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(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I made this thread once before, but removed it due to an error on my part, and because I would like to please add to the thread with more thoughts.)
I'm 29, and I saw "Rebel without a Cause" for the first time last summer. I think it's a wonderful film.
The 1950's was the very first generation ever where the teen lifestyle became glamorized and made it into pop culture. Up until then, being a teenager wasn't anything special or cool. I imagine for generations, parents have been tearing their children apart, and the kids never said anything because back then, you were suppose to be quiet, and respect and honor your parents no matter what.
I bet when James Dean as "Jim" said the line, teenagers back then everywhere wanted to stand up and cheer - He was speaking for all of them. The line was not being disrespectful. It was just being honest and finally asking parents to please back up just a little, and to understand what a hard, confusing, and scary age this is.
People of any age can snap. They do it because they are looking for the answers, and can't find them. Some teenagers are thrown out of the nest, and presented with tons of very hard challenges, and are forced to discover what the answers are on their own because their parents believe in "tough love" and figure, this is the only way they can learn.
Even though I'm pushing 30, I still clearly remember how stressful those years were, because I couldn't find the answers, and I was getting no help from my parents. Mainly because they, like many adults, had forgotten what those years were like, and/or they had a lot of help.
Picture being that age in the 1950's where not only were you expected to find the answers, BUT.....you were apart of an era where you could not dare complain about the hardships.
Most teens were only silent and not honest back then because they feared and loved their parents and the other adults. When Jim yelled "You're tearing me apart", he was being a "rebel" and daring to ask his parents for space.
See, going into this film, I expected Jim to be some JD low-life hood based on the title. I figured this would be like a 1950's "A Clockwork Orange". - How wrong I was. I discovered the only thing that made Jim a rebel was that he was saying what I imagine millions of teenagers wanted to say.
I think when this line was first said, it became the start of teen rebellion. In the here and now, where teens scream, curse, and even attack their parents, but are still forgiven and spoiled, I know such a line could not have a profound impact with today's youth. By back in the 1955, it was shocking and it was deep. I get it.
I'm 29, and I saw "Rebel without a Cause" for the first time last summer. I think it's a wonderful film.
The 1950's was the very first generation ever where the teen lifestyle became glamorized and made it into pop culture. Up until then, being a teenager wasn't anything special or cool. I imagine for generations, parents have been tearing their children apart, and the kids never said anything because back then, you were suppose to be quiet, and respect and honor your parents no matter what.
I bet when James Dean as "Jim" said the line, teenagers back then everywhere wanted to stand up and cheer - He was speaking for all of them. The line was not being disrespectful. It was just being honest and finally asking parents to please back up just a little, and to understand what a hard, confusing, and scary age this is.
People of any age can snap. They do it because they are looking for the answers, and can't find them. Some teenagers are thrown out of the nest, and presented with tons of very hard challenges, and are forced to discover what the answers are on their own because their parents believe in "tough love" and figure, this is the only way they can learn.
Even though I'm pushing 30, I still clearly remember how stressful those years were, because I couldn't find the answers, and I was getting no help from my parents. Mainly because they, like many adults, had forgotten what those years were like, and/or they had a lot of help.
Picture being that age in the 1950's where not only were you expected to find the answers, BUT.....you were apart of an era where you could not dare complain about the hardships.
Most teens were only silent and not honest back then because they feared and loved their parents and the other adults. When Jim yelled "You're tearing me apart", he was being a "rebel" and daring to ask his parents for space.
See, going into this film, I expected Jim to be some JD low-life hood based on the title. I figured this would be like a 1950's "A Clockwork Orange". - How wrong I was. I discovered the only thing that made Jim a rebel was that he was saying what I imagine millions of teenagers wanted to say.
I think when this line was first said, it became the start of teen rebellion. In the here and now, where teens scream, curse, and even attack their parents, but are still forgiven and spoiled, I know such a line could not have a profound impact with today's youth. By back in the 1955, it was shocking and it was deep. I get it.
