The Breakfast Club is a movie which showcases how five teenagers ended up becoming friends despite their different characters. The five students from Shermer High school were forced into detention by the school disciplinary teacher, Mr. Vernon. The group comprised of John, Claire, Allison, Brian, and Andrew. The group is also considered to have different cliques based on their personalities. In this case, John is considered to be a criminal, Claire ‘the princess,’ Brian ‘the brainy,’ Andrew ‘the athlete’ and Allison is known to be the outcast or ‘the basket case.’ In their detention, the group was given an assignment to write about ‘who they think they are’ and what damages they had done to be in detention. In the end, the group ended up becoming friends as they related to each other’s struggle and experience.
Interaction
The film has displayed different developmental concepts among the five students. The group of teenagers tends to have different behavior and character traits. The students ended up realizing that there is more to learn about themselves rather than their personalities (Honeycutt, 2015). Through their personalities, they can find similar features that are present among the five of them. The film has showcased the developmental concepts of the students, on how they get to share their emotional experiences. Additionally, the film promotes a learning process by displaying how people with different circles can end up interacting and become friends, regardless of their different background. In this case, the developmental feature is displayed on how the kids are trying to cope with their family struggles, but still, have to explore their youth.
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Identity Vs. Role Confusion
In the film, identity happens to be the biggest theme portrayed by the five teenagers. The five students tend to have different identities which are identified by their peers. Their identities that are ranging from ‘a brain,’ princess, a basket case, criminal and an athlete, offers more to their descriptions. The students are offered the nicknames by people who judge them since they are not familiar with them. In this case, other kids based on their appearance judge the group of teenagers. Social identity has also been displayed in the film by how each student had his or her personality and taste in the beginning. However, through communication, the five students were able to associate and agree on some issues.
Role confusion is another feature that has been presented in the film. At the beginning of the film, the group of teenagers was considered to be strangers. The school identifies them with their different social cliques. However, when they get to know each other, the students realized that they have similarities as a result of what they go through in their lives. Identity vs. role confusion happens to be the 5th stage of development among children. At this stage, children end up being confused by the different life complex, as they get to identify their identities (Taylor, 2017). As the students get to open up about their family issues, they realize that they are trying to search for their own identity. Role of confusion is portrayed on how the students try to break away from their parent's needs, which results in them being overwhelmed. The teenagers’ struggles pose a negative energy because they try to fit in with other children.
Most of the students are in detention due to the pressure they get from their parents. Therefore, their actions and behavior can be considered to be a reflection of the relationship between them and the parents. For example, in Andrew’s confession, he is trying to explain the struggles and pressure he undergoes from his father, who wants him to emerge the best athlete. Andrew claims that he is forced to become something that he is not. In this case, Andrew is at a stage where he is trying to find his identity, while the pressure of his father is making things difficult. The five students open up about their insecurities, beliefs, values and their interests. Through their ideas, the five teenagers can find their true identities as they get to express their insecurities with each other.
Adolescent Egocentrism
Claire displays adolescent egocentrism with the way he treats other children at school. She considers herself special while other kids are deemed not to be of her ’type’ and class. She used to look down upon people like Allison who happened to be ‘a basket case and John who was ‘a criminal.’ Claire is directed and controlled by her view of people and how they appear to her. In this case, her egocentrism is displayed on how she defines other people (Vroman, 2015). In the end, she got to bond with the same people whom she did not like and looked down upon them.
Claire was not able to bear the fact that she was in the same room with people of ‘low’ class. Her social status could not allow her to mingle with these type of people. Her egocentrism is considered to be powerful as she did not see any value of the group. She ended up claiming that after the detention it would still not be possible for them to be friends because she wanted to maintain her top status as being ‘Queen Bee’ among her peers.
Freud’s Psychoanalytical Theory
The Freud’s Psychoanalytical Theory is used to display how individuals can be cured of being sensible and mindful of their unconscious behaviors and motivations. The theory aims to release emotions and experiences from individuals. In this case, the theory applies to the five students as it can cure their unconscious motivations of their sensible part. The Freud's theory can also be applied to the film, as it showcases the different type of personalities related to the five students.
Conclusion
Based on the film, it has fully showcased the theme of development among the characters. Additionally, the film has displayed how children of different personalities can be brought together through their life experiences. The movie is comprehensive in highlighting the main features that result in the developmental outcomes of the teenagers.
References
Honeycutt, K. (2015). John Hughes: A Life in Film: The Genius Behind Ferris Bueller, The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, and More . Race Point Pub.
Taylor, J. (2017). ‘Society Stinks’: Suburban Alienation and Violence in the Early Films of Penelope Spheeris. In Filmurbia (pp. 13-28). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Vroman, K. G. (2014). Adolescent Development: Becoming an Adult. Pediatric Skills for Occupational Therapy Assistants-E-Book , 127.
