Writing 121
6 Nov. 2013
A View into the 80’s
Released in 1985, The Breakfast Club sheds light on American teenagers and their day-to-day struggles. A comedy with a serious note attached, it is inevitably one of the great films of the 80’s. Director John Hughes incorporates emotionally true teen life, with his funny-but-serious dialogue, and character development that occurs throughout the film. The Breakfast Club is a group of five students thrown together to endure a nine hour Saturday detention. Although many 80’s films were to made target teenage angst, The Breakfast Club has far more diverse characters that connect with each other on a deeper level.
First off, Hughes acknowledges real issues that occur in teenage life. He sets the students as traditional stereotypes; the prep, the brain, the jock, the punk, and the basket case. Each student has assumptions about one another; but, as their day goes on, those assumptions are questioned and soon enough shattered. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times states, “These kids have nothing in common, and they have an aggressive desire not to have anything in common. In ways peculiar to teenagers, who sometimes have a studious disinterest in anything that contradicts their self-image, these kids are not even curious about each other. Not at first, anyway.” And that is exactly the way it is in real life.
Secondly, The Breakfast Club combines the humor of the 80’s with the drama associated with teenagers. Throughout the film,