In the film Less Than Zero (1987), director Marek Kanievska depicts his view of teen culture by emphasizing, like Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955) triangular relationships, rebellious behaviors, and parental issues.
Interestingly, both films also reveal the same conservative ideology in how teens are portrayed within their cultural context. Furthermore the original texts of both films shed light to their conservative portrayal and their inaccurate adaptation of the original works. Secondarily, reviewer Rob Gonsalves also sheds light on the film's conservative approach in representing teen culture. These two films share the same ideology: a conservative view of teens despite the films' time differences and cultural context.Kanievska exemplifies teen imagery by representing it with three main characters named Clay, Blair, and Julian, who hold a triangular relationship. These characters are teens that have grownup in a life of wealth and privilege.
The three teens exist in a society where money is not an issue. Because their parents supply them with money, there for drugs, parties, and expensive comforts have been placed before them with a choice of unlimited possibilities. Because of his conservative view, Kanievska changed a lot of issues mentioned in the book; which would most likely change the viewers' thoughts of the film. Examples from the book that where changed would be that Clay and Julian both where bisexual but preferred males partners over women; and also main characters did drugs heavenly. Kanievska portrays the life of the rich and wealthy in a repeated conservative approach rather then liberal.
Ray also uses a portrayal of a triangular relationship between the characters Jim, Judy, and Plato. He uses these characters to emphasize his point of teen rebellion. This is an entirely different approach to the conservative view, because this film was filmed in 1955. Because of the films age its depiction of teen behaviors the viewer is seeing represented portrayals of its cultural context. What Ray most importantly emphasizes is that rebellion amongst teens is a result of the parents, and that they are the cause for problems amongst teens.
Julian shows rebellious behavior in Kanievska's film with the use of drugs as a strong issue that teens face in American culture; he rebels in result of his fathers' own neglect towards him. Julian uses cocaine, as do most teens in his social context. As a result he becomes mixed in with the wrong people and becomes a junky. His need for more drugs increases after graduating from high school.
Julian's seller Rip spots him thousands of dollars worth of cocaine. Because of his addiction, it becomes apparent to Julian's dad and he no longer will support him. Left with no options, Julian tries to pay off rep through the process of homosexual prostitution by which Julian submits himself to Rip because of the cost in back paid cocaine that Rip would spot him, this process is shown in the following dialogue:Rip: Do you have something for me?Julian: I had it all worked out. Christ. At least I thought I did.
I fucked up. I don't have any money. I don't know... I don't know where I'm going to get it.
Rip: [long pause] Julian, this cannot go on forever. You owe me a lot of cash, and I'm carrying you like I'm stupid.Julian: I know, I know. Just.
.. just please don't cut me off, okay?In this scene Julian is shifting over into a much more liberal approach when repaying the debt that he owes to Rip, he seems to have a place in the conservative view but secretly takes on a much liberal identity. This process then moves him from his own degradation as a drug addict and into another form of degradation, which seems to be worse.
This process creates an even bigger problem for him. The close up scene of these two joined characters shows them in the frame reveling that they should be seen together, and that they share a closer bond rather than Julian has with Blair and Clay. Furthermore, this scene gives the viewer a cliche: the conservative lesson learned is that when doing drugs other problems then follow. Teen reviewer Rob Gonsalves also believes this film to be "dull and lifeless" and like an "ABC After School Special," which taught children right from wrong.Shown in a conservative view to its viewers Rebel Without a Cause uses character Judy to reflect the film's cultural context. The situation between Judy move down and her father causes her to only use the option that her father gives, her sexuality which is a sign during the cultural context an act of rebellion.
Judy is a teen who wants to be loved and feel loved. The search for this causes her to look to her father, but her father shuns her away because he feels that she is too old for this form of behavior immature treatment. This process cause her to rebel resulting in Judy's seeing her father as a parent that expected a different behavior out of his child because of her age. The following conversation between Judy and her dad before eating dinner at the dinner table emphasizes this kind of rejected attitude of Judy's father towards her, in addition emphasizing the way teens should behave in the films' conservative view:Judy: Haven't you forgotten something?Dad: What?[Judy then unexpectedly kisses her dad]Dad: What's the matter with you? You're getting too old for that stuff.
I thought you'd stopped that long ago.Judy: I guess I just don't understand anything.Dad: I'm tired. I'd like to change the subject.
Judy: Why?Dad: I just like to. That's all! Girls your age don't do that! You need an explanation?Judy: Girls don't love their fathers?Dad: Since when?Judy: Since I got to be 16?[Judy then proceeds with a second kiss, but her dad smacks her across the face][Judy runs off]Judy: May I please be excused?The previous scene exemplifies a conservative approach of thinking towards the issue of Judy wanting a kiss by her father. This process that these two undergo leads Judy to rebel because there seems to be no other alternative option for her to take; the slap that she receives and the yelling of her father only emphasize her decision to rebel. Again, due to the conservative approach the film portrays Rob Gonsalves would also label this film an "ABC After School Special," with evidence it tells the viewer that by age 16 a female singular teen should not kiss her father. Importantly, this scene also hints to the conservative changes made of the original text, specifically how Judy and her father exhibited signs of incest. This scene shies away from the true text, which would be seen as more willing to deal with controversy, which is seen much liberal, and the director chose a more conservative view.
Furthermore its is also liberal because he unusually smacks Judy, which is a part of a liberal concept in result she runs away from home because of neglect her own father showers her.Another view that Kanievska depicts is how the three main characters to whom are "latchkey kids." As a result of their parents absents from the home, the effects of being "latchkey," this forces them to become more independent for themselves. Strangely the teens don't have both parents living in the same household as them. When Blair's father is doing cocaine along with his girlfriend, it indicates to her that doing drugs is an and okay thing to do for the rich and wealthy and this affects her greatly; when being around this form of environment it soon begins to be a part of her.
However, when problems strike Julian and other friends within this society of the rich, she is then able to understand better the drug affects and dangers of drugs; and this causes an epiphany for her, which causes her to stop. For further analysis, this moment described is shown with a conservative approach, because Blair's cliche decision. This depiction sends the viewer an anti-drug lesson, which is a key part of the conservative approach: no way should she use drugs, because of her epiphany she should have not quit, she should have stopped right after she started.Jim, Judy, and Plato show distinctive parental issues faced from them by their parents. The parents indeed play an important part in their children's lives.
Plato is however seen to be in a very intricate and distinctive situation than the other two characters; Plato's parents are never home and the maid takes over the position of the parents. Jim's parents both do not get along with each other. Because they argue most of the time, this causes Jim to rebel. Judy situation is also different because both of her parents get along but she does not get along, with her father.
The way that these characters are perceived within their cultural context is shown by their construction, it is exemplified intrinsically in Ray's work by which his use in personalities and backgrounds of the character that help identify with their cultural context.In the film Less Than Zero (1987) director Marek Kanievska uses a conservative approach when depicting teen culture. The film Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is used as another conservative approach to backup the emphasis of a conservative view these two films share a conservative ideology that is greatly emphasis by the directors depiction in time difference they both were created in also known as cultural context. It also shows the preferred image of how adults see teens and also how adults try to shy away from the bigger picture, which in consequence may indicate their own idea of maturity.
When questioning the validity of adults who share this view of teen culture, the viewer should rethink that same approach by adults for a better, stronger, and liberal understanding.
