The Breakfast Club
It is an early Saturday morning when five individuals make their way up the steps of Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois. Not a single one of them wants to be there, but they have been given little to no choice in the matter. Each one of them comes from a different background, a different social clique that defines who they are, and each of them already have a very solid perception of each other. What they do not know is that by the end of the day they will have traversed far beyond their accepted norms. Time and self-reflection can strip away all social norms, leaving only the individual that hides behind them.
It is well established early on who plays which role and how each student views one another. The Breakfast Club consists of the criminal, the jock, the princess, the brain, and the basketcase (1985), each with their part to play in the much larger hierarchy of a system that is designed to keep them apart. From the moment a student enters school they become indoctrinated to find one clique or another with which to associate. It is quite natural as each individual finds their comfort zone and tends to stick with it. Very rarely is it seen that an individual will switch from one clique to another without a great amount of effort.
There are those who are able to identify with more than one clique by remaining largely
disconnected from any one particular group, but they are rarely seen as anything other than an
outsider. In the move The Breakfast Club there is a very strong sense of identity with each of the
In the movie this is where social penetration theory comes into play, as each student finds themselves seeking to connect with their peers in a manner that allows for understanding, compassion, and a sense of respect that was lacking in prior experiences. The jock befriends the brain, the criminal confronts the princess, and the basketcase seeks to finally open up to those who typically ignore her. There is penetration across social norms within the film that speak of far deeper and more emotional feelings than are normally expressed in the typical high school. In opening up to one another the five students develop a new, uncertain social identity that does not allow for the typical segregation that is enforced by the unspoken law of high school.
The key scene comes when they are still in the library, discussing how they managed to land in detention, and how their families treat them. They find out that they have far more in common than they believed, and despite overwhelming conflict they eventually come to a social impasse. All that is left after this is the reconciliation, and the realization that they have more to share than they had originally believed.
Despite only occurring in a span of hours, the film showcases a host of psychological
issues that plague many high school students. How they deal with these issues, both of social
norms and identity, reveals the struggle of many students. Social identity is seen as a vital
component to high school life. Changing such issues takes time and understanding, much as the
film shows.
Works Cited
Andre, Judith. “The Breakfast Club (Movie Analysis) and Teen Stereotypes.” Hub Pages. 26
Oct. 2011. Web. 16 April 2016.
The Breakfast Club. Dir. John Hughes. Perf. Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez,
Anthony Michael Hall, Paul Gleason, and Ally Sheedy. Universal, 1985. Film.
