Sincerely Yours, The Breakfast Club
What every character in The Breakfast Club can teach us about our lives
“Sincerely Yours, The Breakfast Club”
One reason ’80s pop culture continues to resonate is the incredible ability of John Hughes to tell the human story through so many unique characters and tell it in a way that resonates with people — particularly youth in decade after decade.
I often tell the story of being at the grocery store with a buddy and his girlfriend on a 4th of July weekend a few years ago, getting our BBQ shopping done. I was wearing a Breakfast Club t-shirt with the iconic shot of them in front of the lockers. The girl bagging our groceries looked at my shirt and said, “That’s my favorite movie.”
From there our conversation went like this:
Me: “Really? That’s cool. It’s one of my favorites too. Wait, are you in high school? College?”
Girl: “I’m in high school”.
Me: “High School? I was in high school when this movie came out and I’m over 50 now. How can this be your favorite movie?”
Girl: “My friends and I all love The Breakfast Club and all of those movies from back then.”
Me: “Can I ask why? I mean there are movies about high school that are much more recent. Probably some that came out this year.”
Girl: “We love the characters. They are more real and have similar problems to what we have and feel today. They have conversations that we have with each other and the same issues with cliques, parents, acceptance, bullying. Things like that.”
Me: “Wow. This is so cool. And the high school movies today?”
Girl: “No way. The guys drive hundred-thousand-dollar cars and the girls look like they are 30. Not realistic, at least where we go to school.”
Me: [Laughing] “Yeah the ’80s was definitely a different time.”
Girl: “You were so lucky to grow up then. We all wish we did too.”
Me: “Well, you’ve made my day. Thank you. Happy 4th!”
Girl: “Happy 4th to you. Hey, does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?”
Okay, she really didn’t say that last part but I’m sure she knew that quote. Just like Shakespeare is the bridge to the pop culture of the 16th and 17th centuries, John Hughes is both the 1.21 gigawatts and the flux capacitor to the pop culture of the ’80s.
The Breakfast Club - A Plot Synopsis
Arguably the the defining movie for Generation X - The Breakfast Club - was formed in the Shermer High School library during detention on a random Saturday.
Just 97 minutes in length, the movie taught us some totally awesome lessons for our life and our workplace.
Five students (Brain, Athlete, Princess, Basketcase and Criminal) in detention at Shermer High School along with a principal, a janitor and perhaps the most iconic song of the '80s (Don't You Forget About Me) would all come together to ultimately have one of the biggest and most lasting impacts on pop culture in cinematic history.
Here is a life lesson from each one of the characters in one of the greatest movies of all time:
🧠 Brian (The Brain): "You see as you want to see us--in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions."
Lesson: Just like the ocean, the really cool stuff in human beings is found beneath the surface. The deeper you go the cooler it gets.
🥇Andrew (The Athlete): "We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all.”
Lesson: Be unique. Be bizarre. But most importantly, just be you.
🧺Alison (The Basket Case): "When you grow up, your heart dies."
Lesson: Don't grow up. Grow out.
👸Claire (The Princess): "I hate it. I hate going along with everything my friends say."
Lesson: "Group think" isn't thinking at all. Don't blindly follow anyone. Ever.
🦹♂️ Bender (The Criminal): "Screws fall out all of the time. The world's an imperfect place."
Lesson: The proverbial screws are going to fall out in life and work. The why is important but it's how you put them back in that really matters.
👨🏫 Principal Vernon: "You ought to spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people".
Lesson: Time spent on you is time well spent.
🧹Carl (The Janitor): "I am the eyes and ears of this institution, my friends".
Lesson: The best lessons come from the most unexpected of people and places.
The underlying themes throughout The Breakfast Club are heavily focused two areas:
1. Individuality - Just be you.
2. Acceptance - The old adage "Don't judge a book by its' cover"
Two totally awesome themes if you ask me.
