Recap Task

  The Breakfast Club           

The Breakfast Club is one of the most popular and influential films of the 80’s and has created some stars that went on to do even bigger things. Most notably Molly Ringwald, who went on to star in many films from the same director. The film is famous for making a long, engaging story out of a normal boring activity, but how do the micro elements of this film allow for a creative spin on the concept of detentions? 

Starting with sound, the film is famous for its cheesy 80’s OST. But my favourite use of sound in this film is where there is none. Non-diegetic sound is completely cut out for one of the only scenes in the film when the principal brings Bender into the utility closet and threatens him. Not only is this scene powerful for showing Bender’s personality to be a façade, but also is one of the most unexpected scenes in the film. To emphasize this, all you can hear is the hum of a boiler, shuffling of clothes, dialogue, some other foley and an uncomfortable silence. This grounds it in reality and makes it hit a lot harder. 

The cinematography of this scene also makes it an iconic moment in movie history. It’s the first time you ever see Bender from a high angle shot and every time the principal is seen it’s from a low angle. This reinforces his position of power and for the first time Bender sees him as above his himself. Also, when the principal starts becoming aggressive and threatening Bender he bends down to eye level with Bender, making the shots become eye level shots, which may represent the principal “stooping down” to his level, making us wonder whether he’s really any better than Bender. 

The editing is a very slow-paced minimalist approach, with nothing but shot reverse shot being put to use. It is purely a character based seen so being super flashy with zooms and pans would distract from it. 

Another factor that runs throughout the entire film is the detail put into the mise-en-scene. In that specific scene the setting is a dirty utility closet, the transition from a very nice library to a dirty closet could represent the devolution of the Bender’s façade, especially since he was making fun of the janitor earlier in the film. The lighting is a very important choice for making this scene uncomfortable and hard-hitting, no studio lights, no big ring lights and no flattering lighting. It's purely an orange glow from an old lightbulb in the closet and helps make a more intimate uncomfortable scene. The character’s costumes are very representative of their character, much like everyone in the film. His rugged ripped clothes represent his edgy personality and how he’s a broken person, whereas the smart suit the principal wears represents the front he puts up, before it’s taken off in the closet scene to reveal a pure black shirt, which enforces the switch up in revealing his true colours. Bender’s expression throughout this whole scene is a look of confusion and terror, because he knows nobody will believe him, whereas the principal’s face feels like built up anger being released. 

That pretty much covers the specific scene, but there are themes running throughout the entire film – take for example the idea of the Male Gaze, a theory thought up by Laura Mulvey suggesting that most women in films are there for men to gawk at. This theory has faced a lot of criticism as some argue that it could be applied right back on to men. An example of this is prevalent in The Breakfast Club with the two lead actresses Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, however you could argue the same thing goes for Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall. In my opinion, that was the intention of John Hughes. The whole film is about digging underneath the “pretty girl” or the “jock” trope you may see on first look. 

This concept can be backed up by Henry Jenkin’s theory on genre. This film misleads you in to thinking it’s a cheesy 80’s comedy with its upbeat synth-filled soundtrack but ends up becoming a character-based drama with rich social commentary. 

Representation of disabilities in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (MAJOR SPOILERS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OReFR-2rmQc

(major spoilers)
(if you're reading this without watching the film watch it first it's worth it)

James, played by Peter Dinklage, is looked down upon in the small suburban discrimination filled town throughout the entirety of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. After Frances Mcdormand, a single mother estranged from her only child after her second kid was murdered, sets fire to a police station for their lack of answers on the who the murderer is, she discovers one policeman is still inside of the station, she had assumed it was empty due to it being late. The officer comes screaming out of the station while on fire and Peter Dinklage comes to his heroic rescue putting out the fire and contributing more so than Frances Mcdormand who has gone in to a state of shock. This subversion of stereotypes of what the discriminatory idea of what dwarfism is to a lot of people could be perceived as discriminatory due to its entire leverage being based on the perpetuation of that original stereotype. In other words, subversion of a discriminatory expectation is still grounded in a discriminatory expectation. However, I would argue that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri handles this far better than a lot of other films. There's no dramatic music, no low angle shots of Dinklage and definitely no triumphant moments for the character. The emotional weight of the scene is not based on Dinklage's rescue, but about the officer and Frances Mcdormand and the relationship between them, if you were to notice Dinklage saving him and be surprised the film prompts more ideas of how you should maybe introspect on your own deep-rooted discriminatory views as supposed to shoving a message down your throat while beating you in the head with a social justice hammer and stealing money from your pockets under the pretense of a "positive message".

I would also argue that the cinematography focuses far more on the emotional relationship between  Frances and Dinklage, which is a way more tasteful way of presenting disabilities. The way Martin McDonagh uses camera angles and blurs to present this scene to boost emotion and messaging is very detailed. You may notice the camera following the file the policeman was holding as it slides across the ground, followed by a shot of Frances Mcdormands reaction, while Peter Dinklage was actually blurred out and presented as more of a human than a plot point. Presenting him as a character who out of instinct would try to help any human without it being a decision to be made makes him a lot more human and not a paper slate to push an agenda.

Not to say there's no focus on Peter Dinklage's disability in the film, there's a scene where he vents about feeling judged by the town, which isn't too out of usual for the film which deals with a lot of discrimination based on class, gender and disabilities. However, this scene is not based in the subversion of a negative stereotype and so I would argue that it handles that tastefully also.

Overall, I would argue that the presentation of disability while not a main plot point in the film is handled tastefully and well, encouraging the audience to introspect and also connect with a character they may have preconceived negative connotations towards.

EDGAR WRIGHT VIDEO ESSAY