I remember both of those flicks, though I was 20 in ‘85. The Rebel Teen is one of the most common Hollywood fixtures, and one of the toughest to pull off effectively.
The Rebel Teen movie would be easier when set in unfree settings. Remember ‘91’s “Swing Kids”? Jazz-obsessed teens in Hitler’s Germany?
Let’s not forget 1980’s cult classic “Times Square”.
Two runaway thirteen year-old girls from opposite sides of the tracks escape from a psychiatric treatment center and set up in the seedy demimonde of pre-Giuliani NYC. A DJ gives them an outlet to make music and start a subversive riot-grrl-style underground teen movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YzK4X8OAgU&feature=related
The double-album “Times Square” soundtrack has got to be one for the ages. I wore out two copies. The musical lineup was a slice of history, rock-n-roll tour de force. All the cutting-edge artistes (New Wave, Punk,etc.) were well represented.
Now, I’m not one of the ones who are going to wax sentimental about bad old Times Square—having seen it for myself in all it’s ugliness—or speculate about the toned-down lesbian subtext in the movie, but I do know I got a blast out of it, and the still-young Tim Curry was hot as hell as the rebel DJ.