Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 film about Jim Stark, a troubled teenage boy who moves to a new town. As the new kid, Jim tries to make friends with other outsiders Plato and Judy. They bond over their dysfunctional families and struggles with their identities. However, their rebellion and conflicts with authority figures lead to tragic consequences, particularly for Plato. The film examines themes of family, masculinity, and the difficulties of being a misunderstood teenager in 1950s suburban America.

1. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
Christine Joung

2. Rebel Without A Cause
 A person who is dissatisfied with society but
does not have a specific aim to fight for.

3. Basic Information
 Melodrama, teen film
 January, 1955
 Nicholas Ray, Stewart Stern
 James Dean, Natalie Wood
 Suburban, middle-class teenagers
 Originally black & white

4. Plot
 Jim Stark (James Dean) is a troublemaking
teen.
 Jim moves to a new town and tries to make
friends.
 However, being the new kid in town brings
problems. (e.g. Buzz challenges Jim to race
him.)
 Through conflicts, Jim forms a bond with Plato
and falls for local girl Judy.

5. Setting
 Mid-50s
 Los Angeles (U.S. urban slum environment)

6. Social Context
 1950s America – Unity of community, everyone
being happy, utopian society
 New Age of Film
- Addresses social issues
- Not completely happy ending
 Jim = Rebel = New type of role
 Emergence of teenage audiences

7. Characteristics
 Several different plots within a plot (life that
each of the three characters go through)
 Both beginning and ending  Dawn, police
- “Do you think the end of world will come at
nighttime?” “Uh-uh, at dawn.”

8. Color
 Much emphasis on red
- Jim’s red Jacket, Judy’s red lipstick and clothes,
Jim’s couch, Plato’s socks, the monkey doll etc.
 Red = Desire, passion, love, anger, rebellious
 Connection among three characters

9. Symbols and Allusions
 Plato shooting puppies
 “Chicken”
 Father’s apron
 Playing house until interruption

10. Themes
 Existentialism
- Seeking identity and purpose of life
- “Is this where you live?” “Who lives?”
- “I don’t know what to do anymore, except
maybe die.”
 Family
- Dysfunctional conflict between parents and
children
- Problems that children face due to lack of
“father figure”
- “If only you coulda been my dad.”

11. Themes (Common themes in 50s)
 Women’s changing roles
- Jim’s mother, grandmother > Jim’s father
 Post-war prosperity
- Cars, TVs, large houses etc.
 The rise of suburbia

12. Aspects of Melodrama
 Melodrama: sub-type of drama films,
characterized by a plot designed to appeal
strongly to the emotions
 Family melodrama
- Conflicts in family
- Characters’ aspiration of happy family
 Male melodrama
- Struggle of identity is the core
- Masculine figure becomes emotional
- “You did everything a man could.”

13. Aspects of Melodrama
 Melodrama: moral tales that illustrate a battle
between good and evil

14. Conflicts / Struggles
 Seeming vs. Being
- Judy acts differently according to the group
- Jim’s parents tell him not to confess to the
police
- “I don’t know! I mean maybe he doesn’t mean it
but he acts like he does.”
 Lack of trust among all characters
- Judy hesitates following Jim to the room
- Plato loses trust for Jim when he leaves with
Judy
- Police shoots Plato even when Jim tells him
he’s safe

15. Conflicts / Struggles
 Desire vs. Ability
- Jim’s desire for Judy
- Jim’s desire to see his father act like a man
- Judy’s desire to receive her father’s love
- Plato’s desire to be with Jim or his family
- Buzz’s desire to prove his authority and power
 Expectation vs. Reality

16. Jim, Judy and Plato
 Middle-class, misunderstood, alienated
teenagers
 Identity-seeking  Confusion
- “You're tearing me apart!...You say one thing, he
says another, and everybody changes back
again.”
- "I'll tell you one thing, I don't ever want to be like
him.”
 Attain maturity through rebellion and tragic
circumstances

17. Plato (Sal Mineo)
 Powerless figure
- Housemaid answers all his questions, tells him
what to do and stops him every time
- Only feels safe by a presence of Jim or gun
 Skeptical of paternal gestures and kindness
- In the beginning, rejects Jim’s offer of jacket 
in the end, accepts it

18. Plato (Sal Mineo)
 Closeted gay
- Milestone for gay rights
- The first in a mainstream film to depict
homosexual desire
 Psychopath
- Shoots puppies

19. Resolution
 Three characters’ search for ideal father figure
- Jim  Hears father say “I’ll stand up for you.”
- Judy and Plato  Finds Jim

20. Connections
 The Outsiders
(1967, 1983)
 The Catcher in the Rye
(1951)