Stereotypes in Films: "The Breakfast Club"

Introduction

In Denby’s article “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies”, he asks a rhetorical question about high school genre films and whether or not they reflect reality or whether they are simply a set of conventions that refer to other films. High school genre films like John Hughes’s “The Breakfast Club” show that although there was heavy character stereotyping, the characters all realize they have the same problems regardless of stereotype, overcoming one of the conventions Denby pointed out. After realizing this, the characters destroy the barriers separating them, “crossing over” like what is common in actual high school and showing that in the case of The Breakfast Club, high school genre films can follow reality.

The Theme of Stereotypes in "The Breakfast Club"

All of the kids in the film had their problems. Whether they were stereotyped as a popular girl “princess” like Claire Standish whose parents use her to get back at each other. Whether they were stereotyped as the bad boy like John Bender whose parents both verbally and physically abuse him. Whether they were stereotyped as basket cases like Allison Reynolds whose parents pay no attention to and ignore her to the point where she was never born. Whether they were stereotyped as the nerd like Brian Johnson who is self-conscious about the F grade he received and didn’t want his parents finding out, ready to commit suicide over it using a flare gun. Whether they were stereotyped as the typical jock like Andrew Clark whose dad wants him to be a wrestler because he doesn’t tolerate losers in the family even though Andrew points out he doesn’t even like wrestling. Whether the character was a princess, bad boy, a basket case, nerd, or jock, they all had their own problems, each one no better than anyone else’s. In Denby’s article High School Confidential, one of the conventions he points out is that “The enemy is not authority, the enemy is other teens and the social system they impose on one another”. In the case of The Breakfast Club, this convention is only true initially, eventually, the characters overcome it after realizing their problems were the same. The problems the characters all have helped the characters realize they have more in common than what appears at face value, letting the characters overcome the social system that their character stereotypes impose on one another.

At the beginning of the film, the room was almost as quiet as a mouse, everyone had a stereotype that everyone thought defined them at the beginning of the film, nobody wanted to interact with people outside of their stereotypical social circle. Brain, portrayed as the stereotypical nerd in the film, found out these stereotypes weren’t what truly defined them. In his letter that principal Vernon had forced the kids to write as a part of detention, Brian wrote that “each one of us is a brain… and an athlete… and a basket case… a princess… and a criminal.” This shows all of the kids realize after they tell about their problems that they all have more in common than they think, they realize they aren’t defined as just one stereotype set in stone. It is much more associated with what happens in the real high school, where students are stereotyped, but there are a lot more crossover and more groups to fit into within these stereotypes. For example, in real high school, not all jocks are dumb, and not all nerds are weird. Only after realizing their characters had more in common than they thought, were the characters able to break free from the social system their stereotypes enforced, much more reflecting reality.

Once the kids find out that they have more in common than originally thought, they break free from their character’s stereotypes doing things they once thought they would never do, showing the crossover that appears in the real world. At the end of the film, characters Claire Standish, the stereotypical popular girl & princess, and John Bender, the bad boy, kiss. This is something that Claire would never had done had she conformed to her stereotype. The same thing happens with Andrew Clark the jock and Allison Reynolds the basket case. They kiss, which for Andrew would never had happened if he didn’t break his character’s stereotype. A jock would never normally had kissed a “loser” basket case, but after breaking his character’s stereotype, and realizing that this stereotype doesn’t truly define him, he does it anyway, making Allison his bae.

Conclusion

Denby’s rhetorical question about whether high school genre films reflect reality or whether they are a set of conventions that refer to other films is answered in the case of breakfast club as yes, in the case of “The Breakfast Club”, high school genre films can reflect reality. The characters realize they all have the same problems, that they all have more in common than originally thought. Just because someone is a princess, or a nerd, or a jock, doesn’t mean they don’t have issues. They all have their issues, none of which are any better than each other. After realizing this common ground, they are able to break free from their stereotype and “crossover”, like when the opposing stereotypical characters kiss. The princess kisses the bad boy; the jock kisses the basket case. This crossover is something that is reflected by how high school actually works in the real world, showing that high school genre films can in fact reflect reality.

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