films to watch

Mississippi burning 

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Rebel Without a Cause With the great James Dean Search this site for information about the film. Read the comments below before you view the film.

1. Adult/parental messages to teenagers
2. Retaliation to these messages
3. Relationships with the other sex
4. The breaking free from high school cliques

**Well, guess what? "Rebel Without a Cause" has got it all! **

Adult Messages to Teens:
To the character Jim (played by James Dean):
    His parents give him all the material things that he enjoys, yet forget to share the most important of them all: LOVE. They try to "protect" him from the harsh realities of high school life by moving to different cities every time something goes array. Jim's loner persona keeps him at a distance from the cliques of high school, and seems to always cause trouble when he doesn't intend to. The strongest messages given to him is that these minor events in his life will not matter later... so I guess problems don't matter, huh? Tough messages.

To the character Judy (played by Natalie Wood):
    Her father insists on pushing her away. He refuses to show any affection to her because he thinks that she is too old... can we say sexual repression?

Retaliation to these Messages:
    All of them, torn by these messages, seem to have left their homes and have run away. They only seek simple love, helpful advice, listening ears, affection, and most of all, R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
In a scene at an abandoned home, they mimic adults and reenact their treatment by saying children are annoying and state, "Nobody talks to children, they just tell them". These reenactments symbolize their treatment & only seek a peaceful home.

Relationships with the other sex:
    Ah yes... Relationships! There is (I highly doubt) a teen flick that doesn't contain some element of young love. In this film, Jim and Judy find refuge in each other and seems to have "fallen in love"...okay, it was cute and all, but come on, Judy's boyfriend just died in a car crash, and then the same night, she hooks up with Jim?

Breaking free from high school cliques:
    We've all been through high school, and we've seen the two-face personalities of nearly each individual. Same goes in this one, Judy seems to be a decent girl speaking to Jim early on. But as soon as her friends show up, she becomes cold and mean. What a small world!... don't deny it, we've all been two faced at least once in high school... Or maybe even twice. :)