Chicken

Posted by ESC on August 20, 2003

In Reply to: Chicken' posted by ESC on August 19, 2003

: : :
: : : thank you
: : Imagine two fast cars ("hot rods"), a half-mile apart on a deserted piece of highway. At a signal, they drive at high speed toward each other, down the middle of the road. The one who "chickens out" (i.e., turns away, sometimes with roll-over-in-the-ditch consequences) loses. It's a test of manhood for the testosterone-poisoned idiots of the world. The term has been used to describe similar gambles in other activities, like North Korea diplomacy.

: To see a demonstration, rent "Rebel Without a Cause."

I googled the movie title and "chicken." The expression used often was "chicken run."

"Jim (James Dean) has problems being accepted by 'The Wheel,' a gang of kids at school (one of them is young Dennis Hopper). A girl from his neighborhood, Judy (Natalie Wood), is the girlfriend of the gang's leader. The best-known scene of Rebel Without a Cause is of course the deadly 'drag race' or 'chicken-run,', as the kids of the gang call it, between Jim and The Wheel's leader. A lot of drama follows - with another kid killed (shot by police) in the end."

In the movie, the guys drive toward a cliff. The "winner," the last to "chicken," drives off the cliff and dies.