The Risky Business of Rebellion

Welcome to another episode of Skillset – the podcast where every guest is an expert, and every week they teach you and me a new way to look at the movies. Today is dedicated to the rebels, the shit-stirrers, the trouble-makers whose aggro energy we’re going to need for the next four years. This isn’t a time for obedience. Let’s start with the first ever revolutionary teen: James Dean, who exploded into pop culture with 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause, released one month after he died in a car accident. He never got to see himself a star, but he made a big impression in Hollywood and on David Loehr, who moved to James Dean's hometown of Fairmont, Indiana to open the James Dean Gallery where he runs the annual costume contest. Then let's hang out with one of today’s major teenagers, actress Hailee Steinfeld, star of the new film The Edge of Seventeen in which she plays a junior named Nadine who breaks every rule. And finally, let's take off our pants and talk about Risky Business, the movie about a high school senior who opens a brothel in his parents home and turned Tom Cruise into a legend. But we’re not talking about his underwear. We’re going to be talking about his Ray Ban sunglasses and the power of one cool kid to rescue a failing 50-year-old company. So let's flip up our shirt collar and get going on this week’s episode of Skillset.