Saturday Detention At Shermer High School

Physical and mental statures are the two sided of a human being but most people are one or the other. As shown in the film, Andy is a superior wrestler and Brian is a superior student. The two meet in Saturday Detention at Shermer Highs School in Illinois along with three other students, named John, Claire, and Allison. Throughout the day, the actions of these students show who they really are beyond the surface. This also answers the question to the essay they all were supposed to write. Andy is a wrestler for the Shermer High School team and he does very well as an athlete. He has been trained for the sport by his father all his life and resents him for it. His father pressures him into being the best at the sport and only cares about winning. Mr. Clark said, as he was bringing Andy to detention, “You wanna miss a match? You wanna blow your ride? No school's gonna give a scholarship to a discipline case!” Andy later describes his relationship with his father as rocky. The reason he is in detention is because of his father. Andy says, “And the bizarre thing is that I did it for my old man. I tortured this poor kid because I wanted him to think that I was cool…” Since Andy is so resentful of his father, he was driven to hurt someone else. Also, Andy
shows aggression throughout the movie. When Bender was making fun of Claire, Andy became aggressive and threatened to hurt him. Then, when Bender put his hand on him, he pinned him to the floor. This shows the anger that resides in Andy, which causes him to be impulsive and hostile. Brian Johnson is a typical school nerd. He is a straight A student, takes part in various school clubs, but lacks confidence. He also subjected to many stereotypes, and it is shown throughout the book. Since he brought a very well balanced lunch to school, Bender mocks him and calls him a nerd. Also, the other students assumed that Brian would write all their essays because he was the presumed “brain” of the group. His parents also pressure him, although he doesn’t go into as much detail. At the moment, he is failing shop, which is not an academic class. He is having trouble making a working lamp, and it is killing him inside. His parents also don’t help the issue, as he says, "I can't have an 'F.' And I know my parents can't." The reason Brian is in detention is because a flare gun went off in his locker, one that he was planning to take his life with. Brian feels the pressure from his mom so much that he was planning suicide. He was made to feel as if that was the only solution to his issue. Death was going to be his out, all because of his low confidence and upbringing. Both students deal with pressure from their parents and both are affected mightily by it.
Andy was driven to hurt someone else from his anxiety and Brian was driven to hurt himself. As a guidance counselor, I would send both the students and the parents to an intervention program. The students have to learn to stand up for their beliefs and the parents have to learn to scale back on their wishes for their children. Parents always have unreasonable expectations from their children; it’s a proven fact. As a way to counter-act this, the training will focus on the relativity of their expectations of eachother. After this training, the parent-child relationship should improve greatly and even become stronger than
ever. By the end of the movie, both Andy and Brian find peace with themselves. Andy has finally developed the courage to stand up to his father and Brian has learned that he has meaning in the world and that he’s not just a brain. In Brian’s situation, he learns that Claire, John, Andy, and Allison are all his friends. They develop their relationship throughout the movie and become “The Breakfast Club”. In Andy’s situation, he learns that he can’t just do what people tell him. Allison calls him out on it when she says, “You do everything everyone tells you to do and that is a problem.” This dialogue between them is part of what helps him overcome his issue and confront his father.
Both character seem like quality people and I would be a friend with both of them, given the chance. They both seem to have overcome their crisis and will keep the lessons into their adulthood. I predict that Andy will never pressure his child into competing in sports. He’ll encourage his child but never force him/her into anything he/she doesn’t want for himself. I predict the same from Brian as well. I believe he will promote good grades but never put pressure on his child to be great in every class. Andy and Brian are two sides of the spectrum; the physical and mental side of life. They may be two completely different body types, but they share a similar conflict. Through their experience, they both learn a crucial life lesson and become better for it.