The Breakfast Club
John Hughes, Hollywood, and the Golden Age of the Teen Film
Author: Elissa Nelson Series: Cinema and Youth Cultures
Hardcover
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Summary
This book analyses how multiple factors coalesced to solidify the status of The Breakfast Club as one of the most emblematic films of the 1980s and one of the most definitive teen films of the genre.
Description
The Breakfast Club is a quintessential teen film. This book analyzes how multiple factors coalesced to solidify the status of The Breakfast Club as one of the most emblematic films of the 1980s and one of the most definitive teen films of the genre. The film brings together genre-defining elements – the conflicts between generations and peer pressure, archetypical characters and breaking down stereotypes, the celebration and survival of adolescence, and the importance of this time in life on the coming-of-age process – and became a significant moment for John Hughes as an auteur and for teen films in the 1980s. More than just embodying these elements of the genre, filmmaker Hughes and the Brat Pack stars helped introduce and popularize multiple generic features that would come to be expected with the teen film formula. The content of the film combined with its context of production in the middle of a boom in teen filmmaking in Hollywood. Meanwhile, the marketing that focused on contemporary music, peer group dynamics, and oppositions between Generation X and baby boomers, merged with an enthusiastic reception by youth audiences. Its endurance speaks to the way the film’s level of importance as a critical, commercial, and influential film with tremendous impact has grown since its initial debut.
About the Author
Elissa H. Nelson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Bronx Community College, CUNY. She has published work on 1980s Hollywood, digital distribution, and teen films. Her current research focuses on media industries, genre, soundtracks, and representations of youth.
The Breakfast Club is often classified as a quintessential teen film. The film spoke to the generation coming of age at during the 1980s with a story that got to the heart of the conflict between adults and young adults, that understood both the camaraderie and the pressures of peer groups, and that unabashedly dealt with teenagers as real people with real problems. With writer and director John Hughes' particular voice at the helm, the film capitalized on a culture already targeting the youth market, but by telling its tale from a youth perspective, was able to leave a lasting impression on both contemporary and present-day audiences.
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