Life in the Mental Institution, a.k.a. Saturday Detention

To me, one of the most compelling aspects of The Breakfast Club is its difference from all of the other films we have watched, in terms of setting, plot, and characters. It takes place in a high school, in which five students are serving their Saturday detention. The principal, Mr. Vernon, initially comes off as harsh. In detention, he does not let students read, study, or even move. Instead, they all are supposed to write an essay explaining who they are. 

However, as he walks away, the students start talking. They each come from a different stereotypical clique: Brian is the nerd, Allison is the basketcase, Andy is the athlete, Claire is the princess, and Bender is the criminal. At first, there was an abundance of hostility and tension between all of them, but think about this for a second: would you really want to keep fighting with people that you're going to be with for hours on end? I don't think so. Sooner than later, all of the students began to get along more or less; this was our stopping point for this movie since the bell rang. Much like with Alien, The Birds, Psycho, Chicago, and many of our other viewings, I am eager to see what happens next. 

Another unique aspect of this film is that it takes the viewer behind the scenes. It's not set during a typical high school day, but in the dreaded Saturday detention. Locked in an expansive library, 

they have no choice but to entertain themselves, or be bored to death. Bender continuously starts trouble, but his weaker side is revealed rather quickly. Much like other high school bullies, he picked on others because of his insecurities and problems at home. He showed his cigar burn, which is from his father, when he did impersonations of his and Brian's family, both of which could not contrast more. It's not that he's a bad person at heart, but by belittling people, he can attempt to feel better about himself. 

I really appreciate how the director, John Hughes, chose five different stereotypes, because they are an accurate representation of just about every high school. Typically, the nerds only hang with the nerds, the athletes can only be seen with other athletes, so on and so forth. But it gets pretty interesting when people from each clique are forced to be in the same room.