Still Frame Analysis

Rebel without a Causes family frame expresses Jim’s struggle to find the parents he wants and needs. From the starting scene in the movie we see Jim disconnected from his family and unhappy with them for an unknown reason. He then gets into some bad situations and looks to his father to help which he can’t do. He has trouble with these situations because he looks for his dad to be a strong father figure but his dad doesn’t fit that role. Jim is mad with his father because he wants him to stick up to his mom because his mom wears the pants in the household which Jim hates. The frame is taken after Buzz has died and Jim is deciding whether he should tell the police or not. He looks to his parents for help saying it is the morally correct thing to do but him mom tells him not to do so or it could ruin his life. Jim looks towards his father to see what to do but he sides with Jim’s mom. This makes Jim furious and it expresses his dads fear of standing up for himself. In the frame Jim is looking down towards his father confused why he won’t stick up for himself. Jim sees his dad as powerless in the family which is unlike regular family norms. This Frame also shows Jim’s mom higher up on the steps with Jim in the middle and his father at the bottom. I think this shows the power they each hold in the family with the mother having the most of the power and the father having little to none. Jim is placed in the middle of them to express that he is right in the middle of his family conflict and has a confused face because he doesn’t know how to solve the conflict. You can see that Jim is also facing away from his mom because he resents her for her power she has over him and his father in the family.

    Later in the film Jim and Judy head to an abandoned house where they see Plato. They pretend to be house hunting and Jim acts as the father. Jim mocks his own father by telling Judy (the mother) to decide if they are going to buy or not and acting inferior to her like Jim’s parents. He also says later on that he hates kids. This might be connected to how Jim feels about father never listening to him. Jim has some sort of conflict with his dad not doing what Jim wants or needs him to do. This frame holds lots of meaning behind it as to Jim’s wants and needs in his family and highlights the conflict throughout the family.