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James Dean Tribute - (John Wojciech) In the early evening at 5:59pm on September 30th, 1955 on the road to Salinas, CA on Route 99, James Dean was killed in a car accident. Dean is still honored here in the U.S. and
around the globe as an icon for individuality, steady calm, and the ultimate
in legitimate style. Today is the 50th year anniversary of the tragedy.For those of you who don't know the story of James Dean, please educate yourself for goodness sakes, and enter the wonderful world of where, "cool" originally birthed in Hollywood. I do not consider myself a old movie buff by any means, and I wouldn't do so well in a game of retro, "Hollywood Who's Who?" What I do know is that James Dean himself, and his movies, still offer an aesthetic that I feel is missing in most pop culture today, and may never again be found. The car accident that claimed his life may have taken him into eternity beyond, but it only solidified Dean as the pioneer of a style that is widely mimicked even today. Watch any of Dean's movies (East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Giant), and I would consider that two-thirds of you will probably hate them...maybe more. I would consider that 95% of all adolescents couldn't get past the first 30 minutes. Why you may ask? Because there is nothing exploding, there is no quick flashes of imagery, there is no explicit views of scantily dressed females, or hulking males with their shirts removed complete with nose-rings, tattoos, and wild clothing. We simply cannot handle subtlety today, no matter how graciously, intelligently, or artistically given to us. Most everyone would have no idea how to interpret Dean's movies, and their thunderous beauty, passionate sexual tension, and true drama. There is longing, a sense of lostness, but a tangible hope to all three of them. Not to mention the quality of the acting from Dean and others.  Dean
personifies for me the real deal, and not Dave Navarro, Pitt, Clooney
and many many many other Hollywood stars out there today. Sure they're
cool, good-looking, and talented artists all, but one cannot help to formulate
that they are caught up with the dregs of Hollywood in which money, sex,
and self-centered popularity are the main goals. And if they can use their
"art form" to achieve the cover on the latest tabloid, then they will.
Yet the studios continue to churn out films again, and again, and again
without even the slightest hint of possessing a soul, or any real display
of genuine emotion. Because for the most part, that is what the audience is buying these days.What movies were about then, what James Dean was always about, was the verisimilitude of the pursuit of truth within themselves, the constant struggle of human conflict, and the bare emotional need to love and be loved. Dean never played anybody else but himself...not for his family, not for the cameras, not for the interviews. Know this, he willfully placed himself into the mysterion of his culture, so that nobody could follow his footsteps. The ultimate loner, yet his talent refused his chance at solitude. He desired love above all, but tried to keep everyone out. Most people don't know that Dean's performances were portrayals of his soul, experience, and self. He had a difficult time separating his life and himself from his craft. What you saw on the silver screen was more than simply acting a part, but it was a young man searching to find and then understand himself. I am saddened by what so easily tickles our emotions these days. I am disheartened by the fact that most movies have to move at such a breakneck pace in order to keep anyone's attention. I am so exhausted from all of the reality TV out there which simply panders to all of our, "lowest common denominator." Where would Hepburn, Stewart, Brando, and Grant really fit in with today's audience? I feel for our culture today, because we cannot sit still long enough to understand the movies, the life, and the savoir-faire of yesteryear, and their stars. And in my opinion, no star burned as brightly, and briefly as James Dean. |
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