Even though James Dean passed away many years ago, he is an icon that is still remembered today. Dean, who achieved this by appearing in only three films, is known to be a very talented actor. However, his being a social figure with such a short career has been the subject of many studies.
James had already earned the title of handsome with some of the features he was born with. His facial features, blonde hair and sharp gaze were already enough to impress women. After working in a few commercials and simple theater plays, he got his first leading role in Elia Kazan's East Of Eden. In this movie, Dean played a young man trying to win his father's love. After receiving acclaim for his performance, he was offered the lead role in a youth drama; Rebel Without a Cause. In particular, the character Jim Stark played in this movie became the equivalent of the concept of rebellious teenager in America. The character played by Dean was a fearless young man who fought with his family and committed crimes because he was in love. For example, the character in the movie was a very good driver even though he was underage, which is a very common concept in American society. Many of us have hijacked our father's car, because doing something forbidden at that age was considered a cool thing by our circle of friends. This was an unprecedented event in the movie industry at that time. A young figure who could be a bad example to society. However, despite portraying such a character, Dean endeared his character to the audience. The secret of this skill is that he learned method acting from Lee Strasberg. With this method, Dean entered the mind of the character and even used common points from his own life in his performance. He was not the first actor to use this method, but as the leading actor, the audience was used to seeing the same features in the actor in every movie. His success in method acting and his ability to take similar roles amazed everyone. Finding similarities from his own life in all three major roles he played, Dean presented very convincing performances to the audience.
In addition to all these, Dean's clothing style also played an important role in his becoming an icon. We can see his simple but classy clothing style in his shoots with Dennis Stock from Life magazine. We see that he stands out instead of his clothes in his poses, the reason for this is that most of his poses are included in a concept. It's a characteristic of James that he looks classy but "messy" at the same time.
A good suit but the collars are out, wearing thick glasses but a blank stare, hair freshly cut but messy. The red jacket he wore as Jim Stark distinguished him from other young people and was a sign of self-confidence. Buy yourself a red jacket tomorrow and try to look cool. I'm sure many of you will have a hard time. He had established such a bond with the character he played that he could convince everyone that he was cool with his looks and charismatic speech. In those days, actors were asked to look at the frame without squinting and to confine the audience to themselves. In fact, the most successful name in this is Al Pacino. Instead, Dean looked away, his narrowed eyes revealing the lines on his forehead.Today, many male photo models apply this technique.
In the years when youth films were second-rate productions, he attracted the Rock n Roll youth with the characters he portrayed and became the center of attention with his complex life. His troubled childhood and inner conflicts made him a different star. Dean, who did not want to live life like everyone else, he loved the race cars that caused his death, left a legacy that will be remembered to this day with his short and fast life. While big companies, promotion agencies and social media are very important to create a star today, James Dean just does his job in his own way. And because it is original, it has become an unforgettable icon.