In our opinion, the characters in Rebel Without A Cause are not very believable. They dramatized how reckless teenagers really are. For example, a normal teenager is not willing to drive toward the end of a cliff and risk losing their lives. Although teenagers do act out against their problems in many other ways, that sort of reckless behavior they portrayed in the movie was not the same kind of recklessness teenagers get into today. The audience for the film would be parents, so they could see how kids really act when they aren’t looking. The purpose of the movie is to send a message that teenagers are more risky then thought of, although, that risk was definitely over exaggerated.
We also watched Ferris Bueller’s Day off. Ferris Bueller isn’t as much of a representation of teenagers rather than a fantasy of teenagers. We all want to be Ferris, the fearless, confident, and free spirited teen who can weasel out of every pickel that he’s put in. He can organize one of the greatest days of one’s life just out of the blue, and is capable of doing the outrageous and making it look easy, such as performing “Twist and Shout” in the middle of Chicago. Many people get the wrong stereotype from this movie, for it isn’t exposing what teenagers do, it’s more what they wish they could do, which is what makes it so much fun to watch. Ferris isn’t exactly believable, for he’s more of a fantasy rather than an actual person. Cameron is a tad more realistic, since most teens usually stay at home rather than pretend to be the sausage king of Chicago. The audience in the movie is definitely the teens, for throughout the movie Ferris talks directly at the camera, potentially at the teens themselves. I believe that he’s talking to the teens because some of the messages he says in it seem more directed at them, such as the very famous line “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. This could be director John Hughes trying to give the teens a message that this time in their lives won’t last forever, and that they shouldn’t make the mistakes of the prior generations and let it pass by. This is relateable to Rebel Without A Cause because in both situations, the behavior of the teenagers compared to real life is highly exaggerated.
Sherri believes that teenagers do get into trouble, but not the same as either of these movies. Although she knows some of the stuff teenagers tend to get into, she does not believe that the movies are a very accurate portrayal of how teenagers really are.
Erica Siems, Lexi Gird,Terri Powys, Reed Heaton.
