“The Breakfast Club” and the Kids Who Got to Stay Broken

What looked like catharsis was really five kids learning how to conform

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There’s this myth that The Breakfast Club is rebellious. That it’s about breaking stereotypes and finding your true self.

But look again. The Breakfast Club was supposed to be a movie about teens from differing backgrounds who were all sent to Detention finding themselves and learning to appreciate each other.

But, they didn’t learn to see each other. They learned who was acceptable.

• Claire, the popular girl, ends up with Bender, the thug, who was also the guy who cornered her under the table and mocked her virginity.
• Allison, the weird Goth girl, is “transformed” into someone acceptable by removing everything that made her interesting.
• Brian, the nerd — the only one who doesn’t get a romantic arc — is tasked with writing everyone’s essay.
• And Andrew, the jock, gets a girl simply for noticing her.

In the end, they weren’t liberated. They were sorted.

Bender wasn’t the rebel, he was the mirror

Bender’s rage isn’t directionless. It’s practiced. It’s performative. He lashes out…