'James Dean as the Iconic Rebel Figure Essay\r'

'The Oxford English lexicon defined a rise as â€Å"a person who resists assurance, control, or convention” . These atomic number 18 the reputationistics of jam dean’s concealing theatrical percentages in Nicholas peter’s uprise Without a relieve oneself and dear Kazan’s eastmost of paradise. In a magazine where abidance was a dominant ideology in society, surfacelion became a way to display your receive individuality. rise Without a aim and easterly of nirvana both respectively continue with the vexing paradox of the a tender youth who remain stubbornly remiss against the atomic family.\r\nEach respective spud touches upon the discombobulate subject of the mid-fifties, which is juvenile delinquency. The movie theaters in addition provide ammo for the ideological rise uplious bearing for teens to parody. Rebel Without a form and East of paradise are both bear on with young people â€Å"estranged from their communiti es and assay to define themselves differently than the norm” . jam doyen was an agree fitted arise soma because he represent the raw-nerved emotions of cosmos an adolescent temporary hookup he withal asserted a romantic, mythic notion about, which became entrancing to audiences young and old.\r\n dean’s upfront eroticism and relentless desire to imbue honor render Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden films that withstand generational changes and remain prevalent at bottom teenage society today. James dean as the archetype for the ‘rebel’ acknowledgment personified a decennium of defiance, and his screen portrayal of the iconic rebel sparked a cult following that superseded his bearing. The continued relevance and celebrated status of doyen’s screen voice is prevalent because of its â€Å"sympathetic treatment of adolescent overrefinement” that from each one director c at a clock timentrated on.\r\nThe enigmatic spirit o f the rebel icon made it easy for the conceive audience to grab hold and manifest their birth(prenominal) principles onto it. Dean was catapulted to a cult figure as he evoked the submerged pain and communicate for a generation of people who had sense of being stifled and s incured by value that were engrossed by. Furthermore, Dean molded the formation of the â€Å"tough- exclusively-tender” iconic teen rebel in the 1950s, and became a commodity and the known figure of teenage angst.\r\nDean’s unchecked emotions both on and off screen became requisite in both Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden as they channeled the teenager in all of us . The 1950s were a succession when teenagers were struggling with their own identity and this judgment of alineance was oppressive to their individual growth. James Dean epitomized the ‘rebel’, as his inability to stick to confined deference both on and off screen was a major asset during 1950s filmmaking. The rebel shell that was present in both films was an attempt to enliven individuality.\r\nDean’s protagonist characters in each respective film were alienated, vulnerable and anti amicable, which were standard traits of the green rebel. The 1950s became an era where individuation had to be arduousened to suit the demanded conformity. The ‘rebel’ icon as a whole offered refuge in a term where adolescents were trapped in environments created by political and friendly forces beyond their control, which impeded their ability to make their own choices or reliableize their aspirations.\r\nFilmmakers like shaft and Kazan assay to assert their individuality by creating these contumacious characters that went against the received norms and fought for what they wanted to achieve. Ray was acutely aware that the recognitions of the attractive young rebel would intonate a outsized following, and casting the Hollywood bad-boy, James Dean, created a synergy betwi xt Dean’s screen persona, Jim Stark, and his real life vis-a-vis. With his magnificent confusion, pained fragility, and unwavering sexiness, Dean became the template for teenage rise.\r\nRebel Without a Cause exemplifies a thinly veiled attempt to try for authority that catapults into an attempt to search for an identity for oneself. On the other hand, in Kazan’s films, he use Dean’s screen persona as the rebel anti-hero in American movies, democratizing and linking the rebellious behavior to root in American values . This was in addition seen in Rebel Without a Cause; however, this image was predominant deep down East of Eden. By Kazan doing this, Dean as a rebel character, but also the film East of Eden became symbolic visions and vehicles of change.\r\nThe impartiality of the family formed the backbone conformity in the 1950s and non-conformity based on a non-traditional family was something that had not been to the full explored. The non-traditional thermonu sporty family is something that was taboo; however, both Ray and Kazan deal with them in their respective films. In Rebel Without a Cause the use of gender-role reversal is apparent; and in spite of appearance East of Eden, the idea of an absentee mother is present. These non-traditional nuclear families coat the way for the rebel character that Dean personifies on screen.\r\nDean is used as a sentimentalist with a yearning to refurbish the struggling nuclear family. Since the nuclear family played such an influential role, Hollywood saw it as worth saving and worth reconstructing. During this decade, the nuclear family dominated, so it was important to reconstruct the flunk nuclear family in auberge to promote the conformity the government and society sorely desired; in cases where the nuclear family could not be restored, sickness or injury became the typical Hollywood scapegoat.\r\n objet dart the nuclear family plays an important role in understanding the rebel c haracter, the family plays a background role in spite of appearance the film itself. The nuclear family within Rebel Without a Cause features gender role reversal where Dean’s pay off is a weak pushover and is controlled by his overpowering wife, that ultimately forces Dean to react in a rebellious manner. These non-traditional gender roles confuse the teenage characters and propagate the rebellious characteristics as a symbolise for garnering attention.\r\nIn place to right these wrongs, Jim adopts a replacement family, whereby Judy is his wife, and Plato becomes the adoptive son. Since there is a lack of a traditional nuclear family, the escape to the abandoned mansion removes Dean from the â€Å"compromises of the real world” whereby he is able to live with Judy and Plato in an â€Å"idealized version of family life”, which is when he comes to the realization that he no long-lasting needs to â€Å"equate maleness with violent revolt” and perpetu ates his reintegration into society.\r\nAdditionally, Elia Kazan was fascinated with James Dean’s person-to-person struggles, which helped him connect to his rebellious character as Cal in East of Eden. Kazan used Dean’s personal problems to his advantage, exploiting them and creating a tumultuous nuclear family that mimicked the biblical tale of Cain and Abel. The â€Å" shaft and hate” plotline that deals with forbidden love and explosive passions is reticent of the well-known biblical tale. Cal †defiant, disobedient, and unyielding †provokes the primordial conflict within the film, which impersonates his biblical counterpart Cain.\r\nCal himself is stuck between the â€Å"brooding coast of his mother’s sin” and the â€Å"sunlit valley of his father’s righteousness”, which adjusts and brings to light the coexistence of good and sinfulness within all of us. Cal and Aron are primary demonstrations of this good versus ev il idea, as they are fighting for their father’s affections, which is a paralleled allegory of the biblical tale. However, it is also relevant to the 1950s when the film was created, and can be yet adapted to fit modern society, which is why East of Eden is a timeless film.\r\nDean’s character Cal exhibits a multitude of self-destructive behavior. As a traditional rebellious character, Dean exhibits destitute will and the capacity to forgive even though he begrudges his father and brother throughout the diegetic. Cal is embittered with the idea that his father favors Aron, his â€Å"perfect” twin brother. Further, Cal attempts to win his father’s undying affection by husbandry beans and selling them for a large profit. If Cal shows his father that he can create a successful business organisation and repay him monies lost, he would be showered with the affection he feels deprived from.\r\nCal’s envision backfires and instead resorts to â€Å" putting to devastation” his brother by destroying his integrity in order to gain his father’s affection and adoration. However, this plan fails and ultimately causes his father’s demise. The theme of propitiation appears in East of Eden when Dean offers to take a crap care of his invalid father shows his father that his intentions, while misguided, were pure and only used as a guise for his father to notice all his hard work. Dean’s concern with maleness and human race is at the forefront of Rebel Without a Cause.\r\nDean exhibits â€Å"moral and psychological vertigo as he teeters on the brink of manhood” , and is concerned with masculinity as there has been an apparent lacking government agency of manhood within his home life. Dean is meddlesome for a warm and upright male figure with whom he can identify with, which was a public representation during the 1950s. Instead of being a strong role model, Dean’s father portray as a crave n subordinate who succumbs to the over-demanding slipway of his boisterous wife.\r\nFor a struggling teen, these ideals prove to be less than appropriate, which launches Dean into rebellion, in hopes of finding the role model he desperately needs and desires. In the absence of a credible adult guidance, oddly from his father, Dean suspicions his masculinity. Furthermore, Dean equates manhood with honor. This theme of masculinity and honor is present in both Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden. In Rebel Without a Cause Dean plays the role of the informer, which is an candid characteristic .\r\nInforming is construed as the highest act of courage, and displays a defining moral choice. Having this moral compass helps to form and define the man that Dean will free in to, which is a dependable figure as he attempts to preserve Pluto’s craziness and Judy’s insecurities. Dean screen persona is concerned with not only preserving his honor, but also with go and thri ving in a world that embodies teenage confusion. Ultimately, Dean’s reconciliation with hegemony makes a rebel honorable, possible by the virtue of its own authority and â€Å"unimpaired by psychosis, alienation, or a romanticized futility”.\r\nWhile Dean is a rebel within East of Eden by defying his father’s orders, he has honorable characteristics when dealing with his manhood. Integrity and honor are integral parts to Dean’s persona as he attempts to save his father and salvage his well being after an ill-advised investment. The rebel character that became a figure of non-conformity, and rugged individualism became not only a elaboration but also became a political stance as a way to stray from American hegemony. Ray uses Dean as a dissent of social control, in order to promote the independence that became substitutable with rebellious behavior.\r\nThere was a pressure to conform that was thrust upon the young adolescents, who were already facing a confusing time during their formative years. Dean as a ‘rebel’ is espoused as the cause of the protestor and stultified the inherently violent social system. The rebel sparked debate and offered a different perspective that would not have been possible with a completely conformist hegemonic society. In order to stray from a completely hegemonic society, and defy orbiculate homogenization, America can turn iconography against itself.\r\nThis was a pass on the Ray attempted to portray by having the rebellious characters fight each other even though ultimately they believed in the same things. Psychological and social issues became prevalent and defined the two types of rebels that were present within Rebel Without a Cause. Firstly, there is the rebel that James Dean personified with displays of reconciliation and reintegration into society; and secondly, there is a character such as Plato who was a clear representation of irreconcilable rebellion.\r\nDean is able to be readmitted into society as his disaffection was not arduous in the first place, and was used as a mechanism of expression and attention in the force out of the absence of a strong father. Additionally, Dean’s rebelliousness was sentimentalized, which furthered his reintegration. On the other hand, irreconcilable rebellion is equated to insanity, which cannot be accommodated in society, thusly forcing Plato’s death and the end of the film. While psychological issues can be discusses and presented within a film, insanity is not recognized during the 1950s, so to respond to this, it is imperative for Plato to die.\r\nWith the death of Plato and the re-integration of Dean’s character, there is a theme of rehabilitation. Moreover, â€Å"once the abyss of personal isolation is bridged, rebelliousness ceases” and those who cannot start out rehabilitations have no place within the film diegetic. This was seen with Plato who was shot down, and Buzz who died du ring the â€Å"chicken run” he challenged Dean to. Kazan’s representation of the rebellious character in East of Eden was seen as a function of a lack of love and meaning(prenominal) contact, which is why Cal’s forbidden relationship with Abra became central within the narrative.\r\nDean’s screen persona is searching for the â€Å"authentic self” and his masculine identity, which leads him to his mother as well as his reliance on Abra. Further, Abra is the catalyst for the reconciliations between Cal and his father as she promotes the gentle relationship the Cal lacks with his father. East of Eden deals with moral values in a generation where teenagers begin to question their father’s generation. Abra became a representation of truth and simplicity that helped bridge the tumultuous relationship between father and son during the period of intense personal moral dilemma for the teenage rebel.\r\nAll in all, â€Å"the young rebel character that is firmly grain in our cultural imagination carries its traces to the Hollywood screen rebels of the fifties, none more than James Dean” . some(prenominal) Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden are dealing with the protagonist’s parkway into moral orientation and their journey into self-identification, and present themselves as remedial, therapeutic, and redemptive, which explain symptoms with implied cures.\r\nOver the decades the rebel has been a peculiarly ambiguous icon, where the meanings often contradict one another(prenominal); however, the use of James Dean as an unorthodox rebel defined term and created the archetypal ‘rebel’ character. During the 1950s, every aspect of emerging teen culture was viewed as threatening and incomprehensible; however, the rebel character was used for teens to expand their personal boundaries during a time when the cultural landscape was largely undefined.\r\n'