Social Issues In John Hughes's The Breakfast Club

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In the John Hughes’ 1984 film, The Breakfast Club, there were a lot underlying social issues that are very relatable to teens in high school of that age range. The early 80’s film was centered around five teens who have in some way been stereotyped by not only their peers but also by their parents and other authority figures. The main theme for the film is to overcome stereotypes and develop a voice for one’s self. As we as self-confidence and self-acceptance. At the end of the film each characters opens up about who they are and realizes that they should no longer accept the standards their parents or peers have set for them and decide that it is time to take control of their own live and be who they believe they are as a young adult. John …show more content…
This genre being, teen film, which is the exact genre that The Breakfast Club falls under. “The dramatic possibilities of this stage of life, marked by rebellion, angst and young love, quickly became evident to movie-makers.” (“Whatever: A History of Teen Movies”). This genre became very popular considering all of the possible view points and ideas that a film writer can make just based off of this stage in someone’s life. The Breakfast Club was written to attract a very particular audience. This audience being teenagers dealing with the daily challenges of facing stereotypes and pressures placed on the by society and their peers, “The Breakfast Club was frankly marketed to only one age group, teenagers. As a result, it was unable to achieve blockbuster status, but it was incredibly popular among the teens who formed its target audience, helping define the teen culture of the 1980’s.” (“The Breakfast Club (Film)”). Taking into consideration all of the stereotypes and social pressure placed on the teens in the film, the target audience for the film is very clear that Hughes wrote this film from the viewpoint of the teens in the film and across America as well, being that most teens can relate to the underlying issues that can be seen throughout the …show more content…
As well as finding your own voice and become self-confident and gain self-acceptance in order to be happy and not focused on pleasing those around you but rather pleasing yourself. This film was very effective for its intended audience by drawing the audience in emotionally and giving them something to relate to. In the film The Breakfast Club, each character had their own unique stereotype and problem that they had to face and overcome which are very familiar to most students, teen in particular. The first character, Claire, is known as the rich “Princess” who is spoiled and seems to always get everything she wants and is not so used to suffering the consequences for her actions. The “Jock” in the film is Andrew, who is a typical middle-class athlete who has a very clean look and is popular as well. The next character Brian, is known as the “Brain”, he is very sheltered by his parents and does not know how to stick up for himself when he gets bullied by the popular kids. John Bender is known as the “Criminal” who comes from a working-class abusive family and seems to always be angry and defiant. The last character, Allison, is known as “the Basket Case”. She tends to keep quiet and to herself, as a result her peers see her as being weird and mysterious. She

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