{"product_id":"rebel-without-a-cause-9781839027765","title":"Rebel Without a Cause","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNicholas Ray's 1955 film \u003ci\u003eRebel Without a Cause\u003c\/i\u003e is a globally recognised landmark of post-war American cinema.\u003c\/b\u003e The film follows twenty-four hours in the life of troubled teen Jim Stark (James Dean), the new boy in town, who becomes drawn into a maelstrom of shifting social allegiances, emotional turmoil, and violence. \u003ci\u003eRebel\u003c\/i\u003e tackled head-on the thorny political issue of juvenile delinquency from the perspective of the adolescents, contributed to the genesis of the teen movie, and was pivotal in bringing The Method acting style to wider audiences. Dean's nuanced and dextrous performance as the film's lead character was paramount in establishing the actor's iconicity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn his study of the film, Glyn Davis foregrounds the concept of rebellion, exploring in detail what it meant to be a rebel in the 1950s, the role that cinema has played in articulating rebellion and providing a haven for rebels, and why James Dean's archetypal depiction of a teenage rebel has endured. Combining sharp close analysis with perceptive contextualisation, Davis scrutinises Nicholas Ray's status as a maverick director, the challenges that The Method presented to calcified standards of performance in Hollywood, and the ways in which \u003ci\u003eRebel\u003c\/i\u003e contributed to the shaping of new articulations of masculinity and sexuality. Ray's film, Davis ultimately argues, has an ambiguous stance on rebellion, depicting both the lure and the terror of rejecting conformity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDavis examines the significant contributions to \u003ci\u003eRebel Without a Cause\u003c\/i\u003e made by an array of cast and crew members: from screenwriter Stewart Stern to composer Leonard Rosenman, from production designer Malcolm Bert to costume designer Moss Mabry, from lead actors such as Dean and Mineo to secondary players such as Marietta Canty and Edward Platt. Highlighting the film's shifting critical reception, he unpacks its legacy and the reasons that it continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGlyn Davis\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Film Studies at the University of St Andrews, UK. His publications include \u003ci\u003eQueer as Folk\u003c\/i\u003e in the BFI TV Classics series (2007), \u003ci\u003eFilm Studies: A Global Introduction\u003c\/i\u003e (co-authored with Kay Dickinson, Lisa Patti and Amy Villarejo, 2015), \u003ci\u003eQueer Print in Europe\u003c\/i\u003e (co-edited with Laura Guy, Bloomsbury, 2022), \u003ci\u003eThe Richard Dyer Reader\u003c\/i\u003e (co-edited with Jaap Kooijman, BFI\/Bloomsbury, 2023), and \u003ci\u003ePop Cinema\u003c\/i\u003e (co-edited with Tom Day, 2024). From 2023 to 2025, Glyn was the Principal Investigator of 'Perverse Collections: Building Europe's Queer and Trans Archives', a cultural heritage project funded by JPICH (www.percol.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"British Film Institute","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51705405899026,"sku":"9781839027765","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f0262848-0bcf-4a32-8aaf-0d1987a89c29.jpg?v=1762346894","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/rebel-without-a-cause-9781839027765","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}