1980s Through the Eyes of John HughesThe Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller s Day OffHistoricism
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The yuppie was in, nice cars were ideal, working hard was a necessity and a given, and nothing was more enjoyable than making money (except maybe spending it). Money and material were the trademarks of the 1980's, the decade of temporary prosperity. Adults bought huge houses, cruised vast oceans, and threw wild parties. Cocaine made its debut, and the divorce rate was at its highest. But what were the kids doing during all this insanity? To explore teenage life, one must turn from the orthodox sociological books or magazines to another type of media: the movies. In his films, writer, director, and producer, John Hughes explored the world of the eighties' teenagers. In the films The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Hughes focuses on the pressures and conformities of the white middle class adolescent. He depicts life in the 1980's very accurately by comically mocking the social order, ambiguously revealing the socially acceptable roles of women, and by presenting stories through the eyes of a group of people who are usually looked over when discussing the 1980's, teenagers.
In his movies, Hughes pokes fun at the American social order...