...and that was the obvious reason he was so attracted to James Dean & the characters he played.
and this movie would have been so much better if it had shown that. It would have given Richard Thomas' character much more credibility and depth. It would have given the entire movie some actual goal and motivation.
Instead, this movie is known as the movie where "a teenager goes nuts over James Dean's death".
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I disagree. First of all NO ONE even knew about an alternative lifestyle for him back then. I think a lot of boys just wanted to be him because he was the epitomy of coolness back then and all the girls liked him.
shareI just watched it and I don't think the Jimmy Jay character believes he's gay, but he does know he has a crush on James Dean. He hints at understanding the gay aspect of this crush when he says Plato (in "Reble Without a Cause") likes the James Dean character the way Eugene likes him (Jimmy Jay), or "sort of the way I like James Dean." I think it is clear that Eugene (Dennis Christopher) in 9/30/1955 is supposed to be gay, just as a lot of people see Plato in RWAC as gay.
I agree that it could just be a boy-crush and that lots of straight guys have that especially when they are young -- but remember, that's why in all of those old movies and TV shows the parents say "it is just a phase" when they start to worry if their kid is gay.
As for no one knowing about an alternative lifestyle, and I assume you mean gay, that may be true. However, there are many alternative lifestyles and the allure of James Dean IS/WAS the alternative lifestyle -- not being part of the norm of the 50s. That was his appeal to people who were not satisfied with what they saw around them. I agree that that does not mean that all guys who hero-worshipped him were gay, but they were people who probably thought of themselves as different. That would definitely include gay guys, even if they didn't quite know it.
Yeah, I don't think Jimmy Jay is meant to be gay. The director of this movie, James Bridges, was gay, and if he hadn't meant for Jimmy Jay to be the same he would have made that clear. I think Jimmy Jay just has an infatuation with Dean in the same way Eugene likes him.
I will, however, suggest that when Jimmy Jay compares his infatuation to Plato/Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause, he's missing the point. Plato was meant to be gay; it's just that Jimmy Jay, like so many heterosexual Dean fans back in '55, didn't pick up on it.
"What I don't understand is how we're going to stay alive this winter."