Jackp
The Breakfast Club
Film Data
Characters/Actors
Communication Courses
Communication Concepts
Synopsis
Discussion Questions
Pedagogical Perspective
Film Data
Year: 1985
Director: John Hughes
Length: 92 minutes
Rating: R
Characters/Actors
Andrew Clark: Emilio Estevez
Richard Vernon: Paul Gleason
Brian Johnson: Anthony Michael Hall
Carl: John Kapelos
John Bender: Judd Nelson
Claire Standish: Molly Ringwald
Allison Reynolds: Ally Sheedy
Communication Courses
Group Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Communication Concepts
Group cohesiveness
Group development
Perception
Power
Roles
Self-disclosure
Status
Synopsis
The Breakfast Club takes place at an Illinois high school, where five dissimilar students are sentenced to spend a Saturday detention session together. In attendance is a "princess" (Ringwald), an "athlete" (Estevez), a "brain" (Hall), a "criminal" (Nelson), and a "basket case" (Sheedy). These titles identify the roles the students play during the school week. Because of stereotypes and status levels associated with each role, the students want nothing to do with each other at the outset of the session. However, when confronted by the authoritarian detention teacher (Gleason) and by eight hours of time to kill, the students begin to interact. Through self-disclosure they learn that they are more similar than different. Each wrestles with self-acceptance; each longs for parental approval; each fights against peer pressure. They break through the role barriers and gain greater understanding and acceptance of each other and of themselves. They ultimately develop a group identity and dub themselves, "The Breakfast Club."
Discussion Questions
1. How do the characters deviate from their normal roles during the detention session? Coming into the detention session, each character is fixated in a stereotypical high school role. Claire is the "princess"; an upper-class, popular socialite
Film Data
Characters/Actors
Communication Courses
Communication Concepts
Synopsis
Discussion Questions
Pedagogical Perspective
Film Data
Year: 1985
Director: John Hughes
Length: 92 minutes
Rating: R
Characters/Actors
Andrew Clark: Emilio Estevez
Richard Vernon: Paul Gleason
Brian Johnson: Anthony Michael Hall
Carl: John Kapelos
John Bender: Judd Nelson
Claire Standish: Molly Ringwald
Allison Reynolds: Ally Sheedy
Communication Courses
Group Communication
Interpersonal Communication
Communication Concepts
Group cohesiveness
Group development
Perception
Power
Roles
Self-disclosure
Status
Synopsis
The Breakfast Club takes place at an Illinois high school, where five dissimilar students are sentenced to spend a Saturday detention session together. In attendance is a "princess" (Ringwald), an "athlete" (Estevez), a "brain" (Hall), a "criminal" (Nelson), and a "basket case" (Sheedy). These titles identify the roles the students play during the school week. Because of stereotypes and status levels associated with each role, the students want nothing to do with each other at the outset of the session. However, when confronted by the authoritarian detention teacher (Gleason) and by eight hours of time to kill, the students begin to interact. Through self-disclosure they learn that they are more similar than different. Each wrestles with self-acceptance; each longs for parental approval; each fights against peer pressure. They break through the role barriers and gain greater understanding and acceptance of each other and of themselves. They ultimately develop a group identity and dub themselves, "The Breakfast Club."
Discussion Questions
1. How do the characters deviate from their normal roles during the detention session? Coming into the detention session, each character is fixated in a stereotypical high school role. Claire is the "princess"; an upper-class, popular socialite