A film emerged 32 years ago that broke all the status quo and bridged the gaps between the stereotypical walls between the cliques in school; the princesses, the criminals, the basket cases, the athletes, and the brains. That’s right, The Breakfast Club (TBC).
This film is a 1985 comedy-drama film that has become classic over the years. The writer/director John Hughes was no amateur, he was known for Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Home Alone, Some Kind of Wonderful, Uncle Buck and many, many other classics; he is a legend of 80-90s classics.
This film features amazing actors such as Molly Wingwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, and Paul Gleason and John Kapelos. These actors are known for their acting in this classical film. They played huge roles in some of the most iconic films in history, not just TBC, other John Hughes films as well.
Not to mention the catchy feature song they use in the film; Don’t You (Forget about Me), is pretty great and ironic. The song and film ends as rebel and “criminal” John is leaving and throws a fist pump into the air. This song became iconic as well for it utilization in the film. It’s even featured in the 2012 Pitch Perfect film.
The film opens as these students are being dropped off for a Saturday detention where they will be monitored by a power-hungry principal who doesn’t even pay attention to them the majority of their time and forces them to write a letter telling him who they think that they are. These students are skeptical of course, like anyone would be. They test one another and finally start the break the walls when Claire reacts to someone one of them said saying, “You know, I have just as many feelings as you do and it hurts just as much when somebody steps all over the.” This gap is weakened and gives them a chance to speak and connect with one another; the first status quo break in history. Sorry High School Musical but they beat you to it despite your catchy song.
This drama-comedy has impacted film history because it changed everything. TBC opened the minds of people to see everyone as an actual person despite their stereotypical view on life. Whether or not people want to act upon this is their own choice. People today still watch and adore this classic because it was the first film to relate to actual cliques in schools and show them what they’re really like versus what it could be like if they could break the wall between cliques down and see others as who they are and not what they’re known for. It portrays teens in school with real-life scenario problems that viewers can still relate to and love the film for.
The film features the bond they form and in the end they’re not the same and school will never seem the same to them either. Instead of writing separate letters to their principal they combine and create a letter in which they explain that although they understand their punishment for their behavior, that it doesn’t matter who they are to him, because he will forever see them as who he wants to see them as; the athlete, the princess, the basket case, the brain, and the criminal. These are labels that have been placed on them and they see that even their principal has used them against them. They conclude that “We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.”
