When I think about this movie today I notice more how Brian (the nerd) is the true 'victim' here

Rating: 10/10 (25 October 2006)

Breakfast Club is one of the most beloved movies. All the action takes place pretty much in one room. The 'action' consists of kids talking to each other. I've seen the Breakfast Club many times over the years - if the movie were playing right now - I could mouth along and do the lines of each character.
I notice completely different things about this movie over time. Maybe we look at the world around us based upon the previous information we've been given. We've been informed that being a victim doesn't make one timid, but the opposite, tough or pious. In a world where everyone 'reaches to grab the lowest rung of the ladder' (the lowest rung of the victim ladder) I think the focus of this movie is on John (stereotyped as the criminal). John's a bad-boy. His family is poor. He's abused at home by his dad. At one point in the movie Claire (the princess) says of John, "Just ignore him". John replies, "You couldn't ignore me if you tried"
When I think about this movie today I notice more how Brian (the nerd) is the true 'victim' here (of course the movie is trying to make a point that they are all victims). Brian doesn't get the girl. John and Andy (the jock) often treat Brian as completely irrelevant. Even the school principle, caught up in events, refers to Brian as 'peewee' a couple of times.
It only took me 20 years to notice, and, I'm a nerd myself. A society obsessed with victim-hood should at least get right who the victims are.
The song that went with the movie was, 'Don't You Forget About Me' by Simple Minds. I think, in the end, I always remember Brian - the other kids asking him to do their assignments; in a sense, asking Brian to speak up for them - Claire saying, 'We trust you'. Guess they need the nerd-guy after all.