Rebel Without A Cause rightfully earned its reputation as a Genre Turning Point for teen movies ... partially for being incredibly depressing.
- Just the personal lives of the main three leads in general:
- Jim may be very aggressive and easy to provoke, but it always results in his mother taking her anger out on him and constantly having to move away, just because she didn't want to deal with his problems. Not to mention his father not being a strong role model and always being pushed around.
- Judy was a victim of her father suddenly turning hostile towards her daughter and not spending as much time with her as before just because she was growing up and becoming mature and independent.
- Plato probably has the worst case of all, considering his wealthy parents flatout abandoned him, and barely spend time with or even think about their own son, leaving him in the care of their housemaid.
- "STAND UP FOR ME!!"
- Plato's death goes beyond tearjerker considering he had a worse life than either of the other two leads, and had mainly been looking up to Jim and Judy.Plato: Do you think the end of the world will come at nighttime?
Jim: Uh-uh, at dawn.- There's also Plato's housemaid, who had to personally witness her adoptive son, who she practically grew up with, get shot to death right in front of her.
- Jim tearfully embracing his father as they reconcile.
