Rebel Without A Cause Cinema Analysis

The Evolution of Melodrama in Hollywood
Melodrama films could be argued to be the most complex classification of films which address the society's attitudes towards class, race, and sex. The films Rebel Without A Cause (1955) directed by Nicholas Ray and The Last Picture Show (1971) directed by Peter Bogdanovich are key examples of a shift in the melodrama genre. Rebel Without A Cause depicts the story of a troublemaking teenager, Jim Stark, with unaffectionate parents, who is faced with moving to a new environment. The Last Picture Show, a film about the recession of cinema in a rural town, reflects the breakdown of censorship during the Modernist period. The experimentation of genre beginning in the 1950s during the Postclassical period changed
Peter Bogdanovich uses the closing of another theater on another Main Street to serve as a symbol for the events that happened in America in the early 1950s. Hence, this is a "representation of representation", which is characteristic of many Postmodernist films. Furthermore, in the film, the technique of pastiche is used. Although this film is part of the Modernist period, it is filmed in black and white when many movies at that time were filmed in color. The entire film was shot with long scenes, and the background music came from the 1950s--all of these elements came together to create a feeling of nostalgia. However, there were also unconventional filming techniques. Several scenes played around with different point of view, and Bogdanovich experimented with these perspectives by placing the camera on the car, or having closeups of the characters' faces. The language used is also vulgar and includes swear words. This intermixing of the old and new became one of the trademarks of the 1970s cinema. Throughout the era, classic films were “re-imagined or given a modern, more grown-up spin”. Graphic nudity can be seen in several scenes, which was a sight that films of earlier years wouldn’t been able to have. “It portrays the forbidden, private nature of sexual relationships that was often dealt with in past films with a soft, gentle fade or pan”. In this film, however, many scenes were awkward and open in a way that the characters are not afraid to express their feelings to each other. The exaggeration of reaction seen in melodramas is reflected in the sex scenes--the prolonged silence emphasizes the awkwardness and creates tension for the audience. This openness toward sexuality relates directly to the growing openness of America with its own sexuality at the time. “With sexuality in being received