Stereotypes In John Hughes's The Breakfast Club

“Dear America, we accept the fact that we’re different and live with certain labels not necessarily willfully obtained by our own accord. But we think you’re crazy for making us live them, telling us who you think we are. You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that in each and every one of us is a brain. And a jock, and a loser, a rich girl, and a nerd. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.” That's not necessarily how John Hughes chose to end his 1985 blockbuster The Breakfast Club (Hughes), but a 2016-2017 rewrite might follow suit in the same way. In each and every high school, subcultures and stereotypes are perpetuated unto students that seem to fit according to their peers, but are they necessarily fair? Judd Nelson’s character in The Breakfast Club didn’t seem to have much of a choice in the title of “criminal” and the same is today for the very different title of “nerd.” Merriam-Webster defines nerd as “a person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, etc” (“Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary”). To the naked eye, this might be someone seen as rather smart and maybe a social pariah to the outgoing and popular. …show more content…
In this essay, I will discuss how in today’s culture, this stereotype is perpetuated unfairly due to the anti-intellectualism movement, social status, and portrayal in the media, often leading to ostracizing the intellectual or those who seem smarter than the