The Breakfast Club (1985) directed by John Hughes, illustrates the contrasting personalities of teenagers Allison, Andrew, Brian, Claire and John, as they spend their Saturday morning in detention. From early on, each character is portrayed to belong to a certain clique within their high school. Through this, the film highlights the different labels put on each individual, their more or less hostile interactions, and what factors influence the nature of these interactions.
From the beginning, viewers understood that each teenager presented was a member of a certain group within their school. To make this evident, each of them is attributed a series of labels to help distinguish their identities. There is Claire who portrays the “princess” …show more content…
In fact, throughout the film there were many instances when one of the teens would mock the other because of the clique they pertained to. These more or less hostile interactions can be explained with the use of the social identity theory. This theory interprets that individuals are able to gain a boost in confidence when they express partiality to their affiliated group in comparison to other groups (Kassin et al., 2013, p.153). Such theory can be applied to educational institutions, such as high schools, there can be found collectives of social identities with which individuals can be impacted through their self-esteems. In fact, through the duration of the movie many examples make surface. Namely, when John taunts Brian by reenacting his home life, assuming it to be absent of any familial problems. By mocking others John is able to inflate his self-esteem while at the same time manifesting that he was different from …show more content…
The contact hypothesis claims that issues between groups can be eradicated through 4 steps: equal status of groups, personal contact, superordinate goal and establishing new norms (Kassin et al., 2013, p.140). In relation to the film, the teens had equal status once they entered detention and made personal contact through various activities. Their superordinate goal was not to get caught by Mr. Vernon when they were breaking rules. They then established new norms by having Brian write their assigned paper which described their new lack of concerns for their differences. Ultimately, this showed that the contact hypothesis could be used as a mean to reduce hostility between groups of
From the beginning, viewers understood that each teenager presented was a member of a certain group within their school. To make this evident, each of them is attributed a series of labels to help distinguish their identities. There is Claire who portrays the “princess” …show more content…
In fact, throughout the film there were many instances when one of the teens would mock the other because of the clique they pertained to. These more or less hostile interactions can be explained with the use of the social identity theory. This theory interprets that individuals are able to gain a boost in confidence when they express partiality to their affiliated group in comparison to other groups (Kassin et al., 2013, p.153). Such theory can be applied to educational institutions, such as high schools, there can be found collectives of social identities with which individuals can be impacted through their self-esteems. In fact, through the duration of the movie many examples make surface. Namely, when John taunts Brian by reenacting his home life, assuming it to be absent of any familial problems. By mocking others John is able to inflate his self-esteem while at the same time manifesting that he was different from …show more content…
The contact hypothesis claims that issues between groups can be eradicated through 4 steps: equal status of groups, personal contact, superordinate goal and establishing new norms (Kassin et al., 2013, p.140). In relation to the film, the teens had equal status once they entered detention and made personal contact through various activities. Their superordinate goal was not to get caught by Mr. Vernon when they were breaking rules. They then established new norms by having Brian write their assigned paper which described their new lack of concerns for their differences. Ultimately, this showed that the contact hypothesis could be used as a mean to reduce hostility between groups of