The Breakfast Club: Identifying the Importance of Individualism

On Saturday...March 24th, 1984, a group of misfits called The Breakfast Club, met at Shermer High School, to ultimately find common ground between all of their unique backgrounds and to end customs of the social norms.

For my close encounter, I’ve decided to focus on one of the most iconic 80s culture movies of all times. In this beautiful masterpiece that displays expectations of what a teenager in high school would face, it also examines how important individualism is and how easy it is for someone to forget it. One section I will be focusing on in particular in this movie, is the scene where the individuals smoke a blunt and discuss their deepest insecurities and fears of their personal lives. I wanted to focus especially on the disturbance section on the postmodernism lens due to the shocking events that we face growing up and how labels do not define an individual.

In this form of art, the movie is depicted to show high school and the various backgrounds students come from. The appearance of the characters is shown clearly how they are defined by adults, “in the simplest terms and in the most convenient ways.” (The Breakfast Club) Claire, the ‘princess’ is shown as a rich, conceited person with low standards, Bender is considered the ‘criminal’ and dressed like one too, Andrew is known as the ‘athlete’ and considered a jock, Brian is known as the ‘brain’ for doing exceptionally well in his classes and also considered a nerd, and Allison is called the ‘basket-case’ for being kept to herself and shuts everyone out. The way these students are portrayed show how often it is that people label them in ways that are only superficial and not actual in depth characteristics of these individuals.

In each of the teenagers cases, they all seem to be facing some sort of personal conflict, when we view the smoking scene, the characters truly reveal how horrifying expectations are set on them. The smoking scene is the fundamental piece of this film where it addresses the issues each of them have in their home and how it molds and shapes them into what they are,

Allison Reynolds, the basket case, hides herself from others because she believes that she is not emotionally stable due to the lack of attention she receives from her parents. This lack of parenting, love, and attention that each child should receive is not present in this character's household. The fact that she said “nothing”(The Breakfast Club) as to why she was in detention shows how unsteady her life at home is and she’d rather be spend her time with people who would include her. It’s ironic, I believe, because there are parents who view this and think ‘that will never be me’ yet often become this monster that destroy a child’s self-confidence and their self-worth.

Andrew Clark, the admired school athlete at his school is faced with pressure and the fear of failure in his home. When asked in the smoking scene why he was in detention, he replies with, “I did it for my old man. I tortured this poor kid cause I wanted him to think I was cool”(The Breakfast Club) As he confesses to the group of how regretful he is, he declares of his lack for standing up for himself and how he loathes the pressure and expectations that his father has set on him. Andrew is revealed as being an empathetic and considerate person, he gains the admiration from his peers after he confesses to the group. What I find interesting is that in the beginning of the movie when his father is reprimanding him, he lowers his eyes and slouches with a shameful look on his face, and at the smoking scene when he is confessing to everyone of his inner emotions, the camera is positioned in a way where it is level and his eyes are at eye-level as if audience where in his presence. I believe that the way they showed Andrew made him human, not just an object that you can mold.

Brian, the brain, is portrayed as a character that is considered a nerd or an overachiever. As Brian explains to everyone the reason why he is detention, the audience can really get a glimpse of the immense amount of pressure he is under at home to receive high grades. His low confidence made him act abruptly to end the internal chaos he was having due to class he received an F in. The amount of stress and burden he is under reveals that although it may seem he has it the easiest out of the group, he is still expected to be act in a certain manner. As the camera zooms into his face when he is talking to the group he is clearly in a lot of pain and was hurt. The fact that even though it was just a flare gun, and that he was willing to take his own life due to failing a woodwork class is unsettling and relates to the general idea that many of them are challenged with some form of pressure.

John Bender, the criminal, is weak, both physically and mentally, through the abuse he has been and has to deal with it at his home. To present this, I chose two scenes that illustrate this, the first is a scene where Bender is picking on claire and Andrew protects her and end up challenging Bender and restrains him. Bender, after realizing he can’t win hand-to-hand takes out a knife and threatens him, this can be portrayed as sign of weakness due to his necessity to protect himself with a weapon. The other scene where he is mentally weak is when he discusses to everyone of his abusive home, where his father burned him with a cigarette for dropping paint. Bender, in rage, starts to run in the library knocking things over and breaking objects, the music in this scene creates fear and tension and shows that Bender is emotionally unstable. He has been succumbed to deal with the suffering he lives with every single day, and unfortunately, he mimics those abusive methods to those who can’t protect themselves in school.

Clair Standish, the princess, lives in a perfect world where everything is handed to her and she does as she pleases, at least that’s what all the students think of her in the beginning. As the movie progresses, Clair is shown to be insecure and defensive, as she opens up to them they realize that Clair isn’t all that perfect. Clair admits to hate having to go along with everything her friends do, we see a side of Clair that demonstrates that she is dissatisfied and miserable of the way she is living, not only because of her social group, but also due to the fact that her parents are always arguing and she seems to take the blame for all of their fights. Clair initially began as a strong and confident person in the beginning of the film, but as it progressed, we realize that she seems to have the same pressure, fears, and expectations just like everyone there.

“My God, are we gonna be like our parents?” The fact that all of the students had some sort of family issues or pressure and causing them to act a certain way is frightening. What started out as having been a movie that pokes fun of typical high school took a dark turn as it escalated into a realistic world that we live in, where often times the individual lacks attention, or doesn't receive any, or has some sort of high expectation to meet, or massive pressure, or is involved in a crisis and take all the blame for the cause that was out of their reach. All of these scenarios have a significant role that leaves the group asking themselves ‘Am I gonna be like my parents?’ As Clair stated for herself and answering for the rest of the group if they would become like their parents she replied with, “Not me… ever...”

As David Bowie beautifully quoted in this movie, “…and these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…”