Week Two: Formative Paragraphs

“The Rebellious Youth”

Music was and still is a massive parts of teenagers. In the 1950s, swing, rock and roll and jazz was very popular between teenagers, but their parents were very against it. Music wasn’t only a source of entertainment for them, it also kept them sane, and if Jim, Judy and Plato had music they could listen, maybe they wouldn’t have had as much of rough ride. Teenagers were listening to different music to parents and they took it as such a rebellious act.

“Post War Teens”

The feature article provides insight on how the rebellious post war teen emerged and how the rebellious post war teen emerged and how their character strays away from typical good American citizens. It explains how after the war, teens were left with paying jobs but nothing to work towards. This problem developed into American youth adopting certain personas that frightened older generations. The teenagers described reflect the characters in Rebel Without a Cause, wanting to belong and go against parental authority. The article challenges if the teenagers can really be called rebellious. This helps wen exploring the concepts in Rebel, were the characters deviants or did they just dress in such a way that adults were afraid of them? Regardless, an understanding is created that teens act a certain way for a reason, their circumstances and experiences affect their present.

“Interview with Stern”

This interview gives us insight into the creation of the characters in rebel without a cause. Stern bases his characters of real teens in juvenile detention and real problems they have, he spends time talking to them and getting to understand the experiences they have been through which he then adds to the characters Jim, Judy and Plato. In rebel without a cause when Plato is in the police hall, we are shocked that he killed some puppies and don’t believe that could be true but in the interview stern talks about a kid he spoke to who had killed ducklings and how plato had been based on a real kid going through problems at home, this creates realisation at the guidance and help some teens need. Similarly, Jim is asking for this guidance and help in the movie from his parents. Stern mentions that he can remember the feeling of wanting to belong “I understood the longing to be accepted by them and to be “chosen” as a friend by one of them: to be taught, to be protected” this mentality is highlighted in every teen character in the movie. Stern gives us a further insight into the true problems teen have with connecting with their parents and feeling secure and safe in who they are, by creating characters who represent this problem based off real teens.

“The rebellious youth”

This particular article focuses on teens and the background information of their rebellion. It states that change was good for the youth and that before world war 2 youth was nothing. It goes on about hoe teens finally had time to play and have fun with their friends. It talks about how the music was changing, more teens were listening to rock ‘n’ roll, which later git banned from the radio. The music gave youth a feeling, they were able to move their body and have fun dancing. “On average, American youth spend more time listening to music and watching music videos than being social with their friends or even watching television”, this statement shows a lot about what music meant to them.

“Cool for Sale”

This article strengthens the main issues focused in Rebel Without a Cause because of the way parents have demonised the youth culture and other subcultures within it. The opening statement “Everyone hates hipsters.” This sardonic tone further emphasises the strong hatred conformist parents had shown towards the strength of teenage groups. In Rebel Without a Cause, this is further emphasised when Jim discusses what it means to be honourable and his father cannot produce and answer: “If I had one day when I didn’t have to be all confused and I didn’t have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace. You know?”

“Post War Teens”

During post war times teens had it hard. They were marginalized because they did things differently and this is what seemingly cause the so called rebellious period. But the term rebellious teen was created by the adult generation because they didn’t like the things that teenagers were doing. Post war teens found it extremely difficult as what they strived for most was to gain recognition for anything and everything. The reason why, they were no longer required to join the military, a pathway that had been set out for them for many years and that gave them what they wanted; recognition. This lead teens to act in a way that was seen as not alright in the eyes of the older generations which caused the marginalization and the label of rebellious delinquents.

Post War Teens: rebellious

The way in which rebel without a cause is constructed and the behaviour of the main characters is clearer to me now as of what is explained through this article.  The article has influenced my understanding of the rascal and not caring behaviour displayed through buzz and his gang, as the reason and idea behind their behaviour is now apparent. Their behaviour was like this because during the war teenagers had no other purpose other than provide for the war. However, post war teenagers were no longing celebrated for the contribution to the war and “There was seemingly nothing special for these teens to be indulging” this left this generation of teenagers needing to be recognized, this came in form of unique clothing, flashy cars, cosmetic products etc. leaving the past generations and adults confused “This concept was terrifying to the adults. They viewed the up and comers and hooligans, and everything they did was seen as an act of rebellion”. As of the adults reacting like this the teenagers began to not care of what they thought. This is portrayed throughout the film rebel without a cause.

Title (?) – Can you tell from the paragraph?

This document gave us an insight into the lives of teenagers post world war 2. Pierce Lancor took into consideration every phase and every type of teenager after the war two to ensure the integrity of his idea of what a teenager was. “This left the new generation needy to be recognized”. Pierce added this into the second paragraph in his essay to make the ready aware in the start as to why teenagers acted the way they did back then. This allowed the reader to look at this text with a less biased point of view and rather looked at it from two sides. He starts off talking about right after the war saying that “the new generation of teens had nothing to be excited for. No reason to be celebrated. Nothing that made them noteworthy or acknowledgeable. Nothing that made them special”. He was looking for a reason for them act out, he was looing for a reason as to why they rebelled, and he was right. Teenagers mainly rebelled to be noticed by others and to fit in. When teenagers bought the next best car it was because it was a right of passage into popularity and conformity.

“Post War Teens”

Jim Stark is labelled by adults as a rebel; an angsty teen trying to take society down with him. Despite his actions seeming to be for the sake of defying adult society, he is not necessarily a ‘Rebel Without a Cause’. ‘Post War Teens: Rebellious?’ by Pierce Lancor provides an in depth breakdown of the origin of the rebellious teen and the environmental influences that caused this trend amongst teenagers. The teenagers depicted in this article are said to rebel out of self-expression and finding a place in the world around them, following the end of the world war and thus the end of their clear cut path in life. Jim Stark doesn’t belong anywhere; his mother repeatedly moves him and his family around the USA which is inadvertently the reason why he feels he doesn’t belong. The only constants in his life are his parents and himself, but his mother is verbally abusive to his father and his father is so submissive to this that it disgusts Jim. Thus his rebellion is born: he will do anything if it means he isn’t like his father. Anyone calling him a chicken has to be taught a lesson and if anyone questions his honour he’ll perform life threatening stunts just to prove them wrong, like we see in the chicken run scene. This brings us back to the article’s point; teens rebel out of self-discovery more than anything, not for the sake of causing chaos, and we can see this motive in Jim very clearly. All Jim is sure of is he doesn’t want to be his father. Jim is a rebel, but he most certainly does have a cause.

“The Rebellious Youth”

This article emphasizes the fact that the post war teen shaped the way for today’s current teens through their love of music, movies and dancing. Rebel without a cause was a film that caused outrage among its adult viewers due to its progressiveness for its era. It was a movie about teens for the teens and inspired them to have fun and be free. This article gives us an in depth analysis on the way music, especially Rock ‘N’ Roll influenced the behavior of teenagers and how this might have been represented in RWAC. The article “The Rebellious Youth” quotes “Instead of the focus being on work and the ravages of war, they were listening to music, going to the movies and simply being young” by saying the word instead we know at one point the teens way of life was completely different. The article also focuses on the communication gap between teenagers and adults. Instead of communicating out their problems, adults would ban music and activities from the teens in order to keep their idea of a perfect future in place. We see this too in RWAC as Jim’s main problems stem from confusion with communication issues within his family. You, you say one thing, he says another, and everybody changes back again!” – Jim. This article influences the way we understand Rebel Without a Cause with its historical description on the influence music had

“Cool for Sale”

The Beats were an anti-materialism group that was stereotyped in the media under the name ‘beatniks’. The Beats could be considered the first hipsters. They didn’t believe in buying fancy cars or new clothes or having mortgages or corporate jobs. The lifestyle was targeted by marketing, despite being at its core anti-capitalism. The media also disliked the Beats, giving them the name “Beatnik” to mock them. The beatnik stereotype was drastically different to the actual Beat lifestyle. They felt beatnik became a sensation that misrepresented them. The gang in the film could not be considered Beats, they all drive fancy cars and seem to be fine consuming materialistic things.

“The Rebellious Youth”

“The Rebellious Youth” tells us how post-war teenagers rebelled against their parents and social norms. During WWII, teenagers had to work and bring home the money to support the family but after the war they didn’t need to so they kept the money for themselves. By doing this they were able to buy luxurious items such as cars. This is seen in Rebel Without a Cause because all the boys have their own cars.

“On Rebel Without a Cause”

The interview with Stewart Stern tells of how he become involved with Warner Brothers, and in turn the film ‘Rebel Without a Cause’. Stewart explains from were he got inspiration for some of the ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ characters, such as Jim, Buzz, Judy and Plato. When he become apart of the process to write the script of the film, he asked for permission to go to Juvenile court to talk to the teenagers, allowing him to gain an insight of the youth within the 1950s. More specifically, he was able to talk to teens that wanted to gain the attention of their parents. One of the boys Stern talked to was a young black y who went to Juvenile court for killing a bunch of ducklings, this was due to the fact that his parents were leaving him at home by himself, causing him to want to be recognised by his parents. This inspired Stern to write a script, including the character Plato. Plato within the film is introduced to us when he enters Juvenile court for killing puppies. By drawing inspiration from teenagers that have been troubled, allows for a more accurate representation of the youth of the post war teens.

“Cool for Sale, From Beatnik Bongos to Hipster Specs”

The article Cool for Sale, From Beatnik Bongos to Hipster Specs says that hipsters never really existed, and that the stereotypical hipster was created by the media as a way to create a new market of “hipster accessories”. This means that what we know about teenagers may not be correct and may be one perspective with the intention of creating a new market of clothing. This influences my understanding of Rebel Without A Cause as that after reading this article, it is apparent that maybe the way teenagers behave and are portrayed in Rebel Without A Cause may not be accurate.

“Post war teens; rebellious?”

This article describes the transition from teenagers during the war from being eager for their responsibilities and being productive, to becoming something of a lost cause. When the war ended teens had nothing to be excited for, so they moved to different styles of clothing, “The typical girl could be found appropriately dressed in full poodle skirts, big belts, and tight fitted blouses with high heeled shoes,” and music, “There were no more sweet tunes or smooth jazz, there was hard core Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Adults didn’t understand this and began to make assumptions. For example, “While no violence itself was seen, the adults were terrified, and attached a stigma of violence to groups such as these.” This was because of the clothes they war and the cars they drove and the music they listened to. A lot of this was created by the media and not the teens themselves. The movies such as ‘Blackboard Jungle’ also progressed to show more delinquent teenagers, and adults felt that this was inspiring them to become more rebellious. It is suggested adults were not used to harmless change and instead mistook it as a teenagers attempt to rebel against the norm.

“Stern Interview”

This interview Stewart Stern, provides insight into the thought processes of the writer of Rebel Without A Cause. He talks about how Rebel affected his life and what came of its successes. He repeatedly talks about the characters, and their resemblance to himself. He also demonstrates a complex knowledge of teenage emotions, which wouldn’t have been common in the early 50’s. The film shows the complex feelings of the teenagers and as Stern states in this interview, this was a key idea of his when he wrote the script for the film. Stern also discusses his conflicts with the director of the movie, Nick Ray. Ray would often change parts of the scenes and script to imply different messages about the characters that would more suit the views of the public at the time. The interview ends with Stern recounting the tale of his retirement, and how he felt so much pressure from the success of his past films that he began to burn out. Stern says his favourite part was the process of filming rebel and it was when he spent time with the actors, his friends.

“Post War Teens”

This article explained whilst there was war teens had a purpose, whether it be to fight for their country or in women’s cases to supply the army with clothing and food. Each teen felt like they had a responsibility to their country and a purpose. Once the war ended factories that used to make army supplies turned into car assembling factories and retail stores opened. Teens started to get well-paying jobs and that lead to money being spent on things like new cars and clothes. Teens were no longer getting attention to do their part from the government once the war was done. This lead to them seeking attention and this is where fashion started to come in and new looks/ cars. E.g. greasers the slick back bad boy look.

Parents thought their teens and other teens were being rebellious when they were not really doing anything wrong. In fact, most of the parents thought that the greases were criminals when in fact there are minimal reports of violence/crimes committed by teens. Adults feared change and the teens were starting to take control of their lives. Parents lost control of their sons and daughters and a new generation of people were born.

“Post War Teens: Rebellious?”

This feature article was written in 2015 by Pierce Lancor, it discusses the teenagers role in World War II (WW2) and the way they were perceived in that era (1). The teenager during WW2 was one who was determined, brave, strong and ready to die for their country. During this period teenagers wanted to grow up quickly and become adults so they were able to better serve their country. As such they often had little time for mischief and the antics that teenagers from other generations so often portrayed went unseen. This generation of teenagers set the bar immensely high, and when the war ended people expected teenagers to be the same people they had come to expect from the previous generation. However, these teenagers had no cause, no reason to grow up, nothing to be recognised for (3). This left them desperate to be seen and as such the exerted the ‘rebellious’ nature they were known for. This also occurred during the age when great technological advances were being made in the car and clothing industries, both industries had begun to recognise the teenage market and started to conform their products to fit. Another large change was the change in music. Music has always been a way for teenagers to express themselves and when Elvis Presley came along teenagers found a whole new way to exert their individuality. Elvis came along and immediately challenged the conservative views, he wore tight clothes and mad girls go crazy for him. Boys started to imitate his behavior and that caused the rock n roll generation to begin.

“The Rebellious Youth”

The text, The Rebellious Youth helps enhance my understanding of the film Rebel without a cause as it looked at teenagers post WWII and how they didn’t have to focus on family so could spend more time on style and there own personal identity. Before world war 2 the youth were unheard of and post world war 2 the roles of teenagers would be changed forever.

“Post War Teens: Rebellious”

The article claims that during WW2 young boys were eager to grow up and serve their country, while young girls were eager to grow up so they could work to supply goods and clothes to men, the article teaches us that instead of rebelling teenagers were really just changing their attitudes and styles to fit a post-war world. Adults were ‘horrified’ by their teens trying to have some form of self-expression. The article informs us that the new attitudes and ‘greased’ style of the new teen generation was hardly rebellion, just a sign of changing times.

“Post War Teens”

‘Post War Teens’ discusses how the conclusion of WWII changed the teenage culture of the 1950s and how conflict arose between the younger and older generations. It was noted that during WWII, the teenage generation were put to work, either on the battlefront or in factories. Either way, these teens were serving their country, which made them feel important. At the conclusion of the war, these jobs vanished and were replaced with school and part time jobs, neither of which made teens feel special. In order to stand out once again, they began to ‘rebel’ and disobey the cultural expectations by dressing obscurely, putting pride in their cars appearance and appearing as cultural antagonists in movies. This information allows viewers of ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ to fully understand the costuming, cars and gangs of this movie and their role of shaping the context of this 1950s film.

‘interveiw with stern’

This interview focuses on Stewart Stern, his life and his reasoning behind ‘Rebel without a cause’. Stern mentoioned he visited a famous actor’s son, who had just previously gotten out of jail. Stern said he learned a lot from speaking with him. Progressing from this, Stern returned to the juvenile hall everyday to talk to ‘an awful lot of troubled kids’. There was one young boy that Stern met, who had been brought into the hall due to killing ducklings (which he changed to puppies in the film). Stern admits that as he was thirty two when writing the movie, he ‘wasn’t a kid anymore’ but still remembered his youth as it was fresh in his mind.

“On Rebel Without a Cause: A Conversation with Stewart Stern”

This interview provides great insight into the thought and intent of writer Stewart Stern whist writing Rebel Without A Cause. It gives us some closure and understanding of how rebels affected his life and actually became successful. Perhaps one of the most interesting things to come out of the interview was the fact Stern received permission to attend a juvenile court where he was able to speak to teenagers involved, he gathered inspiration on his own ideas of teenagers and was given a great insight into youth culture. But there was a common occurring thing where the teenagers wanted more attention of their parents. Plato was an inspiration from one of the teenagers he met who killed a bunch of ducks for attention purposes. It is almost the same for Plato’s character who murders some puppies and is brought into the police office at the start of the film. By finding inspiration for characters in real teenagers we are given a much more accurate representation of them in movies like Rebel Without A Cause.

THE REBELLIOUS YOUTH

This article explores the common qualities of adults and the youth (referring to teenagers) in the 1950’s. With adults ‘strict’ and ‘set in their own ways with definite views regarding the young’ and teens starting to ‘voice their own opinions’ and straying from previous music and fashion styles that their parents had growing up. This ‘seemed rebellious to older generations’ and a real stigma developed concerning the rock and roll music genre.

The invention of the teenager is also discussed as well as the role teenagers played before they were given a stable place in society. Before and during the war, teenagers were expected to work in factories or in fields to help support their family while their father was ‘in combat’ and their mother would stay at home with the younger siblings and take care of them.

‘higher education was only for a few privileged kids.’ ‘teens were constricted to a small amount of freedom, little to no economic power, and practically had zero influence in decisions.’

Changes that were made post-war were beneficial for the youth; they were given more freedom and time to enjoy their youth before having to join the adult world. ‘every other generation of youth prior to the 1950s generation were more serious and had less fun’, they were also ‘more prone and encouraged to go attend as higher education’.

The article starts to examine how the more carefree and independent lives of teens caused some ‘friction between parent and child’. The first and major issue that developed between parents and teenagers was their choice in music. Rock ‘n’ Roll became the biggest trend amongst teens and was hated by the parent’s generation. In the article it states that ‘parents usually listen to “white” music such as swing or polka.’ and that ‘parents loathed the new genre because they thought it was “corrupting” their kids’ despite the fact that when their generation were adolescents their parent’s generation had the same view of the swing and polka music they listened to.

Rock ‘n’ Roll became a major part of teenage life and the music ‘brought teens together in a world that their parents did not want to be a part of and highly condemned’. The widely spread view of this style of music amongst adults was that it ‘inflames and excited youth’ and ‘attracted undesirable elements’ to the lives of their children.

The history and development of Rock n Roll is also investigated, exploring how the genre of music was derived from ‘African American rhythms and blues’ and with white artists using this style the Rock n Roll genre was created.

“Cool for Sale, From Beatnik Bongos to Hipster Specs”

Hipsters derived from the ‘Beat Generation’, a generation who had the aim to be anti-style, invisible and existential. “Beat is not wearing dark glasses and beards and ‘talking funny.’ It is being; it is a realization of yourself as a separate entity and yet as a part of the whole rhythm of the universal life force…It is a pity that a movement of such scope had to be reduced to the high school skit level.” The beats had some negative responses which only made them more visible. As media advanced, the beats became humongous and they were seen as rebellious. Meanwhile, hipsters were described in 2010, by Mark Greif ” aligns himself both with rebel subculture and with the dominant class, and thus opens up a poisonous conduit between the two.” Hipsters are a combination of subcultures. E.g. Urban farming, locavore food movements, the freegan style, DIY and handcraft entrepreneurs etc. Like the beats they celebrated minimal wastage and cared for the environment.

“The hipster, as we know it, is just an aesthetic disseminated by marketers, a visual style advertised as full-fledged ideology”

The Rebellious Youth

The article highlights the evolution and rebellion of youth over time and the impacts that then had on the rest of society, particularly the adults. The 1950s is a decade known for conformity and rebellion among the youth population. Adults had a particular expectation for youth “well behaved, always polite and be nicely dressed”. Adults were “set in their own ways” with firm views regarding how young people should behave. As the decade wore on “young people started to voice their own opinions” which the adults interpreted as them rebelling. Adults believed that the introduction of rock and roll music had a large influence on this behaviour.

Before World War II youth was unheard of and higher education was only for a few privileged kids (others were already working to support their mothers whilst their fathers were away in combat) this then meant that teens were constricted to a small amount of freedom and held no economic power. They had no influence in decisions. With the war ending the roles of teenagers changed. More teens were encouraged to go to school where they were now influencing each other rather than working in a factory or field learning from their parents. Teens were more prone and encouraged to attend higher education. “Every other generation of youth prior to 1950s generation were more serious and less fun”. This new culture allowed teenagers to make their own decisions causing some friction between parent and child. Once again music was one of the first decision kids made that their parents did not agree with (parent loathed the new genres such as ‘swing’ or ‘polka’ as they thought it was corrupting their kids). Parents even tried to ban some radio stations. Teens loved the music as it “brought teens together in a world that their parents did not want to be a part of and highly condemned”. Out of all the things that caused the generation gap, music was the simple target – adults placed music at fault for the ‘rebellious behaviour’ from youth “Instead of the focus being on work and the ravages of war, they were listening to music, going to the movies and simply being young.

The rebellious youth

During the 1950’s conformity towards social expectations was strictly enforced among the youth. Wearing different clothing styles or listening to different music was considered as an act of rebellion. This rebellion was aided by the introduction of rock n roll music. Parents considered the ‘vulgar’ music as a way to ‘corrupt’ their children and sort to ban it from most radio stations. The music was a main catalyst for juvenile delinquency during the 1950’s as it sung about being oppressed an sought to express itself, this led to teenagers themselves turning to delinquency.

Post War Teens

Before the war teenagers had a purpose to grow up and be of some service to their country. Boys would go off to war, while girls would make the clothes and resources for the war. However once the war was over, teenagers didn’t have anything to look forward to, so they did all that they could just to be recognised by society. Teenagers did get a reaction, however it was one of horror and disbelief. Adults didn’t like the way media had presented teenagers and the new advertisements aimed at teenagers scared them. They associated teenagers with bad behaviour and rebellious children who acted in violence. Teenagers did rebel but only to be noticed, violence was never a big issue as teens were actually associated in such things, despite adults fearing so. All they did was go against the norms of society to be noticed as they didn’t have anything else to look forward to that would give them the attention they wanted. This article is similar to ‘Rebel Without A Cause’, in terms of what adults believe children to be doing when they are not around, being involved in various acts of violence. However it also shows the softer and more childish sides of teenagers, who are just kids seeking the attention and approval of their parents. Since they don’t have anything to look forward to when they grow up, they were left alone, which is quite the opposite of what teenagers actually wanted.

Cool for Sale, from Beatnik Bongos to Hipster Specs

The article Cool for Sale is essentially about the era of Hipsters and the stereotypical views of then. According to this article the “reason why hipsters are so easy to vilify, and impossible to identify with, is that they never existed in the first place.” Essentially created by marketers to sell their products because the styles were seen as ‘cool’. The media renamed this generation to the Beat generation. The Beat generation comes from “The Beats” whose idea was to be a wallflower, invisible and existential. Beats were classed as anti-materialistic which created a new understanding of existence for them. Beat people were also seen to have interests in the seedy – illicit underworld, interested in criminal things. All contributes to this idea of being different, an outsider, not being square and not playing by the rules. All the negative responses made to the Beats all made them all the most visible. Within the 1950’s America worshipped a cult conformism centred on suburban homogeneity.

Post-War Teens

During World War II, teenagers were eager to serve their country. They loved and embraced their responsibilities. Following the war there was nothing for teens to be excited for and there was nothing that made them special- leaving the generation to seek attention. Materialism increased following the war as resources were no longer limited. Teens were working well-paying jobs which allowed them to indulge in the new clothing styles, cosmetics, gadgets and entertainment that were being advertised.

The teenager experience of the new generation was very different to that of the previous, which was a terrifying concept to adults. They viewed teens as hooligans and everything was seen as an act of rebellion. However whether or not the generation was truly rebellious is questionable as they were simply acting outside of social norms- it was more of a time of self-expression and changing the definition of a ‘normal teen’. Teens were no longer as limited, they could dress in more elaborate styles, which saw them labelled as unprofessional mongrels by adults.

Car culture, post war was huge, teens in particular were looking to have the next hottest car. This also allowed them to have more freedom in where they went- local diners and drive-in theatres were becoming increasingly popular amongst teens. Many teen groups were formed around their car enthusiasm which intimidated parents, however acts if violence were hardly seen.

Media played a large responsibility on the rebellious, violent portrayal of teens. Media was on the rise following the war and films of delinquent teenagers were being produced more and more.

Music was also another reason that drove parents into panic; there was no more jazz and sweet music but hard core rock ‘n’ roll. Teens loved it while adults did not understand the appeal. Elvis Presley was a major influence on young men, who began to imitate his persona.

Parents had a mindset that any change in teens was bad. They were afraid to accept or attempt to understand teens of the time. Post war teens just wanted to be recognised- they were not in a situation where they could be appreciated therefore seeked new forms of recognition. The teen rebellion many feared was not rebellion but more of a social change that many were not used to. Parents were not use to the change in style, music, culture and freedom.