MovieChat Forums > Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Discussion > Plato was Mentally ill

Plato was Mentally ill

posted 12 years ago by global_global
17 replies | jump to latest

A lot is said about Plato suffering from his broken home. A lot is also said about his possible homosexuality.

While these things may be true, he also strikes me as infantile, or at least having the mentality of a child, even though he's in high school.

Perhaps the reason his mother abandons him is because she can't handle dealing with him being mentally challenged.

This isn't to be mean. But this seems to be the most prevalent attribute of Plato, more so than his home life or his sexuality.

No one else sees this?

[–] aasoloway 11 years ago

He's a teenager.

[–] global_global 11 years ago

I know you're being facetious, but in fairness, James Dean and Natalie Wood also play teenagers, but these characters aren't as infantile as Plato.

[–] TheLightFantastic 11 years ago

I don't think the other poster was being facetious at all. Plato was simply an immature teenager. He wasn't mentally ill or even developmentally challenged - just confused about life and how to express himself. If that makes someone mentally ill, about 98% of the population on earth is as well.

The reason Wood and Dean's characters don't act the same way is because *shocker* they were different characters. Just like in real life, the maturity level of kids of the same age can fluctuate wildly.

[–] first-things-first 11 years ago

He shot some dogs or puppies in the beginning of the movie. Also he could not handle his rage. I wonder if he was facing a problem not diagnosed. Teenage angst is one thing, by the kill is a signal that something is wrong.

she loved poetry and romance, but she hit the glass ceiling at birth

[–] branenj001 11 years ago

I believe he was disturbed. Shooting puppies is one of the first signs of something being off. ( harming animals). He wanted Judy and James to act as parents to him.

[–] grrrdevin 11 years ago

He wasn't mentally ill or even developmentally challenged - just confused about life and how to express himself. If that makes someone mentally ill, about 98% of the population on earth is as well.

Do 98% of the earth's population shoot puppies?

"I've been living on toxic waste for years, and I'm fine. Just ask my other heads!"

[–] novastar_6 11 years ago

A lot of them drown them, and cats, what's the difference?

[–] andromache3 11 years ago

A lot of them drown them, and cats, what's the difference?

What is your point? That is NOT normal.

Don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want.

[–] novastar_6 11 years ago

It's not normal but there's nothing stopping anyone who does it from doing it and a lot of people don't care anyway.

[–] peanuts044 9 years ago

Um I'm pretty sure neither me or anyone I know has ever shot puppies or drowned cats. It's both not normal, and something that 99.9% of people would do. Unless they were a sociopath.

[–] willjohn 9 years ago

In the 1950s it was considered acceptable to drown feral kittens.

[–] g_ann 11 years ago

I don't know if this was the filmmakers' intent to convey him as such, but killing animals is one of the signs of a budding sociopath, along with fire-setting and bed wetting. He certainly wasn't mentally stable, and likely wouldn't have been even if his parents' marriage had remained intact. Divorce isn't ideal, but I don't think it can be blamed for making psychopaths either.

[–] cdz6969 11 years ago

Well he did have a pink bedroom, the scene where he ran to get the gun under the bedsheets. Couldn't deal with being gay and went psycho.

Jesus would support Universal Health Care

[–] xfastfurious15 11 years ago

Maybe that was his mother's room....

"I bet your wondering what a place like this is doing in a girl like me" -The Mummy

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] liscarkat (18373) 3 years ago

"killing animals is one of the signs of a budding sociopath, along with fire-setting and bed wetting"

And don't forget that rock-n-roll causes juvenile delinquency, and masturbation causes blindness.

[–] parkerbot (9007) 2 years ago

He killed puppies without an explanation.

He was a Jeffrey Dahmer in the making.

Society benefited from his fate.