An Analysis of the Movie The Breakfast Club

The breakfast club was to say the least a boring 800s movie. But it was a good movie for the purpose of analysis. Simply put, it will not be on my list of movies to rent next time that I am at the rental store. I chose to explain the points of view of Andrew, the jock, and Allison the loner/quite person. I will also be making use of the key terms Clique Groups, and Identity Crisis.

At the start of the movie, Allison was a person off in a corner by herself. She didnát talk to anyone, she knew that she had a “place” in the society of school. This society of school, also know as clique groups, takes place at many schools, the one in the movie and most of all Richland High School. Like our school, this one has very many clique groups. In fact, in the group of students in Saturday school, each clique group had a representative if you will. Allison knew that in the minds of others, she was a loser because she was not popular and not pretty.

So, we have here a girl who doesn’t think that she is pretty, and rates herself lower because of that. They don’t look at her personality or her inner being, but her outward appearance. She thinks that she is ugly because of what everyone else thinks. She has a low self-image and self-esteem simply because of what others think. In order to overcome this, she has to not let the opinions of others interfere with her thinking. This is very much easier said than done. In the middle of the movie, Andrew began to notice that she was in need and want of attention. She went so far as to make up stories, and say that she was a pathological liar, just to get people to pay more attention to her.

She also did some very different things that I have never seen any normal girl do. Usually, a girls purse is a private object that carries personal items. live never seen any girl just literally dump all of the contents out of her purse and onto the couch. To me, she needed some attention. I believe before this scene, Allison told us that her family life was a mess. Obviously Andrew answered her subliminal cries for attention. He came down to her level, and saw that she was a normal girl, but that she let everyone else judge her, and he took the opinions of others before he went and spent time with her and saw what she really was like.

Lets switch our view to Andrew. This is a guy who in the eyes of others was a stud. He was considered to be cool, hip, and handsome. More than likely he had every girl all over him. He thought that he was the total reverse of the afore mentioned Allison. He had friends, but what everyone didn’t know was that his family life was as bad as Allisons. However, it was in other ways. His dad pushed him to be the best and not to lose a single game, match or whatever sport he was participating in. This in my opinion drove him almost to the edge. When he saw that Allison was in the same situation that he was in, he was amazed because he thought oh, she is much more different than I am. He had peer pressure to succeed, he was in a clique with tons of other popular people just because of his success as an athlete. What they didnát know was that he was really unhappy, just as Allison was. He could have had all the friends in the world, but it would have never filled this void in his heart.

The moral of the story? Well, obviously don’t judge a book by its cover to use and old cliché. These concepts have been discussed by leading researchers all around the world for ages. Philosophers, Psychologists and Psychiatrists have analyzed just about everything. In my opinion, sometimes they have gone too far. In this case of the Breakfast Club, not just the two characters that I pointed out were struggling with peer pressure, an identity crisis, or belonging to a clique group. It was all of them. The underlying theme that I think that the director or writer was getting at was the fact that no matter how many friends you have, or don’t have, no matter how much money you have, or don’t have, everyone still has the same problems. These problems are the same problems that my parents had, and the same problems we have today, and more than likely the exact same problems that my kids will have.

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A Short Review of The Breakfast Club, a Movie by John Hughes

In the film The Breakfast Club directed by John Hughes many gender role stereotypes between male and female characters are expressed. These stereotypes include a male rebel, male jock, male geek, female loner, and female popular girl. Using popular and scholarly sources, these stereotypes are able to be further examined. The male rebel is played by John Bender. John Bender wears multiple layers that include a flannel, jean jacket and a leather jacket, gloves without fingers, and is an avid smoker. Bender exemplifies behavior that is very closely associated with what today we call “bad boys,” as he is constantly searching for the next argument or confrontation he can get himself into as well as the next authority figure he can defy or push their buttons. However, as always, this rebellious stereotype isn’t complete without a rough home life background which is another characteristic Bender attains.

Andrew is the character that portrays the male jock throughout the film as he displays typical stereotyping qualities. These qualities include his reason for being in detention relating to hazing/bullying, sporting a letterman jacket, bringing a calorie filled lunch to detention with him, and the fact that he is male suggesting that the athletic character must be male because it isn’t a female attribute to be athletic. All of these characteristics of Andrew are classic things that the audience thinks of when being introduced to a male jock character in any film or even in real life… (this stereotyping most likely came about from movies such as this one).

Next we have the male geek, which already has a stereotype as it’s being implied that there couldn’t be a brainy female character. Brian wears a sweater and khaki pants and is completely and totally terrified to be in detention… He also feels that he doesn’t belong there with everyone else which is another classic stereotypical thought of someone who is smarter than everyone else. Brain fully plans on doing everything that he is told and never questions authority as he is constantly longing for the proudness (lol find another word) of his parents and teachers and superiors.

The females are very different from the male characters in this film. First, we’ll introduce Allison who represents the loner. When Allison enters the library for detention she secludes herself from the other four students and sits in the back corner all by herself whereas most everyone else sat near the front/ near each other. Allison also is dressed in all black where even her nonbrushed hair is black. Overall Allison is very bad at making friends and talking to the other students and when she does she ends up making them uncomfortable.

The other female character in the film is the popular girl, Claire who just feels so misunderstood and feels superior to everyone else as she would never dream of associating with most everyone else outside of the detention library. Claire clothes herself in all pink, pearls and curly hair presenting herself as the popular and rich girl… (talk about how oftentimes beign popular and being rich are always aligned for some reason???) Throughout the film a main idea of gender roles and stereotypes are easily able to be identified.

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An Analysis of the Characters in the Movie the Breakfast Club

This essay is about people putting a label on another individual and the effects it has on the person. The essay particulary focusus on a character from the movie, The Breakfast Club. It focuses on the nerd in the movie, Brian. It also tries to make the reader think about his/her role in the “labeling” game. i.e.-are you the mocker, or the mockee? I am Here, Even Though You Don’t See Me.

Have you ever been ridiculed for your beliefs, ways or convictions? Have you been given an undue label unfairly because of being who you are? Or rather, are you the person who unreasonably hands out the labels, or the one that cheers on and aides the ones that actually do the disreputable work? Correct me if I’m wrong, but do we not bleed the same blood and breathe the same air? Evidently, the answer is yes. Then why I ask, why to we feel the need to place labels and declare someone is better than someone else because they are unique individuals and not like what the labeler wants them to be?

Nothing in life is fair, but nothing hurts the way it does to be mocked, labeled, and pressured your whole life. I say this cause I know. If only all people could see it that way too. Just because you’re different and unique in your own way, doesn’t make you any less of person then the next guy. Being different and unique is what makes the world go round; we shouldn’t be persecuted for our individualities. In the well-known movie The Breakfast Club, you can see first-hand what the effects are of being labeled and mocked your whole life. Specifically, I am going to focus on the one who was callously labeled The Nerd, rightfully known as Brian.

For starters, his whole life he has been pressured to be Mom and Dad’s Little Braniac; always getting straight A’s and always knowing to do the right thing. Never settling for anything less than what he is capable of. That’s a lot of pressure on a kid at such a young age. I think they are helping him more than they are hurting him. For instance, have they molded him to be the person they wanted him to be, or have they just simply helped him along his journey of life because of the natural academic talents he showed as he had progressed from infant to child? Unfortunately, they have done the first questioned. They have grilled and grilled him to be this ever most intelligent person, never once letting him be the person he might have wanted to be. That has had a detrimental effect on him.

Now of course, he has become that person they wanted him to be and cannot change. Therefore, it’s not his fault for having nerdy or geeky tendencies. Nevertheless, that does not make it ok for all the people who mocked him his whole life as he grew up? No of course not. He is who is and people just can’t learn to respect that, but they should.

Subsequently, as he continues to go to school he is further maimed and ridiculed. However, doesn’t fight back. He doesn’t stand up for himself. He doesn’t even know how to do any of that. That concept is completely foreign to him because of the way that he was brought up. In essence, he holds all of this emotion, possible anger, pain, and resentment within him. It just boils up inside him dying to be released, dying to be expressed and dealt with. He is basically like an innocent looking volcano waiting to erupt. In the movie, when he does finally explode, it’s beyond emotional. For one moment in his life people start to see him as a real person. They might have even considered him normal person like one of them and not as just the Nerd they all viewed him as. However, that moment doesn’t last long.

When it’s over, it’s over. All usual beliefs and thoughts about this individual are resumed and once again he becomes just the Nerd. From a Learning Perspective of Psychology, this rejection doesn’t hit him as hard. It is something he has become used to. It has been reinforced in his life so much that his body has built up a temporary immune system to it. This is not kosher. One should never have to adjust to being treated in such a wrongful manor. Unfortunately, nothing can be done to stop this pattern in humans, but let it be known that it will never be justifiable in the eyes of justice.

Finally, Brian has released of his built up emotions. Alas, he will continue to hold future emotions inside until the day come that he cannot hold it with in him anymore. It has become apart of his human nature. From a Sociocultural Perspective of Psychology, this will always be the pattern in his life. His behavior is that of a humble and positive person. He will always look at everybody as individuals and unique. He will never pass judgment on people to the point where it has a negative effect on the lives like people have done to him. Is that justifiable? Does not teasing and labeling other people make him a perfect candidate for being teased and labeled? Is that what he deserves? Of course not, nobody deserves that type of treatment no matter what kind of person they are. It just not right, and no one can logically justify it.

On one last note, think about who you really are. Think about the role that you play in your life. Are you the mocker, or the mockee? What makes you do the things you do? Maybe, just maybe, if everyone put themselves in another person’s shoes, more and more people would start to understand the inequality of placing judgment on other human beings. If everyone took a step back and looked at the way they treat people, this world could be a happier place. No one deserves to be purged because they are an unique individual that makes the world go round. After all, when it’s all said and done, do you want to be remembered as the meanest cruelest, and heartless person they knew? Of course not, none one does. Just the same, people don’t want to be remembered as the nerd or the geek with no friends and no important existence. Especially Brian.

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Analysis of the Main Character in “The Breakfast Club”

The Breakfast Club This paper is an analysis of five dissimilar teenagers representing a cross-section of middle class high school students in the suburbs. The students meet each other for the first time during a Saturday morning detention session. Each student arrived to the school by different means, which is a precursor to determining the type of individual each one is. The group is comprised of a “princess”, an “athlete”, a “brain”, a “criminal”, and a “basket case”. These are the roles the students play during the week.

Because of typical stereotypes and status levels, at the onset, the students don’t want anything to do each other at the beginning of the detention session. However, once confronted by the controlling principal and realizing they have a whole day to spend together, the students begin to interact. Once the students start communicating with each other, they realize that they are more alike than unlike. Each one of them has their own issues they are dealing with, they each long for self-acceptance; they all fight against peer pressure; they all desire parental approval.

Eventually through the course of the day, they break through the barriers and begin to understand each other and accept each other as well as themselves. The students eventually develop a group identity and call themselves, “The Breakfast Club. ” Claire is the “princess”; an upper-class, popular prom queen who was punished with detention after she ditched classes to go shopping. She enjoys her wealth, but this causes others to envy her. She is a bit shy and doesn’t easily reveal information about herself.

She is very insecure with herself because she is not very smart and isn’t athletically inclined which is why she wants to be a part of the “in” crowd at school. She feels neglected by her parents and is yearning for attention from them. She was driven to school for the detention session in a BMW by her father. As he dropped her off he explained to her that this is a strict punishment and perhaps she shouldn’t skip school to go shopping. Bender the “bad boy” on the other hand, is a lower-class young man who is perceived to be a ociopathic criminal; he is desperate for attention at school. This may be due to a lack of attention at home or perhaps abuse. Because of his rebellious nature, Bender finds himself in detention more often than not. Bender wanders up to the school by his own free will. His parents are not shown at all during the film. Andrew the “jock” is a regimented and determined wrestler who wants break free from the athlete role in order to think for himself. His father demands that he succeeds athletically as he doesn’t tolerate losing, he requires Andrew to be No. in his athletic endeavors. His father doesn’t care what Andrew wants in life, he just wants him to win all of his wrestling matches. Andrew was dropped off to the school by his father who was chastising him before dropping him off and explaining that he could potentially lose his athletic scholarship due to his behavior. Brian the “nerd” is a straight – A student who struggles with expectations of high grades. His parents seem to push him to do very well in school. However, he doesn’t have any confidence in himself and relies upon his success in school to motivate him.

His self confidence was crushed when he received a failing grade in shop class. He was sent to detention because a teacher found a gun in his locker which he was going to use to kill himself; however, it wouldn’t have worked because it was a flare gun. Brian was dropped off to the school by one of his parents and his younger sister. He was told to get his homework done while in detention. Lastly, Allison the “kook” is an introvert who is ignored by her peers. She is a very quiet girl hardly ever speaking, which makes it difficult for people to understand her.

When she does speak, she usually does so in self defense. She longs for attention, in order to receive it; she acts like a mentally unstable individual. She suffers from boredom and is very reserved. She shocked the group when she emptied her purse which held nothing but useless items in an attempt to gain attention from the others at the beginning of the detention session. Allison was dropped off to the school, but you can’t tell by who as the person drives off before any words are exchanged. She states that she did nothing wrong to get sent to detention.

She displays very peculiar behavior during the detention session. At the onset of the detention session, each student’s status is conveyed by their existing peer social status in school. They form bonds, with whom they feel most comfortable with, for example, Claire and Andrew immediately sit down next to each other and begin exchanging conversation about the friends they have in common within the “popular” crowd that they are a part of. Brian is next in line in the school social status scene because of his intelligence but he is still considered to be a geek by his peers.

In contrast, Allison and Bender are at the bottom of the school social scene. As the morning detention session progresses, each member of the group surrenders their previous roles as they assume new positions within the group. Bender, who usually has a low-status position, assumes a leadership role because of his expertise with detention. He is on a first name basis with the janitor and Mr. Vernon, the principal. Mr. Vernon displays a tough outer shell but seems to fear Bender. Bender is clearly the dominating force in the group.

His rebellious personality is displayed when he breaks the established rules and moves from his seat after being told not to. He also tore up a library book and removed a screw from one of the library doors so it couldn’t stay open in order for Mr. Vernon to keep an eye on them. When Mr. Vernon questioned the group as to why the door is closed and wouldn’t stay open the group covered up for him. This behavior clearly displays Bender’s disregard for authority. Instead of being condemned by his peers, Bender’s questions and actions are valued within the group.

He leaves the session with a new found respect for his new friends as well as an attraction to Claire whom he had constantly made fun of for being a snob throughout the detention session. He also dropped the tough guy persona and accepted himself as someone who was good in his own way. Claire and Andrew also go against their normal high school behaviors during the session. Andrew no longer appears to play the macho athlete role and actually cries in front of the others as he describes how his father has pressured him to be someone he doesn’t want to be.

He expressed how at times he wished for his knee to give out so he wouldn’t be able to wrestle anymore. He finally comes to realize that he doesn’t need to be the man his father expects him to be and that his life is his own to determine and not what his father desires. It is clear that he that he has broken from the grips of his father when he leaves the detention session partnered with Allison. Allison seems to be the epitome of defiance towards his father’s law to stay on course and choosing his own path from now on.

Claire appears to be very conceited and often asks the group “Do you know how popular I am? Everyone at this school loves me. ” Looking at her from the others perspective, she appears to be very self-centered and more important than the others. Although Claire leads the group to believe she had been sexually active due to peer pressure, she ultimately admitted to the group that she is still a virgin. Allison actually tricked her by lying and being deviant, having Claire to admit she was a virgin.

Allison then expressed to the group that being sexually active is actually a double edged sword in their social setting because if a girl admits to being sexually active, she is considered to be a slut while if she denies being sexually active she is considered a prude. Her observation demonstrates she isn’t exactly who the group perceives her to be. Eventually the group allows Claire to see that there is much more to life than being popular in school. On the surface, Brian appears to be submissive; however, the traditional geek ends up asking bold questions and seems to become more secure than his new-found friends.

Throughout the session, Brian seems to follow along with whatever his peers are doing while at the same time reminding them that there isn’t supposed to be any “monkey business. ” He actually goes against his normal behavior and along with Andrew and Claire partakes in smoking marijuana with Bender. The group views Brian as their most intelligent member and therefore, they encourage him to write their required 1000 word detention essays. This opportunity allows him to have a bit of power within the group.

Through the peer discussions, it becomes apparent that Brian and his parents have required him take on more than he can handle which drove him to his breaking point. Through the relationship with his newfound friends, Brian is able to release the load and the perception of himself being an academic over achiever. He leaves much more confident than when he came and is determined to let go of his past failure. Allison is very quiet during the detention session; her mode of communication was squealing for the first half of the session. The others see her as an outcast and her strange behavior while at detention confirms their perception.

During lunch, she takes a sandwich out of her bag, removes the meat, and puts cereal and sugar in its place. She appears to be satisfied with the lunch that the others find disturbing. Until this point, the other students had barely noticed her presence in the room. She continues performing random acts throughout the movie. It is clear that she craves attention both positive and negative and this is her way of obtaining it. While speaking to Andrew, she confides that the attention that she receives at school is much more than she will ever receive at home.

She finds her life at home unsatisfying and expresses that her parents don’t give her any attention. Allison’s parents consider her an outcast. She leaves the school well respected by Andrew who seems to have developed a liking to her. She realizes that she should be respected by all as long as she acts as though she wanted the respect she deserved. The janitor “Carl” is the eyes and ears of the school. He seems to know the students at the school very well and tells Mr. Vernon “Someday, these kids are gonna take care of me,” Mr. Vernon told him “don’t count on it. It appears as though Carl previously attended the school. He shows much respect to the students and seems to be able to relate to them and their issues. Mr. Vernon is the school principal who dislikes Bender because he doesn’t have any respect for authority. He is very uptight and tries to get the students in trouble. It appears from his behavior that he thrives in his position of power; one may safely assume that when he was the age of the students, he probably wasn’t popular or well liked by his peers. Carl caught Vernon reading the private school files; he then blackmails him to keep quiet.

He eventually bonded with Carl and declares that he has various fears about the current generation. The group went through the predictable developmental stages including forming, storming, norming and performing phases. The group was formed because each of the students broke a school rule. While in this stage, the students are becoming oriented with each other and learning more about the group. The rules and procedures are being established. During the storming stage, conflicts begin to arise and social tension is apparent. For example, Claire expressed that she doesn’t “belong here. Bender continuously antagonizes Claire. Bender and Andrew have shouting matches almost bringing them to blows. Also, Allison had a strange outburst during Claire’s disclosure about her parents. The principle tries to set clear expectations and norms by telling the students that there is to be no moving, no talking, and no monkey business while in detention. However, in his attempt to establish the norms; the results prove to be unsuccessful because the group does not agree to Mr. Vernon’s rules. Instead, the students become quite rebellious and show disrespect for authority.

Most of this behavior is exhibited by Bender who uses his status, power, and leadership within the group. In regards to performing, the group eventually accomplishes its task which was to write the 1000 word essay with Brian as the leader of this undertaking. The group also achieves other goals such as killing eight hours of detention while remaining free of boredom. They learned about each other and experienced and new found respect for through self-disclosures. They also rebelled against the established norms with each other.

By the end of the day, they had established their own cohesive group and learned to look past their stereotypes of each other. However, they question whether or not they will remain as friends come Monday morning. I believe that this movie is a true depiction of high school life in the suburbs, as each group of students has stereotypes about the other groups amongst their peers. It is up to us the individuals to break down the barriers that prevent us from appreciating each others qualities and learn not to criticize and/or condemn our peers.

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The Breakfast Club Essay

The Breakfast Club is a 1985 film about five high school students from completely different backgrounds, who meet in a Saturday detention. John Hughes impacted a whole generation of teenagers through his unique filming style to highlight certain issues. Hughes uses themes like stereotypes, identity and relationships to show his target audience that they are […]

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My Opinion on The Breakfast Club

So, I’ve got an unpopular opinion: I dislike The Breakfast club. I watched it a while ago because I’d seen it referenced everywhere, from other movies to cartoons, to art. I also saw it in every “best 80s movies lists” or “greatest movie lists” from sites like the ‘Rolling Stone’, IMDB, and Rotten Tomatoes. And […]

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The Breakfast Club Movie Analysis

‘The Breakfast Club’ is a 1985 film directed by John Hughes. It is based on five students from different social groups at Shermer High School that ended up in a Saturday detention together, tasked with writing an essay on who they think they are. I like this movie because of the themes of stereotyping and […]

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