Society and community Topic: personal and social identity

Essay by hezzaHigh School, 11th gradeA+, July 2004

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The 1955 classic film, Rebel Without A Cause, was one of the first movie's to tackle the delicate issues of adolescence. Teenagers in this film are portrayed as being disobedient and rebellious towards their parents. One of the main characters in this film, Jim Stark, is rebelling against the expectation of turning out like his father. At the same time Jim is also trying to fit in with his peers. He rebels, going out drinking and getting into fights whilst experiencing a lot of confusion and feeling like he doesn't belong. This film shows what it was like to be an adolescent in the 50's, where parents had expectations of their kids to be miniature versions of themselves. The clothes they wore, for example; Jeans and a leather jacket, were considered to be rebellious by the older generations. Up until this point in time, the issue of teenage subcultures didn't really exist.

The film was set to shock audiences as it dealt with issues, which barely even existed and were very rarely talked about.

To Sir With Love is a well-known film from the late 60's. Unlike Rebel Without A Cause, this film was set in the poorer parts of London, where different socialising factors shaped and moulded the adolescents in different ways. In this film an African American man starts his new job as a schoolteacher where the students are known for their bad behaviour and extremely poor manors. His class is a bunch of teenagers who have no respect for authority let alone their own peers. All of the kids come from poor families, many of them having other family issues to deal with as well. Eventually the teacher manages to gain the respect of the class and teaches them how to act like adults so they...