Rebel With a Cause

Let me a say a little about my fascination with James Dean. James Dean's life was cut short at the age of 24 when he died in a car accident. His entire film output in a starring role are 3 feature films, yet these 3 have done enough to cement his status as a pop-culture icon. Most importantly about James was what he brought to acting that was truly unique. James was an instinctual actor and routinely subbed in his own improvisation for what the script dictated. This made the reactions of his co-stars more genuine, and for scenes that any angst-ridden, misunderstood young man could relate to. I was reminded so much of my youth when watching Rebel Without a Cause for the first time and seeing the frustration in James' face when his character Jim was at a loss for words to explain his troubled conscience. I remember feeling misunderstood, that my parents just didn't understand, that the entire world was closing in on me. James seemed to capture those emotions so naturally in a way I could easily relate to as a former rebellious youth. Taking into account that his movie was shot in the 1950's it just goes to show that no matter how bad kids seems to be now every generation before them was just as rebellious. His legacy will live on forever; through his death we were given a permanent reminder of his life -Memento Vivere

RIP James Dean 1931-1955



On a side note, Dean was truly ahead of his time when it came to fashion too. Notice the red leather jacket with the collar popped? That was pretty wild for the 1950's yet it has recently resurfaced as a trend in street culture. Perhaps he was too ahead of his time for his own good. Live fast, die young.