The Breakfast Club
Author by: Vannary Kom
The Breakfast Club (1985) is a movie that takes place on a Saturday. The five students have all violated high school rules in one way or another, and they have to serve a special detention all day long, from 8 to 4, in the school library. In the opening of the movie, we are introduced to the five students upon their arrival, one at a time to their school. These five high school students with all different stereotypes, meet at detention, where they poured their hearts out to each other and stumble upon how they all have a lot in common. Director John Hughes portrayed American high school students as those who fit into typical teen stereotypes, and yet also exist beyond them.
One message that comes out of The Breakfast Club is that it deals with neglectful and oppressive parents which makes the individual students act out rebelliously. What all five of these high school students discover is that they are all living the same life under different circumstances, which makes them rethink what is ‘normal.’ What these individuals discover together, completely changed everything about who they really are.
Stereotyping comes from all kinds of different people, from all kinds of different reasons. Behind those reasons, there is a trace of truth exists in every stereotypes, and some trace are bigger than others. Director John Hughes, classified the roles of these five high school students in certain social boxes, where we see that it lead a point to social identity and leaves student wondering about their own social identity.
Many adolescents struggle with finding themselves. There are majority that go through hundreds of changes and personality changes just to see where they can fit in and who will like them. Fitting in is a constant battle that so many high school students strive for. It is also human nature to classify. In some ways, it is a form of self-preservation, in this case self-preservation would be knowing how to protect ones own identity.
The camera shots in these moments, perfectly categorized these individuals by their personalities. There is the arrogant, rebel and tough guy (Judd Nelson), The athletic of the group, the one who is always pushed to be a ‘winner,’ and the popular amongst them all (Emilio Estevez), the snobby, popular and wealthy teen of the group, who skipped classes to go to the mall, and admits she feels pressured by her friends (Molly Ringwald), the social isolated one who claims to have no friends, she is from a lower-middle class background and is neglected by her parents, and also reveals herself without the black hair and constantly covering her face (Ally Sheedy) and lastly, the one who has the ’brain,’ of the group, comes from an upper-middle class family, pressured to get into a superior university, and he was in trouble for bringing a flare gun to school (with suicidal intent) for receiving his first “F” on a school shop project, which causes him to become distress (Anthony Michael Hall).
One message that comes out of The Breakfast Club is that it deals with neglectful and oppressive parents which makes the individual students act out rebelliously. What all five of these high school students discover is that they are all living the same life under different circumstances, which makes them rethink what is ‘normal.’ What these individuals discover together, completely changed everything about who they really are.
Stereotyping comes from all kinds of different people, from all kinds of different reasons. Behind those reasons, there is a trace of truth exists in every stereotypes, and some trace are bigger than others. Director John Hughes, classified the roles of these five high school students in certain social boxes, where we see that it lead a point to social identity and leaves student wondering about their own social identity.
Many adolescents struggle with finding themselves. There are majority that go through hundreds of changes and personality changes just to see where they can fit in and who will like them. Fitting in is a constant battle that so many high school students strive for. It is also human nature to classify. In some ways, it is a form of self-preservation, in this case self-preservation would be knowing how to protect ones own identity.
The camera shots in these moments, perfectly categorized these individuals by their personalities. There is the arrogant, rebel and tough guy (Judd Nelson), The athletic of the group, the one who is always pushed to be a ‘winner,’ and the popular amongst them all (Emilio Estevez), the snobby, popular and wealthy teen of the group, who skipped classes to go to the mall, and admits she feels pressured by her friends (Molly Ringwald), the social isolated one who claims to have no friends, she is from a lower-middle class background and is neglected by her parents, and also reveals herself without the black hair and constantly covering her face (Ally Sheedy) and lastly, the one who has the ’brain,’ of the group, comes from an upper-middle class family, pressured to get into a superior university, and he was in trouble for bringing a flare gun to school (with suicidal intent) for receiving his first “F” on a school shop project, which causes him to become distress (Anthony Michael Hall).
First image: Emilio Estevez (left) Judd Nelson (right)(Medium, eye level)Second image: Ally Sheedy (medium close-up, eye level)
Third image: Anthony Michael Hall (Medium close-up, eye level)
Fourth image: Molly Ringwald (Medium close-up, eye level)
All eye medium shots are important when showing us these characters personality before they discovered the same connections they had within each other. It shows us everyone struggles and their hidden emotions. They expressed themselves in these shots the way they would normally do on school days.
Third image: Anthony Michael Hall (Medium close-up, eye level)
Fourth image: Molly Ringwald (Medium close-up, eye level)
All eye medium shots are important when showing us these characters personality before they discovered the same connections they had within each other. It shows us everyone struggles and their hidden emotions. They expressed themselves in these shots the way they would normally do on school days.
Wanting to fit into a particular social group can lead an individual into peer pressure. One example is teen smoking. Although social groups more often guide the influenced into peer pressure, Director John Hughes portrays smoking as a stress reliever in the film. In the particular scene portrayed below, the students secretly smoke marijuana and cigarettes in the Library. This is when they get personal with each other and take down their guards. Claire told the group she got into detention for skipping classes to go shopping with her friends. She even admitted that she was sick of peer pressure and being in the circle with her popular friends, but she only did it to be in a social group and to receive attention. Other characters told similar stories.
Both of these scene is shot at a medium-close up. The background is blurred and it shows a vivid focused of these two teenagers lighting up a puff, and how relieved they looked.
Full body, low-angle shot. This is a shot where all five students comes together and discover they have a lot in common than they thought. It also shows how vulnerable an individual story has touched upon everyone in the group. They are giving each other a chance to express who they really are.
The Breakfast Club is a film that gives out the message that one cannot judge an entirety of people based on their race, social class, appearance, or intelligence. Hollywood does portrayed a negative vision of American high schools with everyone in certain social boxes in a way that it is very uncertain, you judge or label someone before you give them a chance.
Sources:
Source #1: "..: MEGASHARE.INFO - Watch The Breakfast Club Online Free :..." ..: MEGASHARE.INFO - Watch The Breakfast Club Online Free :... N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://megashare.info/watch-the-breakfast-club-online-TlRnek1nPT0>.
Source #2: "The Breakfast Club." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/>.
Source #3: "The Breakfast Club." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakfast_Club>.
Source #1: "..: MEGASHARE.INFO - Watch The Breakfast Club Online Free :..." ..: MEGASHARE.INFO - Watch The Breakfast Club Online Free :... N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://megashare.info/watch-the-breakfast-club-online-TlRnek1nPT0>.
Source #2: "The Breakfast Club." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/>.
Source #3: "The Breakfast Club." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakfast_Club>.