How Do You Respond To The Movie The Breakfast Club

Dear Mr Hughes,

I am writing to you tell you about my opinions of your movie, The Breakfast Club. It is a movie classic which most people will see at least once in their lives. What makes The Breakfast Club so special is that the film was very different from almost every movie released at the time. It’s a movie made to target teenagers and the problems they go though. It directly talks about communication gaps, teen isolation, and the angst that teens experience during the years that function as the transition from adolescence to the responsibilities of adulthood.

The first technique of the movie that I thought was important was the music. The movie is targeted at teenagers, which is why I believe that the music in this movie was chosen so
In the letter, he describes each of the teenagers ‘in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions.’ I found that before being introduced to the characters, I knew what type of people they would portray. They are described as ‘a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal.’ As each of these are being spoken, a location or prop is shown to help visualise their type of image. The first is a classroom with computers in it; this is supposed to represent ‘a brain’ who is Brian. The next part of the school that is shown is an empty locker room with sports shoes and equipment laying around; this is to represent ‘an athlete’ who is Andy. The next part of the school that we see is an office desk which seems to have visual ink pattern psychological tests on that are used in therapy for people who need mental help; this is supposed to represent Allison, ‘a basket case’. A banner is then shown, which says ‘Vote for Prom Queen’ and the narrator states that this represents a ‘princess’ who is Claire. The last prop that is shown, is a locker, which has ‘open this locker and you die f*g’ in black marker and this is to represent a ‘criminal’, who is Bender. All of these props foreshadow the personalities of the characters that were in the movie before we actually meet
Inside the library when the Principal is lecturing the students, the camera shots are mostly downward on the teenagers. This gives the effect that they are less powerful and less significant from Richard’s point of view. This gave me the feeling that Richard believes he is above the students and that he has a large amount authority. Another angle in the film I though was effective, was when the students were are sitting together on the floor at the end of the film, the camera points at them equally, which I believe creates sense of equality between them and the viewer. I feel that this is important because if gives a feeling of similarity between them and the viewer making it easier to relate to them. At the end of the film, the camera angle is upward at Bender when his throws his arm in the air to declare victory. This angle makes the action feel more significance as it feels more powerful to the