Allison: I don't have to run away and live in the street...I can run away and, go to the ocean, I can go to the country, I can go to the mountains. I can go to Israel, Africa, Afghanistan...
T: That's a... Fashionable choice of countries.
M: It was acceptable in the eighties.
Claire putting eye make-up on Allison:
Claire: Don't be afraid.
Allison: Don't stick that in my eye!
Claire: I'm not sticking it, just close... Just go like that... (Claire closes her eyes. Allison mimics her.)
Claire: Good...
Claire puts the make-up on her and Allison squeals.
Claire: You know you really do look a lot better without all that black shit on your eyes...
Allison: Hey...I like that black shit.
M: If life were like that, you wouldn't need a Visa.
The Breakfast Club is one of the few movies I know of that attempts to take teenage life seriously without jamming larger issues like pregnancy and venereal disease and Columbinistic (?) homicide on the viewer to instill guilt and alienation. The reason this movie is so incredibly seminal and groundbreaking is that the characters are relatable and the topics grounded firmly in reality. The writing and physical, improvisational nature of these characters grabs the viewer inexorably. One cannot help but relate, or at the very least sympathize.
The Bender character, as well as the Carl the custodian, are used primarily as the writers' narration. They jab and push at the rest of the more conventional characters in a "C'mon... C'moooooon!" manner. Nobody has any answers for these people, but the idea behind the movie is that there are no answers, only typically missed opportunities for compassion and understanding. All things aside, this is exactly what I might expect of a mixed group of teenagers left alone in a library. The beautiful thing about teens is they aren't typically very bright, or thoughtful, or analytical, but they are extremely reminiscent of adults in their breadth of emotion, and that makes wonderful fodder for film and television.
Personally, I had a great time in highschool. I felt angst, but I didn't feel corralled into any of the specific groups presented in the movie. I understand most people don't, but this was a very easy, straight-forward way to approach most of the topics plaguing the generalized Teen - indeed, most conventions still holding true today. The ultimate message here is that people and their issues (no matter how far removed they seem from one another) are infinitely relate-able, no matter their class or circumstance, and if we all took the time to drop our airs and convene over the issues that truly bog us down, we'll all inevitably realize that we're not so different (you and I). As messages go, you could do worse.
You don't need my recommendation to watch this movie, but I'll give it anyway: Breakfast Club is awesome, and it has meant enough to enough people that its existence has been officially Validated in the annals of Time and Cinema.
Watch the Breakfast Club.
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