Could go down a real rabbit hole of movies that are "of a time" and whether we excuse their short-sightedness with the wisdom we've gained or damn them for no longer holding to cultural norms. But in the interest of brevity, I adore teen movies precisely for the reason that you say--they explore identity, trying on new ones, casting off old ones, and ultimately embracing a little bit of everything. And, I do still love The Breakfast Club!
I agree with you! If we disregard past art for not meeting our current social norms, then we lose too much that is valuable as well as limit our ability to have conversations about societal changes. No one is perfect, and imperfect people make art that reflects that. "The Breakfast Club" elegantly tackles other profound issues about identity and belonging that make it worthwhile, and it's actually good to be able to criticize aspects of it and understand why some of the choices made are problematic. Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
Other than the larger theme of identity, I love how The Breakfast Club also raises the call for compassion. It is true that the core, we are not at all different from each other. I might rewatch this soon!
Yes! A number of characters in "The Breakfast Club" show compassion, for example by standing up for someone, offering to talk, or helping someone out, and in many cases these acts reveal how alike the seemingly different characters are to one another.
Thank you for this post. I really appreciated it. It seems to mirror so much of what is happening in our world today. Judging others. Putting people into categories. Superficial 'chatter' without taking the time to understand each other at a deeper level.
Are we really so different, if we take away the labels, and just take the time to listen?
Yes, I think one of the marks of a good movie is its timelessness. What "The Breakfast Club" essentially says is that people will already put you in a category, so why put yourself in one too, especially since in many ways categories unnecessarily divide and separate us, which prevent us from seeing our shared humanity. It's an important message that does indeed seem even more relevant now.
Could go down a real rabbit hole of movies that are "of a time" and whether we excuse their short-sightedness with the wisdom we've gained or damn them for no longer holding to cultural norms. But in the interest of brevity, I adore teen movies precisely for the reason that you say--they explore identity, trying on new ones, casting off old ones, and ultimately embracing a little bit of everything. And, I do still love The Breakfast Club!
I agree with you! If we disregard past art for not meeting our current social norms, then we lose too much that is valuable as well as limit our ability to have conversations about societal changes. No one is perfect, and imperfect people make art that reflects that. "The Breakfast Club" elegantly tackles other profound issues about identity and belonging that make it worthwhile, and it's actually good to be able to criticize aspects of it and understand why some of the choices made are problematic. Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
Other than the larger theme of identity, I love how The Breakfast Club also raises the call for compassion. It is true that the core, we are not at all different from each other. I might rewatch this soon!
Yes! A number of characters in "The Breakfast Club" show compassion, for example by standing up for someone, offering to talk, or helping someone out, and in many cases these acts reveal how alike the seemingly different characters are to one another.
Thank you for this post. I really appreciated it. It seems to mirror so much of what is happening in our world today. Judging others. Putting people into categories. Superficial 'chatter' without taking the time to understand each other at a deeper level.
Are we really so different, if we take away the labels, and just take the time to listen?
Yes, I think one of the marks of a good movie is its timelessness. What "The Breakfast Club" essentially says is that people will already put you in a category, so why put yourself in one too, especially since in many ways categories unnecessarily divide and separate us, which prevent us from seeing our shared humanity. It's an important message that does indeed seem even more relevant now.