A Rebel With A Cause “Wash the dishes, and clean your room. Be home by 7:00, don’t be late. Study, study, study.” We have all heard these words uttered from the authoritative lips of our parents sometime in our life, however, these days most teenagers aren’t afraid to disobey their parents by responding with, “no.” James Dean was one of the first people to defy the strict rules of parents, and he did so on screen for the entire nation. Some sources claim that he is a label; a label that is intended for the sole purpose of resisting authority. He is not a label, rather more of an icon used to show that in certain circumstances it is okay to disobey the various rules that society has unwillingly placed upon us. Whether it be in black …show more content…

It is the story of a rebellious teenager who arrives at a new school, falls for the girlfriend of a school jock, and disobeys his parents trying to defy the meat-head’s bulling. The directors of the movie casted him as a rebel, realizing that his attractive, edgy self would appeal to many teens being as they can relate. Dean was a product of this 1950s ideology. Percieving Dean as a good guy, desperately wanting to do the right thing, yet constantly getting caught up in doing the wrong, was appealing to teenagers around the entire nation. Teens didn’t challenge their parents rules back then, they listened to their elders, and did as they were told. People who did backlash and resist the authority were considered outlaws, who would never be successful. Making this movie and being allowed to see the inside world of a “true” rebel was one of the first opportunities both teens and parents had to see the two sides of a story. Dean’s performance spoke powerfully on behalf of teenagers going through this type of scenario themselves, and gave them a hero they could admire and respect. In today’s society, arguing with parents, or going against the rules trying to break the idea of a norm isn’t unusual. Yet, in the era that this movie was made, it was extremely against anything society really knew. The case isn’t about whether teens should, or shouldn’t argue, it’s the fact of respecting elders so much. His movies, all three of them,