Become a Rebel, Without a Cause

Last week I saw my first James Dean movie, Rebel Without a Cause. I loved it so much (male teenage angst + dysfunctional family = Maria’s favorite genre). As soon as it was over I completed the obligatory post-movie wikipedia-ing. Some things I learned: (1) All three main stars of Rebel Without a Cause died in strange ways (James Dean: Car Accident, Natalie Wood: Fell Off Boat, Sal Mineo: Murdered), (2) James Dean was only ever in three movies, (3) James Dean is so hot I can hardly stand it.

So, here, in no particular order, are ten items that can help you get on your James Dean swagger. You will be too cool for school. And I mean that literally. You will be so cool, you won’t go to school, or at the very least you will be late for the show at the planetarium and you will play chicken and drive a car off a cliff and smoke lots of cigarettes. But the candy ones. I’m confusing reality and my sort-of-metaphor so let’s just get on with the list.

1. In Rebel Without a Cause James Dean is supposed to be, like, fifteen even though he’s actually in his mid-twenties (so, really inaccurate teenage casting started way before Dawson’s Creek). Anyway, so the scene when Jim Stark (James Dean) gets his thermos from his mom is really funny because he looks like he should be going to a grad class instead of Algebra I. I wish this fancy “Blue Collar Thermos” (Urban Outfitters, $42) were red, but this one has that classic old-school feel.
2. There are some great planetarium scenes in Rebel, and while I wish I had a video of “the fire that will consume us at the end of the world”, a glow-in-the-dark night sky is the second-best option for the planetarium-feel. This one is super-accurate and a step-up from those amateur stick-on-stars. Glow-in-the-Dark Nightscape (SpaceToys.com, $25).
3. Oh, yes, YOU HAVE TO SEE THE MOVIE. In fact, wait until after watching the movie to see the RIDICULOUS preview (below). The preview is so fun, but it makes you think the movie is a horrible 50s warning about the degeneration of youth (which, it is, but still). Actually, I can’t seem to find a DVD with the Rebel Without a Cause featured here (because that’s a great pic of James Dean in his classic RWC outfit), so I’d just get The Complete James Dean Collection (amazon.com, $32). Or, of course, you can just netflix and/or rent it and/or probably steal it off the internet.
4. Plain white T-shirt. Always cool. And what James Dean wears through most of the movie. (American Apparel, $17). Boys, get this one.
5. You NEED the red jacket. If you really want to look as much like James Dean as possible, you’ve got to get this Nylon Taffeta Windbreaker (American Apparel, $42). If you want to give it a cool, contemporary edge or something a little more feminine, try the Satin Charmeuse Night Jacket in Brick Red & Cranberry (American Apparel, $45).
6. If you like Rebel Without a Cause and can’t get enough James Dean celebrity gossip from wikipedia, then apparently you must read this behind-the-scenes book: Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making Rebel Without a Cause (amazon.com, $15).
7. Get a boyfriend jean. I chose these because they sounded like male-type jeans for girls, but I don’t really understand jeans at all or fits. But, basically you have to wear tight jeans and have a great ass. (American Eagle, $50)
8. The movie starts with a drunk James Dean playing in the street with a monkey with cymbals. (Funny Bone, $15)
9. Every since I had twelve straight years of health classes looking at blackened lungs, I’ve been pretty turned off by smoking. But, I will fully admit how cool James Dean looks when he smokes and how much less cool you will look pretending to smoke on candy cigarettes, but I’ll take that over lung cancer. (Candy Crate, $7 for 24 count)
10. Finally, to go with your thermos and PB&J, a nice brown-paper lunch bag. (hectorshardware.biz, $24 for tons)

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