, James Dean.
Our first meeting with Jim Stark (Dean) is as he lies in the gutter, intoxicated. A fitting image for a film that principally deals with isolation and unrest among the youth of 1950s America, Jim is by no means a rebellious loser. He is a representation of the changing social landscape of a country adjusting to seismic social and political change.
“Rebel Without a Cause” shadows Jim and his friends as they wilfully misspend their youth. Parental apathy is presented as one explanation for the futile, violent behaviour, as if a lack of affection can be replaced with acts of hate and attention seeking actions that will fill the emptiness left by missing relationships.
The 1950s was undoubtedly a time when the generation gap was increasing, as the pre-war American principles began to be replaced by a more free spirited outlook. It was a time when the youth found their voice but weren’t yet sure how to use it.
Jim is out to prove himself though, despite the sanctuary that his friends provide. There is a famous scene where stolen cars are revved up and raced towards a cliff top, with the drivers leaping out at the last moment, thus signifying the collective and enduring display of male bravado and pride.
James Dean was the embodiment of this age in America’s history. His temperamental screen domination made him a sudden sensation, and his early death made him a legend.
