Film Analysis: Rebel Without A Cause

The fifties are sometimes considered a “golden age” within the history of the United States. The economy was booming, Elvis was rocking, and things were looking positive. The Korean War was ending, leading to a time of temporary Cold War “peace.” Jackie Robinson led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six National League pennants and one World Series title as the color barrier was slowly breaking throughout the a Civil Rights movement. The fifties were also a new era for Hollywood. Many movies around the time were about the Cold War and the spread of communism. Others, however, were more so about the teenage years of the baby boomers. One movie that highlighted this time period’s “beta” theme was Rebel Without a Cause. If I were to summarize
Neither to Cold War nor communism were mentioned or implied. Really, most aspects of this movie are timeless. Change the costumes, the cars, some of the dialogue, and the challenge where Buzz dies, and it can be a completely modern movie. However, I do not believe that a modern reboot would do well. This is mostly because that pure drama genre is not all that popular today. For a reboot to do well, the main plot of the movie would have to be Jim and Judy’s romance. The big sellers in modern Hollywood are action, comedy, and romance. If the director and producer are not looking to own the box office, they are looking to own the Academy Awards- where we see most of the present day dramas. However, Rebel Without a Cause was only nominated for three Academy Award back in 1956 and did not win any. It is a great movie with a timeless message, but I think the movie would not fare well it it were released
I could never really get into any other genre. However, I really enjoyed watching Rebel Without a Cause. It was a great movie, and I am very happy I had the opportunity to watch it. The acting was phenomenal, the cinematography was before its time, and the script was near perfection. It was a great movie representing both teenagers and the 1950’s and I hope more people from my generation pull this out of the vault and give the good old-timer a