Rebel without a cause

‘Rebel Without a Cause’
Lesson Objectives: To be able to analyse the
representation of youth in ‘Rebel Without a
Cause’.

Cause’.
‘Rebel Without a Cause’ (Nicholas Ray, USA, 1955)
How were young people represented?
How were adults represented?
How can you apply theory?

Cause’.
‘Rebel Without a Cause’ (Nicholas Ray, USA, 1955)
Key Themes:
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Crisis of Masculinity
• Transition from to Adulthood

Cause’.
The Great Juvenile Delinquency Scare
Juvenile Delinquency: Historical, Cultural and
Legal Perspectives, 2000, Binder, Geis, and
Bruce.

Cause’.
Juvenile Delinquency: Historical,
Cultural and Legal Perspectives, 2000,
Binder, Geis, and Bruce.

Cause’.
Factors contributing to public anxiety about
juvenile delinquency include the emergence of
the ‘teenager’, development of youth culture –
rock and roll music, teenpics, comic books.

Cause’.
What delinquent behaviours are depicted in
‘Rebel Without a Cause’?

Cause’.
Juvenile delinquent films reinforced social order whilst allowing audience the
transgressive pleasure of identification with the characters.

Cause’.
Crisis of Masculinity
One of the film’s key themes is masculinity:
‘What can you do when you have to be a
man?’
The film draws on anxiety in American society
about the role of men, and suggests that this
may contribute to juvenile delinquency. All
three of the main characters have troubled
relationships with their fathers.

Cause’.
1950s America saw a crisis of masculinity –
focused on anxieties about the “feminization”
of men.
Reasons for this include:
• Post-war demobilization and the attempt to
return to gender relation at home and at
work disturbed by World War Two.
• Anxiety about mental stability of returning
veterans.
• Kinsey Report on sexuality.
• Social shifts to a white collar workforce
undermined traditional notions of
masculinity
Steven Cohan, 1997, Masked Men: Masculinity
and the Movies in the Fifties.

Cause’.
‘Rebel Without a Cause’ is a film obsessed
with fathers and father figures.
To what extent is that statement true? What
evidence can you identify to support it?
How is Jim’s father represented?

Cause’.
James Dean and Masculinity

Cause’.
Rebel Without a Cause
What do you think is the significance of the
opening sequence?
How does it relate to the end of the film?

Cause’.
Liminality
Rites of Passage, Arnold Van Gennep, 1908

Cause’.
Liminality - Liminal Space – Victor
Turner

Cause’.
Rebel Without a Cause – Key Signifiers
How are red and blue used in the film?
What meanings do they create?
What role do mirrors play in the film?

Cause’.
Rebel Without a Cause – Analysis of Key
Scenes
Opening sequence
o Breakfast
o Let’s make a list
o You want to kill your father
o Playing house
o The ending

Cause’.
How are young people represented in

Cause’.
To do well:
o Clear argument
o Make links between
theories and texts
o Balance of theories,
textual analysis, and
personal engagement
o Include reference to
past, present, future
o Consistent and accurate
use of theory
o Theoretical terminology
used

Cause’.
What theorists might you apply in your essay?

Cause’.
What might your argument be?

Cause’.
Structure:
Introduction
Youth and Delinquency
Reinforcing hegemony
Conclusion

Cause’.
Introduction
o Start with a quote.
o Outline focus.
o Identify argument.
Exemplar
Henry Giroux argues that in media representations ‘youth becomes an empty category’
reflecting the anxieties of adult society. ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ (Nicholas Ray, USA, 1955)
demonstrates the concerns in American society about juvenile delinquency. The film also
explores other concerns preoccupying American society, include a perceived crisis in
masculinity. Ultimately the film explores the idea of ‘youth as trouble’, whilst finally
reinforcing hegemonic values as the film’s ‘rebel’ conforms to social norms.

Cause’.
Youth and Delinquency
o Youth as trouble/demonization of
young people
o Juvenile delinquency 1950s
o JD movies – ‘The Wild One’,
‘Blackboard Jungle’
o Linked to post-war emergence of the
‘teenager’ and youth culture
o How is juvenile delinquency
represented in the film?

Cause’.
o Rebel Without a Cause suggests the
root cause of juvenile delinquency
relates to the breakdown of the family,
and particularly the failure of the
father figure – related to post-war
concerns about masculinity.
o How does the film explore masculinity?

Cause’.
Reinforcing hegemony
Charles Acland argues that media
representations of youth in crisis are a key
way in which hegemony is maintained.
o What does the film suggest are the
consequences of failing to conform to
hegemony?
o How is Jim shown to accept hegemonic
values?

Cause’.
Conclusion
Sum up your argument:
o How have you demonstrated that media
representations of young people reflect adult
concerns, and function to maintain social
order/hegemonic values?
o What is your viewpoint on this? Which
theorists do you agree/disagree with?
o How do you think this relates to contemporary
representations? How might this change/stay
the same in the future?

Cause’.
Media and Collective Identity Blogs
Research into the following areas:
o Juvenile crime in the 1950s
o 1950s cinema – Juvenile Delinquent
films
o 1950s Crisis of Masculinity
o Liminal Space
o Analyse the representation of
teenagers in the trailer for a JD movie
from the 1950s.
o Find and evaluate a critical/academic
reading of ‘Rebel Without a Cause’.
o Analyse a still from the film.

Rebel without a cause

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