1950's Culture In Rebel Without A Cause By Nicholas Ray

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1950’s culture revolved around predetermined roles in society that caused numerous issues, both within an individual and within the society. The stringent society caused teenagers and parents to act a certain way, and if they did not, they were viewed with suspicion. Conforming to the society was challenging for many, and if one did not conform, he or she would be face mental issues or societal issues. In Rebel Without a Cause, Nicholas Ray depicted the culture of the 1950’s by showing the type of dating, juvenile delinquency, and parenting that took place during those times and showed its effect on not only that decade, but how it would shape the future years. Entering a high school today, one might not see too many relationships, but one thing one might see is that the people in a relationship care about dating for a significant amount of time. The teenage culture of the 1950’s believed “going steady was a sign of popularity,” and the popular kids dated each other (Bailey 140). In Rebel Without a Cause, Judy, who is the dominant female of her group …show more content…

“Education became an issue of national defense,” and this is seen when the students are taken to the planetarium to learn about space, hinting at how Sputnik was released by the Soviet government (Norton 805). The 1950’s culture in Rebel Without a Cause is based on conformity and the effects of parenting. Juvenile delinquency is a result of physiological problems one may attain due to not getting any attention. A half a century later, some ideals still remain the same, such as conformity, popularity, looking for support outside of the house, but many have changed such as more involved parents and juvenile delinquency being more serious. Rebel Without a Cause served as a warning for the future generations by representing the fears of the adult community and the society norms of the 1950s, hoping such issues are fixed for better

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