Question

Topic: Interpersonal Communication

Analyze the movie, The Breakfast Club, and answer the following question:

For the main characters of the film, were canned or scripted messages used frequently? Can you identify an example of each from the film?

Answer 1

The Breakfast Club is a movie about the problems experienced by teenagers with respect to stereotyping, the stigma of mental illness, and bullying. The central theme of the movie is “When you grow up, your heart dies.”, owing to the problems of stereotyping, peer pressure, the stigma of mental illness, and bullying. These teenage problems are expressed by the central characters of the movies, John Bender, Claire Standish, Andrew Clark, Brian Johnson, and Allison Reynolds. The central characters of the movie are nothing but a reflection of their parental attitude towards them. The noticeably wrong or questionable behaviours of the characters are due to the questionable parenting styles. The faulty parenting styles are reflected in their faulty and undesirable behaviours.

In the case of John Bender, the canned or scripted message that was used is related to uninvolved parenting or parental ignorance towards teenage children. This has been expressed by John Bender's statement “it was a better f*****g year at the Bender family, I got a packet of cigarettes, the ol’ man grabbed me and said smoke up Johnny.” The ignorance of John's parents is reflected in John's consequent ignorant behaviour towards Claire exhibited when he rips her for being rich.

In the case of Claire Standish, who is showcased as a typically rich, famous daughter, the canned or scripted message that is used is related to permissive parenting. Her parents give her what she wanted, thereby making her feel superior to everyone else in her circuitry. This is expressed in Brian's statement for Claire, “you’re so conceded Claire… you’re so full of yourself, why are you like that?”.

In the case of Andrew Clark, the canned or scripted message that is used is related to authoritarian parenting. As a victim of an authoritarian parent, Andrew experiences extreme pressure of being rebellious and the best athlete. This is evident in his Dad's pressurizing statement "…I screwed around, guys screw around… except you got caught” he then continues to say “Do you want to miss a match? Blow your ride?”. That Andrew feels pressurized to recognize his dad's name is evident from his statement that he “taped Larry Lester’s buns together” and that he did this "bizarre thing" for his "old man.”

In the case of Brain Johnson, the canned or scripted message that is used is related to authoritarian parenting. As a victim of an authoritarian parent, Brain Johnson experiences extreme academic pressure. The pressure was so severe that he tried to harm himself by attempting to take his life. This is evident from the statement of Brian's mother, “Well, get in there and use the time to your advantage.” The pressure experienced by Brian is evident from his statement for the detention, “Mum we’re not supposed to study, we just have to sit there and do nothing.”.

In the case of Allison Reynolds, the canned or scripted message that is used is related to ignorant or uninvolved parenting. Allison is distant from her parents. This is evident from the scene when she leaves the car and there is no interaction between herself and her parents. She is also socially distant as a reflection of her parent's attitude towards her.

The teenagers have been depicted as "victims" of faulty parenting styles, testifying the central theme of the movie, “When you grow up, your heart dies.” As a consequence of faulty parenting, teenagers in their fragile, formative years mirror their parent's actions and attitudes. This makes them apathetic or emotionally insensitive to others, resulting in the issues of stereotypes, bullying, etc.