Hughes was undoubtedly trying to open the eyes of the viewers to the timeless issue as stereotyping when he wrote The Breakfast Club.

Rating: Null/10 (15 June 2012)

The writer John Hughes has written and produced several films, such as the film Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, regarding issues that teenagers face such as coming of age and social interactions. Hughes was undoubtedly trying to open the eyes of the viewers to the timeless issue as stereotyping when he wrote The Breakfast Club. The film showed not only the views of teenagers but those of adults as well. The theme of the film clearly points to the coming of age of several students and how they were each perceived and stereotyped in society. This was portrayed through students, each representing a different stereotypical category, being sentenced to spend all day in Saturday school together. The director's usage of outside/inside editing allowed viewers to easily follow the setting changes, and camera angles as well as realistic sound effects helped the viewers to feel as if they were actually in the midst of the characters which intensified the emotional aspect of the situations. The camera zooming in on facial expressions during times of emotional intensity also helped to amplify the emotional levels and eliminate any other distractions. However, it was perhaps the specific clothing/costumes and even the hair and makeup that the characters wore that intensified each one of their specific stereotypes.
The story of The Breakfast Club begins to unravel on screen as multiple students are dropped off, by their parents, at Shermer High School to serve their time in Saturday school. There were a total of five students confined together for the day long punishment. The stereo types that were represented were referred to in the movie as a princess, jock, brain, criminal, and a basket case. Claire was depicted as the spoiled rich princess, Andrew was a star jock, Brian was the ingenious brain, John the troubled criminal, and Allison was the weird mental case. Conflict first arises between the students due to their different backgrounds. Both John and Andrew stood their ground as dominant males both trying to prove how tough they are. Intensity levels continue to rise as the students shared personal tidbits of their lives with one another. Some of this information included Claire's parents using her to get back at each other, Brian crumbling under academic pressure, John's father was abusive, Andrew's father pressured him to be tougher, and Allison's parents ignored her. Each character deals with their situation differently. However, they were eventually able to look past their differences and find common ground. They are all teenagers dealing with the hardships of parental relationships, labels from society, and growing up. Many teenagers struggle with parental relationships and the storyline shows how those relationships may affect the way that teenagers behave. Although the setting took place in the 1980's the same issues still pertain to society decades later.
By the end of their day long sentence the teenagers and even the tyrant principal Richard Vernon, thanks to the guidance of Carl the custodian, were forced to reevaluate their thinking process of how they viewed each other. The teenagers were eventually able to look past their differences and the labels that society had dealt them in order to bond into becoming The Breakfast Club. An unlikely romance between Claire and John even blossomed at the end. However, the reality that many of them would probably succumb to peer pressure come Monday and would not wind up being friends at school was also portrayed. This once again showed the power that society can have on an individual. Not only was it a movie for teenagers to gain a better perspective of one another, but it also was for adults to see how much they impact their children with their behavior. In the end everyone become well aware that they had been stereotyping each other as a result of being taught to think in that manner by society.
The themes and lessons, of stereo types and coming of age, that the film emanated still pertain to the world decades later. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are often cliques and stereotypes that carry over into the adult realm as well, but as this film shows it is possible to get beyond those. It may be as simple as getting an outside perspective to bring clarity to a situation or being confined together for several hours. Either way, it is possible to break through personal differences and stereotypes if people are willing to take the time and put forth the effort. Judging and stereotyping instead of trying to understand someone will only lead to continued problems rather than resolving them.