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Rebel Without A Cause

Decent Essays

The film Rebel without a Cause masterfully juxtaposes two characters that have seemingly opposite conditions: Jim Stark and Judy. Of the many differences that these two characters share, their contrasting family structures are perhaps the most interesting aspect of the movie. Rebel without a Cause displays a snapshot of how the family structure of the 1950s functioned with Judy’s family. To counter this, the movie depicts the Stark family, which is a direct opposite of the accepted family structure at the time. Making a social commentary on this topic of the household ranking could have been one of the main intentions of the movie’s director, Nicholas Ray, in producing the film. Even though the 1950s were just over 60 years ago, the social …show more content…

Jim exudes masculinity, or at least the want for it, throughout the movie, in stark contrast to Judy, who is an extremely feminine character. Jim’s father, Frank, almost completely goes against the masculine father stereotype of the day, as he is an overly-kind man who seems to seek the acceptance of others. His lack of masculinity is cemented in the scene where Jim comes home to find his father on his hands and knees (perhaps one of the most subservient positions possible) in a frilly, yellow apron cleaning up some food he had spilled that he was carrying to his wife in bed. Seeing his father doing chores that would normally be considered “women’s work” at the time, for a woman (Frank’s wife) nonetheless, Jim is at a loss of words. He grabs his father by the apron and stammers, “stand . . . don’t . . . I mean, you shouldn’t . . . don’t . . . what are you?” Later, Jim asks his father for advice on what he should do regarding the “chickie run,” which is a game of “chicken” with two cars racing off of a cliff. Rather than offer the advice that his son wants, Frank tells Jim that “no one can make a snap decision,” and to “consider all the pros and cons.” Clearly, this goes against the “think later, act now” mentality of a “real man,” and Jim gets so fed up with his father’s advice that he bluntly asks him, “what can you do when …show more content…

In making the movie’s main themes teen estrangement and paternal issues, the filmmakers, either intentionally or not, created a film that shows how the average family functioned in the 1950s with Judy’s family. Whether or not we realize it, almost all forms of art depict in some way the time period in which they were created, from the works of the Shakespeare to the paintings of Pablo Picasso. And, while Rebel without a Cause may not stack up to those pieces of art, it certainly does share in their ability to reflect the day in age in which it was

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