Rebel Without a.....Clue

Hubby and I picked up a VHS copy of Rebel Without A Cause recently. VHS because he was worried DVD would be wide-screen, which he is not particularly fond of. I just happened to read off the title because we were looking around in a store. Of course, he wanted to see it because there's a Mercury in it. We started watching it earlier this evening. I have seen bits and pieces of the movie over the years, but I don't recall ever seeing the whole movie. We didn't make it through the whole thing yet, but the parts I have watched have given me much to think about.

Mainly, how does a movie from over 50 years ago (1955) capture many of the same things I dealt with (sometimes still do!) in the 80's and teens still deal with in 2011? The feelings of trying to make friends and fit in, getting their minds to catch up with their bodies, parents, bullies, etc. There was one comment by James Dean's character about fitting in and making friends and I said I thought only girls felt that way. Hubby said oh no, guys go through that too...and there's usually a fight involved in it somewhere along the way.

I would think as each generation moves from teen to adult that we would have eased some of these by now. Maybe as adults we're just so glad to have made it through the teen years that we forget what it's like by the time our kids become teens. We were told to pretty much suck it up and trudge on through and maybe we expect the same from our kids. It seems like it ends up being "us" against "them". Aren't we on the same side? If not, shouldn't we be?

I do not know how the title was intended. I would like to find out more about that sometime. However, I looked up rebel just to see what the dictionary stated:

1:opposing or taking arms against a government or ruler 2:disobedient, rebellious

Society kind of puts parents opposing teens or teens opposing adults and that, generally, teens are disobedient and rebellious.

In the movie, it seems outside influences and internal conflicts are making the main characters "rebels".

I look forward to watching the rest of the movie to see how it plays out. In the meantime, I would urge parents and teens to watch this movie together. Stop it as necessary or discuss afterward. Yes, some of the acting is a little over dramatic, the students dress up (gasp) for school and the hairstyles and clothes are dated. However, the themes throughout the movie show that we're all kind of moving through life finding our own causes when sometimes they are right in front of us...or even living in our own house.

1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV) Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.