Task #3 Historical text analysis and research

Historical Text #1: The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Breakfast Club Group Therapy Scene
4:03- 5:45


In the scene we see the characters sitting down on the floor, and talking to one another about how they ended up in detention. In the scene we see a medium close up of Brian laying down on the floor, crying, as he tells the rest of the group why he got into trouble. He avoids eye contact as he feels guilty for what he has done. He explains that one of the teachers "found a gun" in his locker and claims that "he tried...". During this line he hesitates quite a bit and doesn't directly mention the words 'suicide' or 'kill myself'.  He then goes on to explain that he tried to kill himself due to his bad grades and says that he "can't get an F..." and that he knows his parents "cant have it". The medium long shot of the whole group sitting on the floor shows the characters remaining listening to Brian and trying to help him with his problem, with one female character saying that "killing yourself is not an option". Brian immediately responds with a louder tine saying " Well, I didn't do it did I." This shows that he is quite defensive and that he wants to change the topic of the conversation. He then smacks the chair beside him (action code) which shows his frustration. When asked whether it was a "hand gun", he claims that it was in fact a "flare gun", to which one of the characters bursts out laughing. 

This touches upon the theme of parental pressure and what it can do to teenagers. This links to my main theme of mental health amongst teens, as pressure from parents, and strict/ harsh parenting can have a significant affect on a teen's behavior. In 13 Reasons why, the reasons for Hannah's death didn't necessarily link to parental pressure, but instead peer pressure (from the people in her school). This is what drove her to her death as she could not handle the unfair treatment she got from her peers. In this scene, we see that Brian, although he didn't actually kill himself, has been affected by his parents views towards his grades. Both texts are dramas, and have similar iconography e.g a high school setting and "social groups". However the main difference would be that 13 Reasons Why deals with issues amongst teens more explicitly and directly addresses the theme of suicide and mental health. This therefore shows us that society has become more aware of the issue and are sympathetic towards those with mental health problems. In the clip, the topic of Brian's suicide was passed off as a joke because he used a "flare gun", and therefore diverts the viewer away from the act of attempted suicide. In todays society, people are more concerned with the actions of teens and therefore shows us that they believe any attempt to commit suicide should be taken seriously.  


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