In various films the antagonist is the corporation, in others it's the bully down the street. But in Battle Royale and Rebel Without A Cause, the antagonist is also the hero. Because the demon they fight is themselves. They battle through the adversity and dogma of their age and era to rise to greatness and the title of hero. but these heroes are made not born and therefore it is a process. Battle Royale and Rebel Without A Cause show the audiance a glimpse of this process.
Shakespeare once said that some people are born great, others are made great and some have greatness thrust upon them. This may be true but not always are the to-be heroes entirely willing to partisipate in the processes involved.
The heroes, Jim Stark and Nanahara Shuya from Rebel Without A Cause and Battle Royale respectively very much fit into the category of being unwillingly thrust into greatness. But also from this arises another very important question, at what point in this do they achieve that greatness and the title of hero?
Throughout each of these movies the heroes continue to fight against their title of greatness, unwilling to bend and change to become the hero, but when someone close to them is threatened they immediately step up and take the role they have been fighting. through careful scee choice this is shown step by step.
The characters in each film are products of their society and era, and since they were made in such different times and places it can be expected that they would be almost completely different types of heroes, but are they?
In Rebel Without A Cause, which was made in 1955, Jim Stark, is a struggling teenager,