What happened 41 years ago today? Does it matter that if it did not actually happen? How do imaginary events lead to real changes, insights, and new friends in creation?
On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five students walked into their high school library for an all-day detention. In The Breakfast Club a princess, a brain, a basket case, an athlete, and a criminal came together in Shermer High School’s library and, in one day, changed how a whole generation felt about itself. That change was immediate and continued as we understood some of the things were toxic.
WhenThe Breakfast Club hit theaters in 1985, Gen X teenagers saw themselves on screen in a way they hadn’t before. Here were kids who talked like us, who felt the pressures we felt, and who pushed back against authority the way we wished we could. The date March 24th is more than just a line of on-screen text at the film’s start, it’s a symbolic moment in time. It’s the day five fictional teens told the world that young people are not just stereotypes to be dismissed. In the film, Assistant Principal Vernon looms as the embodiment of every authority figure who underestimated or misunderstood Gen X youth.
A Touchstone of Gen X Identity and Rebellion
Each member of The Breakfast Club embodied a high school clique at the time. The rich princess, the jock, the brainy geek, the misfit, and the burn-out. In real life, teenagers often feel pigeonholed in similar ways. But we were more. They are more today. Teens contain multitudes. The brain had feelings; the jock could cry; the princess felt pressure; the rebel had a heart. That message hits home. We aren’t alone in our struggles. We are more than the one-word others have assigned.
We came of age in an era of “Don’t trust anyone over 30” left over from the Boomers, but we made it our own in some ways. In the film, Bender’s open defiance of Principal Vernon (and authority in general) reflected a broader Gen X sentiment: a healthy distrust of institutions and a need to find our own truth together.
That ending with the kids walking away free on the heels of Brian’s poignant letter and Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” blaring as Judd Nelson’s Bender thrusts his fist in the air still gives viewers goosebumps. It’s the ultimate cinematic salute to youth, rebellion and most importantly, hope.
Still Resonating After All These Years
It’s hard to believe that the infamous detention day was over 40 years ago. On this day every year social media lights up with memes and quotes from the movie.
We probably didn’t all have a detention day epiphany, but we did have those hours spent with friends in a basement or at the mall, peeling back each other’s facades, finding out that the nerd, the jock, the goth, and the prep had more in common than we thought.
As a parent of a Gen Zer, I assure you those facades are still being peeled back today.
Continuing the Conversation: Like Whatever Gen-X Podcast and New Nostalgia
I recently discovered the “Like Whatever Gen-X” podcast, hosted by Heather Jolley and Nicole Barr
Stumbling upon their show and their episode about The Breakfast Club felt a bit like finding a secret Gen X clubhouse. The title itself made me grin: “Like Whatever” is exactly the kind of tongue-in-cheek phrase that captures our generation’s vibe of sarcastic nonchalance.
In their podcast description, Heather and Nicole invite us to “take a stroll down memory lane, drink from a hose, and ride until the street lights come on.” Their show covers everything from music and movies to the little quirks of growing up Gen X. But they, like us at Gen X Watch, do not place an unhealthy whitewash over our generation. They are not afraid to speak about the generational trauma so many share and address some of the more problematic aspects of not only this movie, but so much more.
What strikes me about Like Whatever Gen-X Podcast is how much it echoes and extends the conversations we had in basements and at the mall. Friends swapping stories, laughing, confessing old secrets, and affirming shared experiences. You feel like you are right there with them with every twist and turn and stray tangent.
Heather, who was more of a social butterfly in high school, and Nicole, who felt like more of an outsider, compare their experiences(hope I got that right) are not unlike Claire and Allison in the comparisons and contrasts. This reminds us that our individual stories differ, yet we all can carry common threads from music, to pop culture, hopes, fears, frustrations and the uncertainties and hopes of adolescence and life.
I’m also proud to share a bit of news: I’ve been in talks with Heather, and I’ll soon be joining them as a guest on the podcast! I can hardly express how excited I am for this opportunity. After writing about Gen X culture and nostalgia on Gen X Watch, getting to actually talk about it with fellow enthusiasts feels like coming full circle. We will be talking about my upcoming book, Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World. But that will lead to conversations on cliques, malls, and some other random tangents and rabbit holes I cannot wait to explore. If their past episodes are any indication, it’s going to be a heartfelt and hilarious ride.
I’m looking forward to swapping stories and connecting with the podcast’s listeners, who I hope will be nodding along and saying “Hey, that was me too!” as we talk about the main characters in the book and our own mall memories.
In true Gen X fashion, Heather and Nicole approach these conversations with a mix of sarcasm, humor, and genuine insight. There’s an energy of “we’re in this together, and isn’t it weirdly wonderful?” that I absolutely love. It reminds me why I started writing about Gen X culture in the first place: to capture that blend of irony and sincerity that defines us wile unpacking the trauma honestly and beautifully. So keep an ear out for my appearance I’ll be sure to announce when the episode drops. I can’t wait to add my voice to their mix and, frankly, to just geek out with them over malls, movies, music, and memories and what makes us who we are.
The Beat Goes On
Later this week I will be highlighting the book tour, reviews, collaboration, and the importance of that working together. I needed this moment to set the right tone. The tone is this, just like we have more in common than we do not in life, creators out there in the wilderness do too as they work their asses off to create compelling content. Much of this article was written a year ago, but I shelved it to focus on the Library Confessions scene in the movie.
But there was something about what Heather and Nicole said and how they said it that had me revisit the scrapped article add some new material to it. And I knew I had to reach out to them. Even if they had not agreeed to have me I still would have written about how amazing they are. Creatives and content creators spend countless hours making the things we enjoy and I love engaging with them.
But as I write this, there is another group I hope we do not forget about. The youth of today.
What’s important now more than ever is how the themes of that film still ring true. Pressure to fit in, parents/grandparents who don’t listen (some of us are the grandparents and parents that do not listen, you might even be Vernon-way to go!), the urge to rebel, question corrupt institutions, and the need to belong . Those challenges didn’t vanish when the the movie and the decade ended. Neither did some of the themes I write about in Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World.
Like many reading this now, Ford, Cassie and Jenny from the book were misfits. They found each other and danger found them. SA, ex partner violence, bullying and struggling for equality in a world that does not give a shit if you are equal is hard. But when you are not alone, there is beauty to be found even in the struggle.
There are 14 days left in the Indiegogo to help the book, and the mission, move forward stronger and you get some cool shit.
Ford is a traumatized former child model. Cassie is the epitome of DIY punk with a life full of poverty and pain serving smoothies at the Orange Julius. There is also Jenny, a young preppy with talent and dreams held back by a society not designed for women like her.
As their lives intersect in the late 1980’s at the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, Illinois, there will be love, confusion, and dangerous adversaries with wealth and power.
Ford, Cassie and Jenny just have each other. Will it be enough? How do they survive as Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World?
By going to the indiegogo, you can not only secure yourself advance copies of the book, special merch, and experiences, but you get to help provide copies to teens that live in shelters and seek resources in community centers. You also provide opportunities for ASL translators at our speaking events about this wonderful book. Go to the link, get your copy, and help others!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/be-part-of-the-hearts-of-glass-story-and-mission/x/38415051#
Stay totally awesome!
Stay true to you!
Leave a Reply