Personal Analysis of the Movie "The Breakfast Club"

Within “The Breakfast Club” essay I chose to analyze and evaluate the film The Breakfast Club by John Hughes.This movie follows five high school students who all got in trouble at school for various reasons and their consequences are detention on a Saturday morning. They are stuck in the school library all day and are taunted and criticized by the teacher leading the detention. They all come from various groups or “cliques”. There is the basketcase, Allison; the athlete, Andrew; the criminal John; the princess, Claire; and the brain, Brian. They all saw each other that way because they had stereotyped each other and their perceptions were misconstrued. None of these students have ever talked to each other, so things were tense and awkward in the start of the movie. As the movie goes on, the all let down their walls and learn they have a lot in common. They bud new romances and friendships with each other as well as defy the leading teachers perceptions of them. I will be focusing on the interpersonal concepts of perception, non verbal messages and relationship stages.

First, I will analyse and evaluate the perceptions found in this film. Often enough, a person is often perceived based on stereotypes, a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person. In The Breakfast Club, perception of students based on stereotypes leads to unfair expectations, isolation, competitive behavior and peer pressure. This film introduces five students, each perceived with a different stereotype which is commonly found in an American high school. In The Breakfast Club, biased expectations are seen in several characters. As I stated before the students stereotypes are basketcase, Allison; the athlete, Andrew; the criminal John; the princess, Claire; the brain, Brian, as well as the mean teacher, Mr.Veron who targets the criminal. These characters in the beginning of the film are engaging in passive perception, the perception that occurs without conscious effort, simply in response to one’s surroundings. In the middle of the film, as they become more other orientated they engage in; perception checking, asking someone whether your interpretation of his or her nonverbal behavior is accurate. By the end of the film the engae in a more active perception, perception that occurs because you seek out specific information through controlled observations and questioning. When they engage in these more conscious efforts of perception the stereotypes fade away and they all find comanilites and discover everyone's true character. “You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions”.

Next I will evaluate and analyze non verbal messages in the film by character. Brian's non verbal communication in the film displays a shy but a person who is eager to engage. We can tell he is more observant and open than the others because he is constantly watching and observing the other actions. He sits up straight but moves often. He often twiddles his thumbs and raises his eyebrows when talking to people, a sign that he is really concentrating on finding the response that best suits his thoughts. Brian's eyes are often very opened and move quickly, a sign of how alert and aware he is. Claire's non verbal communication is some of the most clear. She sits up straight and sits perfectly, displaying she is an organized and put together person. She often makes judgmental faces at certain people when they talk, that correlate to her emotions. Claire also more verbal forms like the middle finger. She also rolls her eyes a lot when she doesn't agree with something or to mock someone, instead of breaking her perfect posture and character. The scene where Claire is eating her expensive dramatic lunch can give us an idea that Claire is spoiled, and after all the princess. John's non verbal communication throughout the film consists of vulgar hand gestures such as the middle finger. John also uses many facial expressions throughout the film to mock and embarrass people. John's appearance, the way he carries himself and sits in his chair show us he is a care-free rebel. The kind of rugged apparel he wears makes him come off as a rebel or a criminal. When John first is entering the building, he walks right in front of a moving car and doesn't move or seem surprised one bit. Andrew's non verbal communication shows how much of a tough guy he is and that no one can affect him or hurt him. Many times in the movie he defends Claire when John is bashing her, and seems like he tries to be the tough guy in every situation. More scenes in the movie that display this non verbal communication are when he flexes his arms while dancing to show he is strong, when he broke the glass in the dance scene, or when he ripped off his shirt to show off his muscles. Allison's non verbal communication throughout the film portrays her as a mysterious, quiet and reserved person. Most of her part in the movie was spent silent. Whenever she needed to say something, it was either a squeal or short responses. Another time she uses nonverbal communication in the film is when they are in the hallway and she follows the group while intensely staring at John and stomping away as if she were mad. Her nonverbal cues are very different from the others. Her body language indicates that she doesn't want anyone to talk to her or adress her. Her outbursts are more of her not being to put on her reserved front when something interesting happens, she doesn't want to be isolated. Throughout the movie all of the characters build some sort of relationship with each other, rather it's a friendship or romantic relationship. They all learn to be more other-oriented by the end of the movie.

Overall this is a great movie that contains countless interpersonal concepts. I enjoyed getting to watch this movie again, it is truly a timeless classic.