The 1980’s and the “Brat Pack”

Picture courtesy of Pixabay

In the 1980’s the movie and television industry was taken by storm with the “Brat Pack.” This band of rag-tag actors consisting of Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael-Hall, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, and Emilio Estevez, starred in many of what much of the world, and myself considers the greatest movies of all time. The “Brat Pack” were Hollywood’s sweethearts.

And what made these “Brat Pack” movies so special? Each and every one of them had a purpose of conveying a really important message to the audience. Many of these movies such as The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, St Elmo’s Fire, and The Outsiders tackle topics and ideas that weren’t as openly talked about prior to these movies being released. For example, The Breakfast Club tackles the concept of the “American Teenager” which, up until this point, had not really been talked about in full transparency. The Breakfast Club introduced the American Teenagers’ struggle to be understood and heard  by adults and other authority figures, as well as enhanced the struggle teenagers face to get a grasp on their identity. Another example of this is in St. Elmo’s Fire. St. Elmo’s Fire takes the issues discussed in The Breakfast Club to a new level and talks about what it’s like to be an adult. The struggles of relationships, careers, addiction and drinking, and many other things.

In an article published by Movie Web, the author highlights the trailblazing movies these actors have starred in saying they “channeled the archetypes of adolescence in their characters,” and further discussed how they changed Hollywood forever. Another article published by The Guardian further discussed the way the “Brat Pack” initiated so much change regarding the ways teenagers were played in Hollywood, which I consider to be so important.

Each movie that the “Brat Pack” starred in set the standard for what the future of what it means to be an American Teenager in the film and movie industry. What I admire most about these movies is that they changed the perspective of society to have a more analytical view when it came to the youth and how oppressed they felt the world. In all the movies I watch, I look for the qualities these “Brat Pack” movies have. Does this movie have a purpose? Does it open conversation for new ways of thinking or new perspectives? Does it aim to spark change? These qualities are what it means to me to have an impactful and truly great movie. Personally, I have such a strong connection to theses movies. The characters embody everything I felt while navigating high school and even some moments of college. It sounds dramatic, but I truly believe these movies changed my life, and thats what a good movie should do.