The Breakfast Club

Last weekend we watched The Breakfast Club with the family. This movie from 1985 caused quite a stir when it came out. I remember watching it at the time while being in high school myself and loving it. I watched it multiple times but it cannot have been on regular tv. Probably it was on a paid movie channel that came out where we live around that time. The movie made a big impression on me as a teenager, probably because it deals with the emotions and insecurities teenagers struggle with. It was easy to identify with and for me the character of Bender played by Judd Nelson resonated especially. Probably because he was a rebel and an outcast that was anti rich class. I was going to a school at the time that was known for attracting kids from well to do families that were not catholic and demanded high schooling standards. I ended up at the school because my ‘career’ at a previous school had derailed somewhat and I needed a reboot. I had no connection with the snobs in the school so I was a bit of an outcast in that sense as well. Watching the movie again more than 30 years later it is quite confronting to see what a flawed and obnoxious character Bender really is. It is easy to understand why he behaves the way he does but the way he directs his anger against his fellow students with verbal aggression and abuse is intolerable. As a teenager, struggling with identity and acceptance the similarities between myself and Bender seem to have blocked out all of these flaws, leaving only an idealised outcast rebel simplification in my imagination. Of course and luckily I am not my 16 year old self anymore and I can watch the movie differently, not so directly emotionally attached. This takes away some of the power and impact of the movie but I still find this a good movie. It is well acted, has a play like quality and focuses on everyday struggles of teenagers with their identity and peer pressure. In that respect I think it is quite unique and it is probably why it made such an impact on many teenagers when it came out at the time and why it is still relevant today. Not because the story and the characters as a whole are realistic or even commendable ‘portrayals’. Actress Molly Ringwald wrote an article for The New Yorker in 2018 reflecting on this movie and a few others also directed by John Hughes she acted in.