The Breakfast Club: Revolutionizing The Youth Film Genre
2121 Words9 Pages
Angel Tapia
Dan Shanley
Film Criticism
18 September 2014
Revolutionizing the Youth Film Genre “Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life (Royal)”.
Hughes is best known for his 80’s teen movies because he made every person who watched them want to live that life. The reason they were always so good was because he wrote for the teen audience. He was the first writer to get the grip with how it felt to be a teen (Dyer and O’Hara). Unlike most directors or producers he took teens seriously. For once the teens were the ones who were right; it wasn’t the adult. “Hughes was wise enough to represent the teenage experience…show more content… In his movies he had his universe of nerds, jocks, socialites, misfits, rockers, and rebels, but also had the overbearing principles, clueless teachers, and absentee parents (Murphy). A good example of this was his movie The Breakfast Club. This movie was written for teenagers. It exposed the vulnerable truth behind high school’s judgmental labels of the princess, brain, criminal, jock, and basket case (The 10 best). The Breakfast Club is one of Hughes most relatable movies. Many people felt like they were not alone. It spoke to a generation. The elements that grown ups were perceived as ponderous and risible were what made the movie so real to teens (Kamp). This movie was for every kind of person out there. It wasn’t just about the jock and the popular girl. It was about all the different types of people in high school. There is a deeper meaning than just a high school experience. It was the teen experience, like questions of belonging and identity that get to the heart of what it means to be an adolescent (Gora “Why”). Another amazing movie of his was Sixteen Candles. This movie had the whole 80’s theme. There was a great 80’s soundtrack and the clothing was spot on. In Sixteen Candles the actors were actually teenagers. In most movies they would hire an actor about 24 years old to play a 16 year old boy. People could relate to it because it was about being forgotten. Teens knew how that felt and yet again felt like they weren’t alone (Dyer and O’Hara). This movie had a great sociological impact. It taught many to think optimistic about life. After all this time this is one of the many movies that remains to be duplicated in almost every teen film created today (Fee). Finally there was the movie Pretty In Pink. It was the 80’s classic love story. This movie represented a high school tale at it’s best. It dealt with relationships, class struggles, and social cliques (Fee). All teens go through