Essay

This is my 2nd draft of comp 2 essay. Its not done yet, and I'll post the final copy when the time comes. Let me know what you think!

The Rebel: 1950s and Today

The rebel figure has been in existence since the creation of the teenager in the early 1940s. The most memorable movie depicting the early rebel figure is Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause. This film depicts a rebel as an individual who is very confused and angry with the world, no matter what surroundings they’re placed in. Jim (James Dean), Plato (Sal Mineo), and Judy (Natalie Wood) embody the rebel figure. These individuals are just trying to figure out life for themselves in whatever way they can, mostly by breaking the law and deadly acts. This illegal activity includes drag races, drinking, smoking, and handling firearms. These rebels were extremely violent and dramatic even after the censoring done by the PCA. In “Censoring of Rebel Without a Cause,” the PCA “banned nudity, vulgarity, obscenity, and profanity, and carefully restricted how crime, sex, violence, and religion could be treated on the screen” (Simmons). Nicholas Ray went gracefully around the rules by making sure the viewers knew that those things were present, but he didn’t necessarily show them on the screen. “PCA director Geoffrey Shurlock was clearly aware of the growing public anxiety over juvenile delinquency” (Simmons). Shurlock did everything in his power to make sure that this movie would show any bad influences, but the rebel in essence is a bad influence.

The other film I chose was Will Gluck’s Easy A. Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) is a rebel figure, but in a totally different way. She’s a social outcast that takes being a rebel to the extreme, making her extremely noticeable. Her whole image started with a rumor that got completely out of hand, as all rumors do. Olive is a rebel because she did not actually do what everyone else was doing, she just made everyone think she did, and she did nothing to stop it. Losing your virginity in high school isn’t as much of a scandal anymore. It’s something you tell your best friend all about, in great detail. Unless of course, you’re Olive Penderghast, in which case your conversation with your best friend after you “lost your virginity” goes a little something like this:

Rhiannon: I want every detail!

Olive Penderghast: Rhi!

Rhiannon: Now bitch.

Olive Penderghast: You know, you call me bitch a lot okay. It's not really a term of endearment.

Rhiannon: I want every detail, now shit face.

Olive Penderghast: You're not really heading the right direction.

Rhiannon: Tell me! (Gluck)

Olive and Rhiannon obviously have a very unique relationship. She doesn’t even tell her best friend that it’s all a lie until the very end of the film. Olive is also trying to figure out life for herself, but in more of a comedic way than dramatic. The actress Emma Stone is a qwerky and funny individual, making her perfect for playing the role of socially awkward Olive Penderghast. Olive uses sexually provocative fashion and actions to convey her switch to the new rebel figure, and phrases like, “A is for awesome,”(Gluck) referring to her newly embroidered “A” on all of her wardrobe.

Both Rebel Without a Cause and Easy A convey a rebel figure. But for the most part, that’s where the similarities end. Rebel is a staunch drama used to condemn the rebel figure. In my opinion, Easy A is an attempt to satirize it. In essence, still teach a lesson, but make you laugh along the way. Jim and Judy in Rebel seem to be overacting to get their point across. Teenagers are known for being overdramatic, which is more than evident in that film. Olive in Easy A makes for a very interesting rebel figure because she’s not who we would expect at first. She is an outspoken nobody in a very small town that just wants to be remembered.

Both directors used style to convey the rebel figure. Style is extremely important when it comes to social identification. What you wear can identify what social class you are and what social group you belong to. This is especially indicative of youth culture. Fashion is one of the tent poles holding up youth culture. Every group has a certain style, namely the figure of the “rebel.” Rebels are defined as cool, confident, and socially defiant kids. They’re innovators of fashion, heading up every new trend. In “The Cool Hunt,” the “cool-hunters” looked for this type of person exactly. “You have to be one to know one. Cool cannot be manufactured only observed, and the third says that it can only be observed by those who are themselves cool”(Gladwell). A cool person is someone who demands attention from the people around them, but in a subtle way. A person who doesn’t look like their surroundings. There are 3 “rules of cool.” All these rules make it almost impossible for the uncool people like Olive Penderghast from “Easy A”, directed by Will Gluck. Once the unnoticeable outcast, one rumor changes Olive’s life. She decides to roll with it in every aspect possible, including fashion. In this case, to live up to her reputation of a harlot, she trashes every piece of clothing she owns for a look fitting to her reputation. Tight corset-like tops, high skirts, and high heels are all we see her in until she realizes what she’s done will ultimately not get her accepted into the hierarchy of high school. This wardrobe makes her a rebel the second she puts it on. In my opinion, style defines the rebel figure because it makes a statement without getting in people’s faces, which the personality of the rebel does all by itself. It just adds on to the individuality and the defiance that every rebel figure portrays.

The use of the color red in both films establishes that the characters want “the right to be of romantic age” (Savage 522). Red is a sensual and lustful color no matter what type of clothing it is. Judy was dressed very modestly in the first scene of Rebel, but since her outfit was all red, it made her look very sensual. Also, against the other dark and mostly bland other colors in Rebel, red stands out. In Easy A, Olive embroiders a red “A” on her entire wardrobe. She was trying to loosely imitate Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hester was an adulteress, hence the “A.” Olive wanted the recognition of being sexually promiscuous. The red “A” paired with her new raunchy and provocative wardrobe, definitely gets her noticed, which is what she wanted all along.

The parenting styles in both films are at complete extremes. In Rebel, all of the families are somewhat dysfunctional. In Jim’s family, his mother has completely emasculated his father, making it hard for Jim to find a male role model. In Judy’s home, her father is more concerned with her younger brother than her. Judy has failed to recognize the change in their relationship now that she has grown up. In my opinion, he may think it’s harder to raise a teenage daughter, so he shoves it off on her mother. Finally, In Plato’s family, there is no family. His father is completely gone, and his mother might as well be. Unfortunately, with no real parental influence, these rebels turn to illegal and deadly acts. On the other hand, Olive has two very loving and supportive parents that are trying to figure out what’s going on with her during her transformation from nobody to rebel. Unfortunately, all the love and support in the world will not do any good if Olive doesn’t let her parents in on what’s going on.

These films are in almost complete contrast of each other, which is exactly why I chose to put them together. Rebel is a drama that condemns the behaviors of the newly coined teenagers, making everyone think that every teenager is a juvenile delinquent. At that time, the classification of teenager had only been around for a few years, and youth culture was just emerging. Youth as a figure had just been discovered. The older generation wanted to keep their teenagers from realizing they could be their own person, with their own mind and their own thoughts. To their dismay, the teenagers figured it out for themselves and according to the plot of Rebel, went completely insane. Crime rates went up, teens were drinking, partying, staying out all night and most importantly, defying their parents in every possible way. In Easy A, youth culture is seen as carefree and funny. Teenagers are just trying to fit in, in a culture they created. They do this with fashion, action, and words. I chose these films because they portray a rebel figure, but from completely different angles.