Idealism In The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club appeals to the cultural values of idealism, family and fear. Idealism pays a major role in the plot of the movie. Each character struggles with a need to be perfect in the eyes of their parents and peers. They turn to extreme measures if they feel that they aren’t achieving perfection in academics, athletics or in their social life. Each of these characters constantly worries about their parents view of them. This worry is reflected by the way each character acts. Family trouble is a main part of the movie’s plot. Each character also faces the fear of rejection from their families and peers, which explains why they each belong to a specified “clique.”
Five High School students are required to report for Saturday detention. Mr.

Vernon, the school principal assigns the students a paper on who they think they are. All five students come from different cliques, but each of these characters has something in common, family. These five students are represented as ordinary teenagers, with basic family problems. Each of them doesn’t express their personality; they cling on to their stereotypes and act according to how they think they should, not how they truly are. Their stereotypes are what they feel they should be because they're what others think or want them to be. These stereotypes are conveyed through the clothes they wear and the way they act.
Allison, better known as the basket case, follows the stereotype of a “weirdo.” She wears heavy makeup, and dresses in dark colors.

Her baggy clothing shows her shyness and social difficulty. Allison is a compulsive liar, and claims that she is a loner because her parents don’t want her to exist. Her strange behavior makes her out to be a “social outcast.” Claire follows a “Prom Queen” or “Princess” stereotype. Claire wears stylish clothing, to keep up with the social trends because of her high social standing. She can come off as conceited because she is popular. Bender can be considered the criminal, and follows the stereotype of a “troublemaker.” Bender’s ripped jeans and torn flannel suit his tough rebellious attitude. Bender’s personality can be described as disrespectful and aggressive. Andrew follows the stereotype of “jock.” He’s preppy and always wears his varsity jacket as a status symbol to show superiority and athleticism. Andrew likes to make himself appear tough, so he sticks up for Claire against Bender. Brian follows the stereotype of a “nerd.” He wears clothing that helps create his dorky image. He is super smart, gets good grades and even brags about being in the physics

club.
The character I can relate to most would be Claire. Along with Claire, I’d like to consider myself in high social standing. Over the last four years in high school I’ve definitely created a name for myself. I wouldn’t consider myself popular, because in a school of only three hundred, everyone knows everyone. Like Claire, I’m overly involved in school events. Although my mom doesn’t a BMW, she does make decent money, and I truly never have to want for anything.
If I were to rate the film discussing its usefulness for Sociology class, I would give it a three on a scale of one to three. Each of these characters are from a different social group or clique. The Breakfast Club displays social sanctions, peer pressure, control theory, and three different sociological perspectives. Each of the characters is associated with a stigma. They all see each other as deviant. Peer pressure is used to encourage both positive and negative deviance. Social sanctions, and rewards or punishments that encourage conformity to social norms is also displayed in the movie. Control theory is also displayed with peer pressure and social sanctions. Functionalism can be observed in the way the Saturday detention serves the community, Conflict perspective is demonstrated in the way the conflict between the group members at first serves them positively in the end, and the symbolic perspective is seen through the essay that is written at the end of the movie. The essay states that they are all a little bit of everything. They accept that they are all outcasts and weird. Overall, The Breakfast Club demonstrates the effects of social conformity and peer pressure on individuals, several types of deviance and how the characters are all similar. Eventually, they all become friends and help each other accept their differences.