I think Bender got eight weeks of detention on purpose. When you're a kid in an abused home the weekend can feel like Hell because you have to spend two days with your abuser. School becomes a temporary reprieve from that. So having to spend another Saturday at school would be a break from the abuse at home.
I loved spending most of my middle school years in iss and alternative school. You spend your time alone. Got work done at your own time frame and learned class time was a waste besides the social aspect of other children. But in school teachers dont like you to socolize unless they allow it.
the scene where vernon locks bender in and threatens to hurt him physically is such a raw and emotional scene for me, because it showcases that bender clearly isn't the person he's trying to be, but that it's rather a front to avoid getting hurt. in that scene, vernon has severely misjudged bender's character and confronts him with violence, just like bender's father. bender doesn't fight back, because he's in a position of weakness. vernon is a grown adult, towering over him and using his power to push bender down. again, just like bender's father. it hurts me to watch that scene because it's clear then that bender isn't invulnerable, rather the opposite. he's scared. so scared that he has to make sure no one can hurt him like his father does, and in that moment vernon turns all that against him.
Also, Bender has learned when to fight his battles. He knows Vernon is right. The system favors him, and anything he did he knew it was a no win situation.
I remember one of my teachers telling the class that she didn't like me, like as a person in no uncertain terms It made everyone go dead silent. I was kind of a loud mean loser, so when people that bullied me sometimes came and sort of apologized in the hall it was weird. It's like she broke a taboo and everyone knew it. It scared us all that teachers could say that stuff
@@MayaKulpa Yea man it's off putting. I had to deal with a teacher who not only disliked me but I'm fairly certain she was sexist too. Although I can't place why she disliked me because her attacks actually went over my head most of the time because at that point I was really resilient to petty insults but looking bacl she did her damndest to make me feel left out. Even kicked me out of the Christmas celebration we had in class and her reason? I was accidentally the last person to be quiet when she called for silence. It was too loud in the class and I was too slow catch on and mid sentence so it just happened. But she didn't skip a beat. I was out for the rest of the class and this was at the start. She had other moments that insulted my character and my intelligence. One time it was late after school and I was probably staying for tutoring or something and as I'm leaving I see at the very end of the hall in the direction I go to leave a locker was left open. Now there was a prank people liked to pull called lock flipping. So in order to make sure that didn't happen I closed the locker and locked it and kept walking. All of a sudden I hear in a loud surprised tone "I KNEW YOU WEREN'T A BAD PERSON!" And there she was mouth agape with a surprised look. I turned to her and was pretty stunned by the comment and just said "uh yea" and I left. As I went down the stairs her comment repeated in my mind. "A bad person? What did I do?" Now I wasn't exactly Mr. Know it all Ace in class but I think I got on averagely and fairly. I was probably the 3rd talkative kid in class because the other 2 were the major popular guys and they bounced off eachother while I only ever made jokes or comments when asked in questions or in the normal cleverly way and usually it had to do with the subject. I usually did my best to not disrupt class and nor did I ever insult her in anyway or intend to. So her reasons for why me are still a mystery to me but then again I don't know why most of bullies did what they did.
Like you said, I think Bender doesn't t have any problem with Allison because she doesn't want to conform either, and I think it goes beyond that. In the scene where they all have lunch, he throws her a coke and I think it shows he doesn't just leave her alone, he sees her as an ally because she rebels on some level too.
Léa Ledoux I’ve always felt a strong connection between the two, they both react to the world in extreme ways to protect themselves from the craziness that surrounds them. I am an Allison, but I always wanted to break free and become a Bender. Back in high school I was friends with a lot of Benders and idolized the fact that they could stand up to authority like that.
as a teen i grew up late 80's beginning of the 90's, although i grew up in the Netherlands, at my school it was pretty much the same, most comformed to the status quo, i was a bit rebelious but not that much though, always a bit angry but not as much as bender, was more silent, also ignored most of the time, but i did have a very small group of friends who were all a bit like Bender or Allison, it's funny, everytime i watch this movie i can see alot of it comming back
I originally thought that Allison and Bender would have been more likely to get together, on first seeing the film. However, being that I'm literally an Alison, I wouldn't have been attracted to the extremes of Bender. I literally married an Andy. I get it now. If you are so turbulent, you need someone more stable than you are. And you need them to have a more solid background. When will the video on Claire be out? I can't wait!
bender is also really witty with his words, he seems extremely capable in regards to intelligence. he can string phrases together in milliseconds and his vocabulary isn’t limited
All Bender needs is someone, an adult, probably a teacher or guidance counselor, that can understand his situation and support and encourage him to succeed and become a better person than his parents. He has the potential to go on after high school and make something of himself which would be a big "f*ck you" to not only his parents but also Vernon and all the snobby kids from high school that treated him like he was lower than them.
Bender only picks on the people that he sees as having a better situation than him self. His envy drives his rage twords the people in the group. He doesn't attack Allison because she is obviously as messed up as he is just in a more fragile way. Bender probably was quite a bit like Allison when he was younger, before he got kicked to many times and reverted to rage to protect him self.
The geeky kid doesn't have a better situation than Bender. Not where it would count to a high school student. He still picks on him. The OP is right. he picks on the ones that conform. If they had a priviledged life but still rebelled he would have respected it.
@@Khiarika1 Bender proves that he is jealous of Brians home life and perceives Brian as having a better situation than him self, particularly when he sees the "nutritious lunch, with all the basic food groups represented" that was packed for Brian. Right away after seeing the lunch Bender acts out "a day in big Brians house" Bender acts out his perception of Brian's family. During that scene Bender acts out an all to wholesome, loving and Mr. And Mrs. Rogers-ish wholesome leave it to Beaver scenario that is so sweet it could have given everyone tooth decay. Right after Bender does the mother and father kissing scene he angrily air punches the imaginary face of one parent and then quickly after shows an acted out representation of his own family where his father calls him bad names, his mother agrees and it ends in cursing and physical violence. Bender also shows that he is jealous of Clair's home life when he mocks her for her earrings. He asks her angrily if her daddy have them to her and says he bets they were a Christmas present and then angrily tells the group that he got a carton of cigarettes for Christmas. His dad grabbed him by the shirt and said "smoke up Johnny" Benders only mentioning of Andrew and Clair's popularity comes after he's told by Andrew that he doesn't matter and could disappear and no one would care. (The same verbal abuses he gets from his father) Bender retaliates by attacking what he thinks Andrew loves, his sports. I really don't think Bender hates these kids because they conform, I think he hates them because he can't conform and it leads to him being rejected. He judges the other kids home lives by how well they are able to fit in at school. A person who is NOT capable of conforming due to abuse is very different than a person who chooses not to conform for the sake of rebellion. The severity of the abuse hes suffered, and the level of neglect and poverty that is obvious in his appearance and rage issues, makes him stick out like a sore thumb. His personal rebellion is not one he chose but something that was forced upon him due to his tragic situation at home. His acceptance and care of the group members happens only after he tells them about the abuse at home, (why he is the way he is) and the group begins to understand and even do the same things Bender does (acceptance of him/walking a mile in his shoes) Bender also shows a significant amount more respect for Brian and Andrew after they confess that they also deal with forms of abuse at home. They literally took away Benders belief that because they appear to have it good, doesn't mean they actually have it good. (Quote: "I guess were all a little messed up, some of us are just better at hiding it") . p.s I hope everything I wrote is readable and coherent, it was almost 1 a.m. when. I wrote it and I have had a couple days of insomnia hahaha
Have you ever in been in Benders position in life where the kids who are well off ridicul those who are not? It's mentally devastating to be treated that way
@@LisouFlower I get it, it's like a person who has very little will envy those who take it for granted, so by reacting the way bender did is to make their better situation look less favorable so people will accept him due to his lack there of
In the 80s, Allison would have been considered a freak. Freaks and stoners got along fine. Freaks and stoners did not get along with jocks and preps, and sometimes picked on the geeks. Jocks bullied geeks the most. Jocks and preps were in the same social circles and overlapped, just like freaks and stoners overlapped.
@Deplorable Cat In my school we were a little more blunt, we called them "druggies". I guess I was a freak, because I got along with the druggies even though I never took any myself. I found a least half of them to be more down to earth, oddly enough.
I like how every character represents a stereotype, and how they break that stereotype by showing the character as a real person with issues and motivations. It takes a two dimensional construction and adds a third dimension into it.
Bender had a marvelous sense of irony, humor and incredibly physically intelligent. His ability to mimic and perform is mesmerizing. He has definitely a charisma and imagination.
The closet scene always gets me- cause we can see him flinch and take it, and know he has no power. Bender knows at school he is safe, from physical harm and being forced to really submit, and that was ripped away. He has 8 more detentions with Vernon. If he had parents who cared and told them a principal locked him in a closet and threatened to beat him,, well Vernon face some trouble. I always sympathized for Bender and in my teens somewhere between him and Brian. Trying to get right but also burning with anger and refusing to back down from anything. Took going out to college to not be as bitter and have better sense of self. I always hoped Bender got to leave that town and make connections and build trust
I was 15/16 when this movie came out and just wanna respond to the sexual harassment and the question about what Claire might have been thinking... at the time, I don't think we would have considered it sexual harassment; we would have considered it rude, of course, but We saw it as boys doing what boys do, and as being something girls had to put up with and guard against. I don't want to imply it was socially acceptable; it wasn't. It was tolerated, however, and dismissed as not a big deal, especially if it was brushed off as though it were a joke. In fact, a girl might even feel guilty, as though they were somehow complicit in it for letting her guard down enough for it to happen, or embarrassed for making a fuss over it. On some level, if she liked the guy, she might even feel a little flattered by the attention, even if she was frustrated by the act itself (it was seen as an extension of little boys pulling your pigtails in kindergarten because they had a crush on you). I think a lot had to do with it being the tail end of the sexual revolution and boundaries were unclear and being redefined. It was more acceptable for guys to push boundaries because it was more acceptable for girls to let them. They even explore this in the film as Allison says something like sex being a double-edged sword for girls-- you want to, but you can't, and if you do you wish you didn't-- or something to that effect. Teen girls were afraid to be labeled "prudes" or "sluts" so we had trouble figuring out where to draw the line. If we didn't know, it's not surprising that the guys didn't know either. I think Claire and Bender shared an attraction from the start; I don't think the way he expressed his interest is something she desired, it probably embarrassed her terribly. But I do think that it was something that a girl of her age at the time would have more easily been willing to overlook. Please don't blast me with comments about how this isn't acceptable behavior, etc.... I know that; I'm not defending this behavior. It's a serious violation, not something that should ever be tolerated, and no girl should shoulder the blame if she's a victim of this kind of harassment, and certainly, it is offensive rather than flattering by our current understanding. But perspectives change and in the 80s we simply didn't think about it in the same way.
No, don't you worry. I will consider the context and the social pressures of the time. I would like to return to this comment when I make that video, however UA-cam makes it difficult to find old comments again, but hopefully I'll remember. I take no offence to what you've written here though, and I can't imagine anyone else will. Maybe I've been lucky but nobody in any of the comments on any video of mine yet has been uncivil or unable to tolerate different opinions. I guess that will change with time but, for now, it's been a nice reminder that 90% of people are nice people, even if the other 10% often shout louder
@@mylittlethoughttree Thanks so much; I didn't mean you specifically, though it's nice to know your viewers are civil enough so it's not an issue. I've seen some raging arguments over old movies being looked at in the context of their time, I just wanted to make it clear I wasn't excusing the behavior or belittling anyone offended by it now. I enjoy your videos, I would enjoy seeing the topic explored. It's such an interesting film. I remember in the 90's I took a class and we explored it, I wrote a paper about the names in the film: John Bender (John=an everyman/Bender=bender of rules), Brian Johnson (an anagram of brain, Johnson being common/average), Andrew Clark (Andrew like "android", Clark as in Clark Kent/Superman's alter ego), Claire Standish (Clairol beauty products, Stand-offish (snobby)) and Allison Reynolds (Alice in Wonderland, Reynolds wrap (foil, reminding me of a metal shield or shiny mirror)). The film opens the way for so many topics of discussion.
I know what you mean. But even now in this day and age this still happens. One month ago I was wearing a tank top with a flannel over it at school and a boy came up to me and pulled my sleeve down and pulled my bra strap and tank top strap down too. I had no attraction to him at all. I was frozen and shocked. But everyone else just laughed. So I didnt want to make a scene and I just pulled my sleeves back up and ignored it but I wanted to cry. Then I was wearing a skirt a couple weeks later and me and my friends took group photos. He made sure to take them at an angle up my skirt. But I didnt know until he sent them to everyone in the group. I was so scared someone would zoom in to me orivate area (yes i was wearing shorts underneath thank god) but it was still horrible.He continued to single me out and make comments about my breast's for weeks until I finally broke down and told a teacher who told the principal. All he said was not to dress like that. Like seriously? Its my fault that hes a creep cause i was wearing a flannel and a skirt? But all the boy said was he was joking and it wasn't that serious and that he thought I was hot. He didnt even say sorry. But my point is that even now, girls still don't know what the boundaries are for what we should tolerate due to what the media and society says. No girl wants to be a slut. And no girl wants to be a prude. There is no win for girls.society says "boys will be boys" "it just means he likes you" "you should be flattered" and it makes you feel like you just need to accept it. If someone would have stuck up for me when he did that, I wouldn't have blamed myself for it. I would have said something. But no one did, everyone just laughed, even the other girls. So I just tolerated it until someone told me it wasn't okay. I wish we lived in a world where this sort of thing didnt happen
@@miranda_turtle0566 Sorry hon; it is not your fault, and you're not wrong about how it made you feel. It is irresponsible of adults to tell you to change or to ignore it. You shouldn't have to put up with that kind of behavior, I hope you can stand up to him and tell him it's unacceptable or find an adult to do the right thing.
yea.. unfortunately, sexual harassment towards girls, especially in high school and college, is still rampant. despite what the media has led you to believe. i couldn't even begin to tell you about the times i've experienced assault and harassment just within the walls of my high school alone. i know thanks to social media, we've been able to start worldwide protests and like movements. and were really outspoken about consent and stuff but, it's still pretty normalized. ik exactly what claire was thinking cause i thought it on the daily, and so do many girls. it's so sad :( you would think with time, it would get better but it honestly hasn't. and i guess on a very superficial level, they have, but deep down they really aren't. it's still tolerated, like other people witness it all the time and do nothing, usually just to avoid holding others accountable. excuses are made for the guys actions even if he was blatantly in the wrong. it's just straight up ignored by the administration. it's a common conversation topic with girls, how bad the sexual assault and harassment is at their school, times they experienced, which guys to watch out for bc (no one stops the guy's, so girls protect girls) we don't even report it. we just keep it to ourselves and only share with other girls cause no one else cares. a school in my area had a really terrible r*pe problem. it was awful, and the school just completely ignored it. i was afraid to go to the bathroom :/ a few months ago students from a lot of schools in my district made anonymous instagram accounts for girls and guys to share their experience with sexual assault, r*pe, etc. to try and spread awareness. the amount of submissions were endless. the schools ? administrations ? district school boards ? all did nothing. Its really up to us as students to do what we can to protect each other since no one else will. but anyway ! great point; it was super interesting to read ! i didn't even think about how it was the tail end of the sexual revolution and how that could have affected social norms and contributed to r*pe culture.
I always thought that Bender was the smartest person we see in the movie. He's always so quick on his feet and he has a comeback for pretty much everything the others say to him. He even acts in a very intelligent manner when him and Andrew get in the fight. He doesn't back down and gets slammed down by Andrew. Afterwards, he doesn't go back in to try and hit Andrew. I think he realises that he can not take him on, so he slowly goes back by also saying "you're not worth my time" and so even though he escapes the fight, a fight he knows he would lose, he actually looks like he wins. By the way, very cool vid as always. Will you be doing one of these for Vernon aswell? I think there's some stuff to be said about him and the janitor.
Nice comment, thanks! And I will do a Vernon video, yeah. I thought about splitting it and making a vernon/carl video incase there's not enough to say about each individually, but I'll have to see what that's like when it comes down to it
My Little Thought Tree If you want to learn more about Carl’s past, there’s a deleted scene where he explains how he ended up as a janitor. If you want a transcript of it, I can get it to you. ua-cam.com/video/PpyGN_2Kvvw/v-deo.html
There's also the fact that Bender has a knife on him. He could have won that fight, but *only* by escalating it to a whole other level--and Bender doesn't actually want that. When Andrew threatened him to get him to stop picking on Claire, Bender's response was turning around and brushing Andrew away. He acts very intimidating, but he never engages in physical acts of violence against anybody. He wants to be scary so that nobody tries to hurt him, but I don't think he actually wants to hurt people in a physical sense. If anything his whole image and demeanor is designed to prevent that from happening.
I think Bender's mind is always two steps ahead of everyone else...being smart would make him more of a target at home so he has learned to disguise it and refuses to do school work at his real level because that also feels like submission to his abusive parents. People who grow up in abusive homes learn something that other kids don't yet realize and that is that life is pain. He could beat Andrew in a fight but he abhors violence so it would be a last resort and only to defend himself. He doesn't actually want to kill Andrew and that might be what it would take to win - it's not that he is afraid of pain - he just thinks it's inevitable...even if you ultimately win the fight. Most "normals" avoid situations that would cause actual physical pain so he seldom has to take it that far. I think he also sort of admires Andrew because he is standing up for Claire and not trying to fight him for machismo.
Bender reminds me of an old coworker/friend, the asshole anti bully. His father left him with permanent scars, however he was able to stop the cycle of abuse and realized from his own trauma how it could affect others. He’s like Bender to a T in some ways, he pushed me to realize I was in an “unsatisfying” relationship with an ex, but he never pushed me beyond what I was comfortable with (unlike Bender bullying Clare to tears). He always wants to see the best in people because he has experienced the worst for so long. He’s a good guy, I really miss him and hope he’s doing well, we haven’t spoken in a while, unfortunately. Sorry for the long reply.
One last thing. I believe he treats people badly because he assumes he will be rejected and so if / when they do it can be because of his behavior and not because of him. I took the opposite and tried too hard to make people like me. Abuse sucks
You've written a lot of good comments on this and the other videos, thankyou, and I wanted to say I hope whatever abuse you've been through, that you've since found a way forwards. It does indeed suck
@@mylittlethoughttree your response to this person seems to be a passive aggressive response, which is disappointing to me. You mentioning his/her comments on this video and the "other videos" just did not sit well
@@tammyallen3813 it wasn't meant to be passive aggressive, sorry. ourtravellingzoo has written a lot of very insightful comments on several of my videos, and I have replied to them before but I just to say in general, thanks for the support. If it seemed passive aggressive, then I guess that's the issue with typing: you can't easily convey your tone
There are truths to this. Its a way of retaining some sort of control using the limited means he has, and the nearly uniformly negative experiences he has in life with anyone outside of his own tribe.
I feel that Bender is in terms with Allison because they know they both understand what parent abuse is, one is familiar with ignoring neglect and other one with nothing more than physical and verbal abuse. And that at some level makes them silent allies. His problem is that he barely knowns how to interact without aggression because he lives his life in a cruel world where parents are no help, they're the danger. Same to Allison. Say what you will but his everyday life sketches are nothing about love and care from his dad. At some point they're jealous they don't have some normal life like the rest of the group, at least they think they have it, they're just confused bitter kids, as they put it "a basket case and a criminal", people with no future, who just wants some help and care after all.
I think Claire's parents were also abusive (at least emotionally). I think people in the room just poo-poo'd it because she seems privileged from the outside. I've known a lot of people from wealthy but shitty families who struggles with this.
As someone beaten and down out by my parents I took the opposite way and tried to excel at everything to prove I wasn’t useless. I think you can go either way. I believe he is like Bart Simpson in that he wants attention and he doesn’t care if it’s negative. I believe he doesn’t go after Allison because he sees her fear and knows that feeling. He’s also pretty easy on Brian. He looks at Claire and Emilio’s character and sees what he could have been had he had the means and support and probably resents them. I also believe he doesn’t mind being in detention because it beats being home with his father
Both Bender and Bart Simpson say "Eat my shorts" to an authority figure. Oh, and Matt Groening (creator of THE SIMPSONS) also created FUTURAMA, which has a robot wisecracker named 'Bender' in it. I suspect that Groening was/is a huge fan of THE BREAKFAST CLUB.
@@patricktilton5377 apparently Bart's voice actress (Nancy Cartwrigt) ad-libed it I think. There's a chance she could've gotten it from the movie, seeing as the first episode it was said in the series/table read, The Breakfast Club predates it by 5 years.
One thing I find interesting about the way they react to Bender, is how Claire and Andrew both turn their heads away and down, when he shows the burn scar. Their entire mood changes, as they both instinctively recognize a distinct difference in their homelife versus Bender's. And after he leaves, Claire's first words were to admonish Andrew about what he said, and Andrew doesn't try and defend what he said, simply pleading ignorance. He realizes that he did push too far, into a subject that he clearly acknowledges as beyond his own in some ways. "How was I supposed to know?" His only defense, and it's still an acknowledgement that he did something wrong. And from that point forward, while they still might question Bender's behavior, they don't question his upbringing, and how it's impacted him. It's an interesting tonal shift from confrontational, to....well I wouldn't say accepting, not yet, but more at least seeing him as more than just a collection of aggressive outbursts, and as a person.
Welcome to my highschool life in lifeskills/LALS. The teachers and other people who were supposed to be teaching the kids how to behave (this was in 2016) would tend to do nothing except shout at the kids for not being neurotypical.
@@APoliticalConfusionAndMess The point I believe she was trying to make was that things were harder in the past. Who knows if they'd be able to get away with it today. But, some of our teachers were scumbags. Btw. If she went to high school in the 90s that would make her a millennial possibly a late gen X er. Boomers went to school in the 60s and 70s kid
I don’t know if it totally makes sense, but I feel like the way he’s dressed during most of the movie adds more depth to his character. He is wearing multiple layers to probably look bigger and hide scars (signs of vulnerability), but the rebellious style also draws attention to him, which is something he seeks. Same goes for Allison, but hers is to draw away attention from herself. Btw, I liked the point you made of the way bender moves during the movie. I noticed there was something different about it that made him stand out from the others, but I couldn’t describe how, other than it being almost theatrical.
Thanks! Yeah, I'd agree with that point. He probably wears the most layers at the start out of anyone. Someone elsewhere in the comments also described his movements like being a boxer, so that's another good way to see it, too
@@mylittlethoughttree Dancing and boxing have a LOT in common, don't they? I liked that observation also. He's got a half-drunken sway and fluidity that's charming, and deceptive, and protective all at once.
As a woman who was a teen in the 70's-80's, this type of harassment (Bender looking up Claire's skirt) would have been easily dismissed. We weren't "woke" back then, we knew boys could be pigs and we pretty much accepted it. The attitude was different back then. That's why Claire could still fall for him.... though I honestly never understood how those 2 got together at the end of the movie because I am not a girl who goes for the bad-boy. (PS - I love the analysis in these videos!) Edit: Unless Claire wants to "save" him (sees him as a project)? Or he is forbidden and therefore exciting? Or, because Bender becomes the Alpha Male of the group, she's attracted to him? I know in the movie Bender tells Claire that he would be the perfect vehicle for Claire to get under her parent's skin, but I don't believe that can be her only motivation.
I think it is about him becoming a leader through rebellion - the type of leader that is immune to limitations because he makes his own rules. Only that she thinks that he's "Just the right amount of danger" as the Simpsons would say. It'd be interesting to see how long it would last - considering her parents objections, her awareness of the social scale, and the very likely chance of him going into rage whenever he doesn't get his way. The movie ends with things going back to "normal" - the supposed clean-cut hero who abused a classmate, and the supposed rebel hero who publicly sexually harassed another classmate - get the girls, regardless of their flaws - and the nerd, who only tried to hurt himself - ends up alone and does the project.
Well, I would like to offer another interpretation. Bender is at his *MOST INNOCENT* when he is "sexually harassing" someone he is attracted to. *WHY?* Because it is his Subconscious Drive, not his Ego, not his Superego. It is Survival Instinct, and natural to boot. *WHAT MAKES POST-MODERN INTERPRETATIONS OF THIS SUPERIOR?* Oh, Lobby Money. #TMYK
@@jamespfp - Good point. What's at play here is normal human sexual dynamics, not the bad boy/evil man simplistic SJW interpretation. Let's hope that someday soon, just like Phrenology before it, this pseudoscientific faith will be consigned to the dustbin of history and embarrassment. It's no surprise that it was the "Progressives" of the time who subscribed to Phrenology. They've still never learned from their mistakes. As you said, of course, it's about money, and ultimately, power. And we all know what happens when it's taken to its "logical" conclusion.
@@Fredjoe5 whoaaaa whoa. not normal. NOT NORMAL. it's not normal to sexually harass someone. it IS normal to look up a girl's skirt, if and *only* if she invites you to. DOn't confuse attraction with harassment, jesus. Don't get it twisted: don't dismiss the idea of CONSENT as some 'sjw nonsense'. It really, really isn't. Its BASELINE for being a safe person to be around any women.
I gotta say, on the note of Bender's dad loving him deep down, i highly doubt it. My dad didn't care about me or any of my siblings. He got my mom pregnant seven times, because he wanted the tax breaks and welfare checks. Any happy moments were more like him participating in a side hobby, like we were model cars he could interact with when he felt like and could be kept on the shelf when he didn't want to deal with us. The notion that Bender's dad could have some love for him deep down is a little idealic and shortsighted to me. It's entirely possible that Bender's dad got Bender's mom pregnant on accident, and they couldn't afford a kid but couldn't go through with ending the pregnancy or putting him up for adoption for whatever reason.
Wow, that's rough. I was Bender in high school, absolutely. The reasons are there: a step dad who treated me like shit and a mother who was silently complicit. Luckily, I got over it on my own and became a decent person. I hope you can also overcome your circumstances. Never give up and know there is something good out there you can make for yourself.
There's a theme of parental interaction running through this. From the parents who expect too much on down. It's Alison's parents are the one's who don't care. They expect nothing, they don't interact with her. Bender's father/abusive parents ARE at least still involved, just in a negative way.
I am sorry about that Jenni. You deserved better. I think this guy might just have a hard time understanding how a parent can not love their child, which honestly is hard for me to understand too.
I was Bender in almost every way. It took many, many years of therapy to get past all the crap that was stuffed into my brain, but I was able to. I still have my issues, mostly depression. However I can work through them with the knowledge I received from some truly awesome people (my therapists). Bender will always hold a deep attachment to me, I like to think that he was able to come through just as I did.
I always felt like Bender would become a school counselor or a counselor that works specifically with troubled kids. I always had that feeling growing up and watching this movie. Like, it would take a while for him to get to that point, but since he was so introspective and good with other people, and has lived through the abuse of his father, and to an extent, teachers, he could empathize with people who are struggling with a variety of things and learn how to help them through it. But that's just my own headcanon. Thank you for doing the characters of this movie. It's been one of my favorite movies since I was growing up. The videos you've done so far with these characters have really helped me with a lot of introspective problems of both myself and people around me. It's not exact, but I see a lot of similarities between the psychology of your videos and my own personal events. Thank you again for doing these, and I look forward to seeing the other ones.
I like this prediction. It’s nice he had these intimate conversations about the other kids and what they go through (including the deleted scenes ones in my mind), so he can have a good perspective for a lot of different types of kids/trauma.
Also you could really see Bender as some scared, little child who isn't as tough as he wants ppl to think in that closet scene. It was rough and also the idea that nobody believes in him is pretty much obvious
Clare is an interesting character. I've known girls like her. She's part of the popular clique. She appears to have everything she wants, but does she? Just like the others she is scared, insecure, and longs to rebel against a life that is already mapped out for her. Bender sees her and he's that rebellion. She is the female version of Andrew. Scared to rock the boat and be herself because that might make her loose points with her 'friends'. And to think for herself and choose for herself is scary.
this video made me cry. I relate so much with bender. My biggest fear is that i am like my dad and mom. and i cant handle that because they are horrible and what they did is unforgiveable. so i feel like i am locked in at war with myself always
Well although Allison says turning into your parents is "unavoidable", I think she's wrong. We might end up looking similar or having some of their mannerisms, but in the ways that matter most, we often do avoid it, especially if we have the self awareness. It's a big positive if you can think and reflect on that fear. It becomes less powerful when we're able to talk and process it, and the less powerful, the less likely to come true. My advice would be not to be too hard on yourself. Trust that you are you're own person with your own life. Believe that you are a good person I don't think you were asking for me to write something like this, so I hope it doesn't come across intrusive.
@@mylittlethoughttree No, the more help the better! i'm feeling desperate if i'm being honest I am in therapy but doesn't seem to be helping regarding this issue. Idk maybe it will
@@rishaa682 well obviously I don't know what your therapist is like but stick with it. Sometimes I think just that feeling of being helpless, like you're not sure things are getting anywhere, the feelings of desperation that come from it: that in itself is an experience that needs journeying through...if that makes sense. Slowly coming to manage the feeling until it feels a lot less helpless. Talk about it to your therapist, if you feel able, they shouldn't take it as a criticism of them if it feels like the therapy isn't going anywhere, because that feeling itself is something meaningful that they can work with: "why do we feel stuck? What's this feeling about?" I guess I'm trying to say that we all feel what we feel, and if you feel desperate, then that itself is a feeling to sit with until the stormy seas calm
In case of Bender's dad, its very clear at least from a midwest native's eyes, that his father has alchohol abuse problem, his depiction of his father look and sound a lot like a Chicago man whose had a six pack to many and is an angry drunk, and that Bender shows signs of repeating the cycle, with him smoking both cigarettes and marijauna during the film, and while he is not hung over, it makes reference that he is at least a casual drinker.
@@dee_dee_place his mom calls him ugly, lazy, and disrespectful before his dad slaps her in the face. Nah fam she was complicit and Bender was standing up for himself, not her.
@@mylittlethoughttree Bender's mother was NOT backing up the father. Bender's mother was being sarcastic in an effort to stick up for Bender, by pointing out to the father that he criticizes and insults Bender too much too often. That's why the father tells her to shut up and go fix him a turkey pot pie. In return, Bender turns it around on his father in an effort to take the heat off of his mother, by asking his father "what about you Dad" and continuing until the father hits him; not the mother. Watch it again and I think that you'll see that I'm interpreting it correctly. In their own ways, Bender and his mother are trying to protect each other by provoking and drawing the father's anger towards themselves respectively. It's actually a common practice within such family dynamics, because most mothers would rather take the abuse than watch their son be abused and most sons would prefer to take the abuse than watch their mothers be abused.
I have always been perplexed by Bender and by Bender and Claire. Having watched this video, I am now kinda wondering if Claire giving Bender her earring was a way of saying that she’s giving him a chance. Even if they don’t get together, which let’s face it, it would be a rocky relationship, she gave him a diamond that could give him a way out. And he puts it on so he can remember there will be people who will give him a chance. I kinda like that thought, rather than trying to imagine them together as a couple.
One thing that always interested me about Bender is the reasoning he was in detention in the first place. He got it because he pulled the fire alarm to save his friend from getting caught with weed. I think that's a pretty important part of his character. it shows that he does legitimately cares for those he calls friend, and is willing to do anything to help them out. You see this again in the scene when they were all about to get caught, and he sacrificed himself so the others could get away, and again when they where talking about whether or not they would all still be friends on Monday. He got legitimately up set with Clair saying that non of them would be, and even became defensive over it. So I think he does have a fairly big heart under his tough guy attitude, he just shows it in different ways.
It's never mentioned that the theatrical cut of the film that it was to protect his friend from smoking. That's never said. Just watched the film last night lol
After the scene with Vernon threatening him, he probably felt like his life is gonna be filled with hurting him or threatening to. The fear associated with that would be unreal. The hallway scene is important because that's when his character shifts from defensive and obnoxious to submissive and vulnerable. He sacrifices himself and yes, that's the move of a leader. But it's also the move of someone who is used to punishment. He takes the punishment because another punishment wouldn't make a difference in his life. The vulnerability is shown when Vernon manhandles and threatens him and more later when he takes a backseat to conversations, watching and listening but only participating when he has to. Moreover, he has learned that if he dares to want something, no one will give it to him. No - he has to take it. That's where his him losing his temper at Claire and the confusion to her visiting him in the closet stemmed. That, and the fact that he hates everything about his life - including himself. The self hatred has deep roots in the abuse at home and the reason he is so combative with everyone. So many victims of abuse are balls of self hatred because they blame themselves for what's happening and because they can't make it stop or get out of it.
I believe the way he moves about kinda like a boxer may be in answer to his father swinging fists. He’s a little peek at real life for them and shows them how to find a little bit of themselves instead of being the person their friends are or who they feel pressured to be
I was the Bender of my School during that time, and I am not going to lie, the "when you grow up your heart dies" and "I care" made me cry like a little school girl then, and it still does to this day. I guess I only ever wanted to hear that from somebody, anybody, even just once.
Best movie ever. I love it. It takes me back to those days. I was probably 14 when this came out. I was definitely like Anthony Michael Hall's character ( but I was gay!) and it was all kind of like this. It was totally like this. Best fucking script and performances ever.
One thing that was not especially addressed in the movie, is that Bender is also a hungry boy ...there is obviously not enough food at home . He was the only ine whi came without lunch ...he was still proud enough to not show it, but it showed up in him assessing every one's meal. That also one reason for his behaviors and also not learning as much as the others....im mostly touched by this character in comparison to the ithers..
True to a certain extent. I graduated high school in 1998 and yes some of the jocks were still popular but some of these jock types with the medals on their letter jackets were seen as "dorks" and it was kind of uncool. It was seen as comformity and trying too hard...at least in my high school.
When you have authoritarian parents you grow to despise authority and rebel. Getting stuck in 8 weeks of detention with an authoritarian professor obviously was better than being at home because at least he wouldn't be physically abused. As for Bender's off-putting attitude with the other kids, it's purely a defense mechanism. He obviously liked Claire but figures that if he keeps them all at a distance they can't figure him out and hurt him in the end.
In high school, I was a nerd who had a Bender inside him. I was the kid everyone bullied. There's a lot of me that I see in Bender. His rage is like a small ember, constantly burning brighter and hotter, until he has to let go or the blaze will consume him. I had metal to blow my mind away as a healthy outlet. I would come home, seething with rage, and I would go up to my room and play one particular album (Slayer's Reign In Blood for those who know 80s metal) at max volume over and over again. Every time I started the album again, the volume went down just a little. By the time that my parents couldn't hear the music anymore from the living room downstairs, I was calm again. Myself again. I shudder to think what might have happened if I hadn't had that music. Bender has never found his healthy outlet, alone, in a place of safety.
I know someone EXACTLY like you have described yourself here, edh, right down to the Slayer. In fact I married him (many years later). As you say, thank the universe for 80s metal. He might not be here without it.
Someone mentioned that Bender subconsciously wanted to get more detention so he could stay away from home, since it's a somewhat safer place than his home or on the streets or hanging with friends but that he wouldn't admit it. Seemed legit, a bad home life is where you want to stay away from as much as possible especially if it's a physically and emotionally abusive homelife.
I don't know if it's fair to say he has the hardest life. Brian almost attempted suicide. He may have seen and experienced more trauma but his character had developed some good and bad coping mechanism.
I feel like brian.I have not had a bad life compared to others but i cannot face my emotions because when i do my mind goes to suicidal thoughts instantly.I keep anger and sadness inside me and i cannot process them properly and some times they just burst and i feel very weak and unstable
@@stavroulathebest please stay strong, theres always the possibility that things will clear up & i promise there are people out there that want to listen and help in any way they can
patchie you can always hit me up...I struggle with mental health, ptsd, anxiety, panic attacks...nighttime’s are my hardest moments. Everyone else is asleep, and I force myself to stay awake as long as I can. My darkest times are when I close my eyes. But I know I’m not alone. There’s are hundreds of thousands of us dealing with this. You’re not alone My Friend. Stay safe. Stand tall. Reach out.
Bender feels alone, people see him as they want to see him so he acts like a criminal. I think bender wants so many detentions because he doesn't want to go home. When Vernon begs bender to hit him you can see the fear in benders eyes. When Vernon says "You wanna see something funny visit john bender in 5yrs" the look on benders face says it all vernon is implying that bender will be a nothing but I think that by vernon saying that in benders head he will turn out like his dad
I think it's both. Unable to back down and taking advantage of not being stuck at home. Even on the weekends, kids back then were generally in the house during the hours of Saturday detention. He might've gone out with friends sooner in the day without that detention, but that would've been an easy sacrifice to get the more significant hours of escape. We see Bender consider stopping and not getting more detention. Sure he is also showing off for Claire, but the gears behind his expressions very visibly never stop turning. I also think it's why he looks so completely terrified of Vernon later on in that closet. He just trapped himself into 8 weeks, basically locked in a building with someone just like his dad. He could probably kick Vernon's ass, but he also probably never would. Prison would metaphorically for sure but almost as likely truly and also physically kill someone like Bender. And he knows that, and he's faced with the possibility of a confrontation, maybe more than one happening in that time. And he'd have to device: either try for control and let Vernon beat him or giving up and striking back and ending up someplace even worse in an already horrible life.
I never did understand the tension between Bender and Clair. I was always surprised at the end when they kissed because of all the negativity and abuse that preceded that kiss. I had to watch breakdown videos like this decades later to fully grasp the psychology behind this movie ... and it’s then that I realized why I’m still living alone with a dog.
The scene where Bender's rage explodes reminds me of myself as a kid. Everyone in my friend group back in High School who had seen the movie said I was Bender and I embraced that. I was an incredibly angry person in my younger years. The scene where he tells about his home life and explodes does something else too. It demonstrates in no uncertain terms that he's stronger than any of them at least in his mind: It says "Fuck you, even at my weakest I'm stronger than any of you, and if any of you ever crosses me I'll end you." And then he proceeds to demonstrate it with his rage. Its very unsettling for the other students because its unpredictable and also shows a lack of concern for his own wellbeing. Benders game is the game I used to play, I didnt need to win I just needed to make others lose and I could do that by demonstrating my destructive capabilities. It is psychologically frightening to witness that form of self destruction if you are even slightly well adjusted. Bender still wants and needs help, which is why he gives that but when he gets that negative reaction he's quick to bring things back into his control even unconsciously.
One thing I've always noticed was before Bender goes on his suicide mission, he starts jogging down the hall singing "I wanna be an Airborne Ranger," a cadence the Rangers still sing, usually as they jog during formation PT. The cigar burn and other hints and evidence of abuse lead me to believe one of two things: Bender's old man is a veteran of some sort, possibly with PTSD or some other psychological illness, or worse, that his father is a wannabe, someone who wanted to join the military but never for whatever reason, and is exerting power over his son in order to prove that he's "tough" due to some sort of felt inferiority.
I became a forever fan of Judd Nelson after watching this movie...he is the one person who comes to mind whenever i think of The Breakfast Club... I watch every movie that involves him ....even up to now
When Bender reveals his family situation and Andy immediately responds with doubt, it really hits hard for me. By Bender's reaction, it's quite clear how painful that moment is. Revealing something that traumatic must be really scary in itself. He might be trying to play the whole thing off as an act, be a tough guy, but the truth is he IS in fact opening up to these people about something deeply personal and painful, and the invalidation must really sting. Bender reacts - he gets angry, than he goes over to prove the abuse, then he gets more angry, defensively angry, releasing that anger (smashing things...) and distancing himself from the group (essentially running away). The way he sits by the railing, his back to the rest of the group, his body language and facial expression, I thought it showed a lot of vulnerability and hurt, probably the most we've seen from him in the whole movie (maybe except for the scene in the closet where Vernon threatens him). And that line, when he says "See, I don't think I have to sit with you Fucking dildos anymore", there's SO much emotion (SO much anger) in his voice, I'd even say the most out of any of his lines.. That's the moment he breaks his cool, it's all been playing and teasing 'till that point but this is where all these genuine emotions kind of boil over I think. Brilliantly acted, really... And truly amazing line delivery. Quite painful to watch.
This was such a great video. Don't stress so much about the videos being too long. I love watching longer videos and I'd rather the video be "too long" than have you cut out insightful observations for the sake of time. Can't wait to see Claire and Brian.
Yes-- it IS realistic that she would fall for him after sexually assaulted. Unfortunately. I've been in her shoes. Sexually assaulted. Embarrassed. Angry at first. After a while convinced myself it was no big deal. Tried to take control of the situation by over sexualizing myself. "Fell" for him. Toxic relationship ensued.
I’m sorry that happened Always. It was a big deal. It sounds like you felt traumatized but in that way where you didn’t understand what you were feeling and idk if it’s to try to make sense of things… you went out with him to make that trauma happen on your own terms. Hope you’re feeling better about yourself these days and I hope you know you deserve better :)
I like the idea of Bender and other characters stripping their layers off as a metaphor. I personally see a jean jacket like armor so I really like that idea. Also the principal takes his jacket off towards the end and that is him showing his true self as well. I love this movie. Thank you for the breakdowns.
Thank you for this video. I'd like to share some hypotheses about Bender's parents. I hypothesize that they both participate in abuse. (I could be wrong with one or all of these, so forgive me). -Bender's parents resent their son because there are parents who feel children have ruined their lives since they lost their youth and freedom (especially if the pregnancy wasn't planned). Both of his parents belittle Bender by calling him names like 'stupid, worthless, no-good, goddamn free loading son of a b!tch' along with 'ugly, lazy and disrespectful'--so this may explain why Bender believes he will amount to nothing (Vernon certainly is no help). Emotional and verbal abuse has a profound affect on children as physical abuse. -Bender's mother seems complacent with the abuse that goes on. While Bender's father is responsible for the majority of the abuse in the house, his mother appears to go along with the abuse and accept it (possibly does nothing to stop it). My hypothesis is she resents him (many unplanned pregnancies lead to parents feeling resentful and place the blame on their child for all their problems). I'm guessing in her mindset, she feels Bender deserves it (I could be wrong) OR she just tolerates the abuse by her husband (I don't really know anything about the affects of domestic violence, but it'd be cool to learn more about it) -Bender's parents are a low-income family, there's the possibility that alcohol or drugs are involved in the home. These factors, along with an unplanned pregnancy, are often a cause for domestic violence along with child abuse and neglect. -Bender's dad appears to be the primary cause of abuse. He does this to assert his power and control over everyone. Even when his wife agrees with him when he belittles his son, he slaps her and tells her to 'shut up and to go fix him a turkey pot pie'. This seems like a very misogynistic mindset that women are to be submissive and silent.
Sorry, I forgot to reply to this! I think all of your suggestions are possible. It seems I misunderstood Bender's reenactment of his home, I didn't realise it was his mum calling him "ugly, lazy" etc which certainly makes her seem less innocent. The fact I got it wrong goes to show why it'd be dangerous for a counsellor to speculate like this about a real person, but for the purposes of fun here, I think all of your suggestions could be true
I absolutely love this video analysis of John; it’s a very thorough, empathetic, and fair exploration. He’s easily my favorite character in The Breakfast Club; I’d even say that without him I wouldn’t like this movie half as much. Judd Nelson did an amazing job with the role (his method acting really paid off!) and I’m not entirely sure that if it’d been played by a different actor, the character would be as sympathetic or poignant to me.
Long ago when I was in high school, we had plenty of teachers who were exactly like Vernon and instead of trying to help troubled kids, they beat down on them even further, telling them in front of everyone how worthless they were and that they were going to amount to nothing in life. Judd Nelson said in an interview once that John is someone who’s likely been rejected and put down since grade school, so his anger and tough exterior come from dealing with that for so long. It’s a bit strange to see so many fans of the movie dismiss John the same way (not so much here, but elsewhere online), believing he’ll be troubled forever and will likely end up dead or in prison. In Claire’s video analysis I also see a lot of people simply pegging him as an abuser who’s going to doom her if she dares to go into a relationship with him. I have a different take on everything not only because I’m an optimist (and admittedly, a romantic), but because I’m open-minded and for one, I don’t believe that who you are in your teens or even twenties defines how the rest of your life will turn out. Sometimes all it takes is someone showing you some kindness, affection or sense of worth to melt away SOME of the hurt and anger and start you on a different path. I’ll give an example: in high school, a teacher told us of a student she’d taught a couple of years earlier who always got made fun of and called homophobic slurs for having long hair; in addition, there were a lot of problems at home. Not unlike Bender, I guess, he was angry, loud, disobedient, and had teachers at their wit’s end. One day, one of his classes had a motivational guest speaker; as soon as this lady saw the boy, she made her way over to him to say he reminded her of her late son, and that she thought his hair, like her son’s, was beautiful. Right away, there was a change in this boy’s demeanor and while it didn’t immediately resolve all his issues, of course, he seemed less angry and defiant after that day. I see Bender in a similar way; there won’t suddenly be a magical transformation after that Saturday, but he’ll be better, and with the proper guidance or even his own motivation, he could rise above his upbringing and all the issues it’s created within him. I see him as being the most intelligent and intuitive of the group and I believe that the need to escape his toxic environment could even lead him to end up being the most successful of the five (what a middle finger to Vernon that would be!). Someday he might even counsel the Benders of a younger generation. As for what develops with Claire, remember that moment when she asks why he doesn’t believe in a one girl-one guy relationship and he angrily deflects with “Hey, why do you have so much s**t in your purse?” I think he’d already had his heart broken, maybe got cheated on, and from then on decided he wasn’t ever going to be anyone’s fool again (as teens we can be overly dramatic like that, I remember that well LOL). Having so many girlfriends at once keeps him from growing too close to any one of them. Then Claire walks in and not only does she represent all the privilege he resents, but he quickly begins feeling something special for her that could get him hurt again, so he acts like a jerk to stifle all that. That’s my theory and although it does not excuse his treatment of her, it offers some more insight. Claire isn’t clueless, I think from his reaction she caught on to there possibly being some heartbreak in his past, so I don’t think she would just use him to rebel and get back at her parents (even though he offered), nor would she make out with him (giving him false hope when she can see he’s falling for her) and hand him her earring as simply a parting gift, as many others conclude. If she had only wanted to be kind and give him some validation, as some say, she could’ve done it without sucking face with him, especially as she can sense how raw and vulnerable he is underneath his armor. It’s my belief she’s genuinely attracted to him too; how far they could go with all their individual issues and pressure from their cliques (and just the fact that they’re teens trying to figure things out, bound to mess up)--I don’t know. There’s likely to be conflict, although in contrast to many others (again), I don’t see him turning abusive. Most teenage relationships are full of drama and don’t make it past high school anyway. It’s actually not a bad thing; everyone needs room for growth and time to go off on their own and experience other things in life. Those who are meant to be might reconnect later in life (and I do hear of many who end up married to their high school sweethearts). The hopeless romantic in me sees something special in these two (again, I think some of it has to do with the charisma and on-screen chemistry of the actors), so I would hope they would find their way back to each other in a few years when they’re at different, better phases in their lives.
Although we clearly get a view of Bender's relationship with his dad (and a similar proxy through his interactions with Vernon) we do catch a fleeting glimpse of his relationship with his mom. In the scene where Bender plays out a version of his home life to the other characters, part of the monologue includes Bender switching characters between his dad and mom slinging verbal abuse at him on one occasion. Although I must stress that this is Bender's description and his wording of the event, it's not hard to imagine that its not far from the truth. In that monologue Bender quotes his dad giving a long list of terrible descriptive words on how his father views him. His mother, rather than trying to naturally protect her child, contributes to the verbal abuse by adding the hurtful adjectives "ugly, lazy, and disrespectful." It paints a harsher reality to one of the film's more complicated characters. Another scene that feel gets short notice as being a more comical moment (which admittedly it is) takes place immediately after Vernon threatens Bender with more abuse. While Vernon adjourns himself to the lavatory, Bender crawls along the ceiling to the library. Interestingly, Bender tells himself a dirty joke before crashing through the ceiling of the library and causing a "ruckus." I feel that this quick bit of dirty humor is his way to relieve his own tension and express himself after he gets abused. Similar to Will's dirty joke in Good Will Hunting, Bender starts the setup of something to cheer him up and transition some of his rage of abuse.
The last time I watched this, the scene where Vernon locks Bender up hit me very differently. Vernon's anger goes far deeper than anything Bender has ever done. The guy is basically bragging how heroic he will be for beating up Bender for simply being bender 5-10 years from now. It's certainly not the "you're heading down the wrong path.." speech. What is coming out of Vernon in this scene is much more visceral than any other confrontation that he's had with Bender. Bender is just a scared kid. His facade has melted away and he even looks as young as Brian. Bender puts on this facade that he is much older, tougher, and capable of defending himself. Some might get the impression that he instigates the abuse at home.
When I was in junior high school, there was a 14 year old who was the “Bender.” He was extremely smart and a very exceptional math student. He dropped out of school and who knows what ever happened to him? It’s really sad.
It is sad to look back and school and wonder what happen to some people, yeah. It's sad to think there were kids I got on with at school who are now in prison. Growing up can be so difficult
I think not only does Bender recognize Allison's outsider status, but also he may be demonstrating an awareness of a social hierarchy that she's not on or near the top of. He's innately avoiding being a bully in a circumstance he can't rationalize to allow for bullying. Bender would likely be repelled by and avoid being an obvious bully himself.
I so much agree with you on all levels...this is really a beautiful boy who is just so very heavily abused every single day! He is the true Hero of the group ...this is also why I think in spite of everything that both him and Claire can actually help each other....
I live these analyses! I can’t wait until Brian’s since he’s the character I most relate to, in that he’s seen as the perfect kid with a perfect life but others don’t understand how many problems he has because of his “perfect” life
I was going to do his next, I think. It was leading naturally to do Claire's next, but then Brian would be last, and it'd be so typical of his character to be forgotten and thought about last, so I'm not going to let that happen
We do know that he's told he'll never amount to anything from his impression of them, and that's also how we know his mother is abused by his father too. The point about Bender's movements is brilliant, and somehow touching. You have really opened my eyes to the depth of these characters. I've loved them for years, but I now I feel I really know them. Thank you.
The best character in a great film of interesting characters, he gets the last shot as the antihero. Genuinely felt for all the characters in this confession scene, which was apparently improvised. So powerful. 80s films were always about the underdog winning. Breakfast club incl. Thanks for a great breakdown on Bender.
The one question I feel is really missing from the video (a video I immensely enjoyed!) is: Why is Bender here at all? Why is Bender still showing up to school, and showing up to detention? I see two possibilities. One is that he sees school as a way to escape his home life, at least for some of the time. The other (my pick) is, he actually is still hopeful for his own future. He still cares about his own future. And he knows he cares, and that terrifies him. Everyone's always telling him he's a failure. So he can't admit to caring about school, because if he fails, then they were all right. He has to try, but he's terrified of proving everyone else right about him.
I'm only part way through this Breakfast Club character analysis series, but as someone who was in my early 20s when this came out and then went on to become a licensed therapist who worked with high-risk children & adolescents, these are great videos. So glad the algorithm gods smiled upon me tonight. I look forward to watching the rest. These are so spot on.
This movie came out when I was in high school. I think I knew someone who was exactly like each one of the characters in the film. Watching it as an adult, it brings back a lot of great memories. I love that in the course of one day, these 5 kids, learn that they are more alike than they are different. Brian's letter to Vernon sums it up perfectly. I can remember going to parties and spending 10 hours in a room with 4-6 kids, I knew from school that I wasn't friends with, however in that room we shared everything with each other, kept each other's secrets, but never ever became friends beyond the door of that room. I always wondered if other people had the same experiences?
I was doing some sit-ups, I finished and went to the bathroom. Before entering, I checked youtube and saw this. Now I have to watch it before taking a bath. Damn it!!
John Bender is a fun character to watch, and you can't keep your eyes off of him. Judd Nelson did a brilliant job of portraying him. He is actually a pretty bright guy. He feels inferior, though, and overcompensates by picking on those he is jealous of and tearing down what they represent. Underneath the rebel persona, he is fearful and insecure. Why wouldn't he be? With the abusive home he comes from, it is no surprise. But he uses his smarts the wrong way, as an outlet to get himself into trouble. One could say that it is an escape from his bad home life to get Saturday detention. Bender demands attention. It certainly is negative attention, but he wants to be noticed. He struggles with liking himself, and he wants to matter just like everyone else. Vernon confronts Bender in that small room, and Bender backs down in fear. It is a good comparison of how scared he must feel with his abusive father. That is the only time you see Bender showing his fear. He is great at showing his anger. When role playing how life is at home, the pain comes to the surface but he lashes out in rage. He never gets to show his vulnerability that way. I see him showing a softer, more humble side when he kisses Claire in front of the school. He kissed her like that was the first time he kissed a girl, and he pulls back quickly. It was a sweet ending. With Claire, he is really attracted to her as much as he envies her. What he did and said wasn't right, but Claire is not as self-absorbed as you'd think. My take on her is that she sees the potential in him (given he stops acting like a jerk) and the diamond earring was a token of her caring. I can't imagine those two being a pair, though. Like the song says in the movie, "Don't you forget about me". I don't see Claire or John ever forgetting that day or each other. I see that with the other characters, too.
Bender’s sexual assault on Claire was played for laughs, because in the 80’s that wasn’t considered a sexual assault. I was 15 when this movie came out and that kind of behavior was how boys acted openly.
I'm 33 and I always related to bender the most. I've always had anger issues, psychologically abusive narcissist father, school was tough, had many drug problems in my 20s... I have found my way in life thankfully now, though. So I agree with you, I think bender would have sorted his life out eventually
I was Bender in high school... Even crazier I live in the same town this movie was filmed in... Haha.... Don't worry, I'm a totally normal dude in my 40's now... The flipping school has been a police station for the last 25-30 years...
Okay. So I felt the need to comment on this, because holy shit. For better or for worse, I always identified a ton with Bender because, honestly, I came from an abusive home and was always the rebellious and brash type. I saw a lot of my own personal demons in him and watching this film helped me to realize a lot of my own problems and how I might have come across to others. A lot of what you said in this video was like someone poked around in my head when I was a kid, and it’s fucking wild. I have a couple of things I’d like to add to this, just because I think a lot of people who came from this kind of life don’t tend to analyze themselves or speak up. One thing I can definitely say as someone with experience in this lifestyle is that how John acts at home is probably a complete 180 from how he behaves in school. I know that was a big truth to me. I made myself out to be the biggest fish and yet broke so easily at home, granted I did it behind closed doors. I created this persona that I would use to fool anyone around me that I was untouchable. In many cases, I even tricked myself. The embarrassment that I was just a scared little kid who was lashing out was too much. *This is why we see such an intense difference between Bender when he’s with the other students and when he’s locked alone with Vernon in the closet: He’s stripped away from the majority of the social environment that fuels him and gives him a reason to act strong.* Another thing is covering the reaction with Bender’s trauma. When you come from a home like that, where you get beat down and snapped at for doing the smallest thing wrong, you begin to expect that from everyone. You live your life waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s this constant itching irritation, a constant anxiety, just underneath the skin that you can never soothe. It’s one of the largest reasons I was so destructive and took emotional aim at others; I was doing something, anything to distract myself from that constant dread. The need to constantly feel alive, constantly have an enemy to blame my discomfort on, was something like an addiction. It was my crutch I used to cope. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a couple of legitimate substance addictions, like nicotine or alcohol. I know at that age, I was drinking and was a sex addict. To anyone who’s maybe concerned, don’t worry. I got professional help and am thankfully much better off in my life now. I still struggle from time to time and will definitely have some permanent issues from what happened to me, but I have coping methods to keep them and myself in check. Healthy ones. It took so much to get to where I am now and I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and say I still have a lot of healing to do that I haven’t even recognized yet. Also, I wanted to make it clear real quick that none of this *justifies* Bender’s behavior. It just gives an explanation. Back when I was younger, whenever anyone tried to hold me accountable, all I wanted to do was kick and scream and yell that it wasn’t my fault. Truth is, I was terrified to realize I had become an abuser, but it was such an important step. When you try to get better in that kind of life, you often times have to deal with your own abuse *while* recognizing you’ve hurt others and trying to be a better person. When I first admitted to myself that I had repeatedly abused people around me, it broke me like nothing ever had before and sent me into one of the worst depressive stages of my life. It’s a lot to tackle. So just remember; Don’t excuse people who hurt you like this. You matter, too. But don’t be surprised if they can’t bring themselves to deal with everything at that moment. That shit’s hard and there’s a reason why many people fail to change and heal. Hope this put some light on some of Bender’s insanity.
I can truly understand Bender because my father verbally and psychologically abused me from a young age. so in a way, I am a little like Bender, a little like Allie. and this explains why I have chosen this life and belief system . believe me when you are abused like this, it stays with you, and it fucks you up Man 😤 when ever I see the scene where Bender is talking about his home life, so many old bad memories come back. and I feel angry, and Sad . I have sympathy for Bender, because I was in that situation. and know what it like to be told over and over "Your no good,You'll never amount to anything", or to be made to feel stupid, incompetent , unwanted, or less than.
Good thought! I'm not exactly sure what it suggests? Perhaps it's part of his refusal to conform as though saying "I'm not going to be engaged with all this, I'm not a part of it, I have better things to do with my time"
Bender is hands down my favorite character in Breakfast Club . I think he has the most layers. Every character in the film is wonderfully portrayed; but honestly, Bender is the guiding force in this film. I can watch it over and over for many years. Thank you for your wonderful insights! I would love a study from you on Vernon and Carl!
Thanks so much for doing these videos. I remember crying when Bender showed his burned arm and even as a child I remember this being a big moment as far as realizing that parents abuse kids. Bender is such a great character so well written and portrayed.
Im a survivor of child abuse and had a teacher treat me like this one does. In the end ,after about two years of this, i put him on his arse . When i got home my stepfather (the abuser) started at me about punching the teacher, id had enough and was now big enough. I put him on his arse packed a bag and left. 15 and on the street. Im 53 now with a wife n two great kids. The only way for the cycle of abuse to stop is for those who have been abused to take the pain and not pass it on. Im still working on myself re PTSD, with work it does get easier.
I like your hopefulness. Bender is by far my favorite character. I can feel his pain, his rage, his rebellion, his compassion, his passion, his hope. It does seem that some people get so damaged at home, then school and society that they shut themselves off from the pain by turning to addictions, and then comes the shame cycle over and over. Thank you for the hopefulness for this character.
I've always looked at benders behavior as a shield. Inside he feels scared and weak because that's how his father made him feel. So he puts up this front of "I'm a tough guy who doesn't care about anything or anyone" because he's too afraid of letting anyone in because what if they hurt and abandon him. Which is why when Mr. vernen puts him down in front of the students he explodes and yells at him, because he can't let the other students see any weakness, but as soon as he's in the closet he just takes the verbal abuse from the teacher because the students aren't there and it shows the real bender. It shows the scared jon who feels weak. Which is also why when challenged by andrew he backs down. Not because he's afraid of getting hit, but because he's afraid of losing and looking weak. At the same time he does want to let them in. Which is why he accidentally reveals himself in some scenes and shows them his vulnerable side. Which explains why he makes clare feel disgusting and embarrassed about the lipstick right after getting along with everyone. Because he ketches himself letting them in, so he gets scared and pushes them away again. Which i think is why he's always so mean to clair specifically. Because he likes her, so he pushes her away. And also there's that level of animosity and jealously he feels towards her because she got the nice things and (in his eyes) the nice parents. Same thing with andrew. Because deep down jon wants to be the cool guy with the all friends who isn't afraid of a fight, so i think in that way he despised andrew but also sort of looked up to him. Any way that was just always my interpretation of jon bender.
This was such a thoughtful and deep analysis of this character! I watched The Breakfast Club for the first time yesterday and was completely blown away by it. Your videos perfectly explain the motivations of each character, I fell in love with the characters all over again after watching your analysis. I'm looking forward to viewing your videos on Claire and Brian!
Bender's rule breaking most likely comes from feeling that no matter what he does, he will be published for something. If you're going to be punished for being bad might as well be bad. The reason he was so mean to Clair is because he does care about her, he likes her. He has to push her away know that he won't hurt her and his feelings for her might be a show of weakness - the unforgivable sin in an abusive home.
Bender and Allison's analysis I find most interesting... I can relate to them more than the other 3... But they're all fascinating... Thnx for these uploads...wonderful movie and one of my all-time favs no doubt..
Man this is an amazing video. I think Bender definitely does what he does because he's so angry which his emotional pain has turned into just to survive. I think that he also kind of bullies and picks on his Detention Mates because as he starts to care for them, he's afraid they're going to let him down as well. I honestly always thought that Bender became a therapist. Based on "I'm trying to help her."
I always see the scene qith bender and vermon in that closet being a reflection of bemder and his dad. Bender looks genuinly scared by vermon, like he has lived that scene over amd over at home and the scaryness of it never deminished
Can you make a video analyzing why Allison and Andrew end up together? I’d also like to understand why a love interest isn’t even a possibility for Brian in the movie. I’m looking forward to a deeper explanation of the Bender/Claire coupling but I’ve always had a soft spot for Andrew and Allison. Thank you!
It's possible I could do a video on Allison and Andrew's relationship, although I'd have to watch the film again and see if there's enough I can say because, thinking about it now, it'd be quite a short video. I'll keep it in mind though 😊 The Brian question is an interesting one as well. Thanks for your support
Because Andrew's pressured socially to be mean, a bully. But he's a basically decent guy. He DOES feel guilt over it. Alison is bullied. In seeing her (and Brian) as a person, he's doing a sort of penance. He's rebelling from the social mold of jock=bully, and in doing so, he sees her for the first time. He rejects the jock-bully thing, and when she starts coming out of her shell, she's rejecting the freak-bullied thing. So, they're going toward the same place, just from two different directions.
I was also astonished even as an addict of enemies-to-lovers shipps bc Bender was so cruel and hostile towards Clair that I thought it would be the perfect recipe for domestic abuse or sth like that. Like who would choose to date someone who treats you like that and if there's so much bad vibes? But then again I think I didn't really understand the movie back when I watched it for the first time bc I wasn't as aware as I am now of some psychological facts and details, like I was unaware of the depth and complexity of some things. Still very good video and analysis. I can't wait for Clair's video 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
I absolutely love this movie! The Bender character makes me so sad, I almost couldn’t watch your video. As a Mother, if he was my son I would hope that he could meet someone like Claire and be in a relationship with her. I think he could heal and learn by being with her. However, if I was Claire’s Mother I would be very scared to see her in a relationship with a boy like that. I could see the pattern continuing and I’d fear for her safety.
Interesting way to look at it, I hadn't thought of things from a parent's perspective. Although, I guess the parents they do have aren't the most caring. That is true though, I'd always want to help people like Bender, I try to in my work. But if I had a daughter and she went out with him, I would be concerned. Maybe that makes me a hypocrite 🤔
I realized this on Andrews video, and came back to this one to post it on the related character. I can't believe I hadn't tied these together, hear me out: Benders dad is a War veteran with PTSD, probably a heavy drinker because of it, and abusive as a result of the two. "I wanna be an Airborne Ranger." Is a marching Cadence. It's not something that's taught in a highschool, it's something you pick up in the military, specifically Army. This also explains Benders rebellion a bit more. A military parent can be very strict and overbearing. Rigid rules and expectations. If Bender doesn't live up to these, he would be "punished" with physical abuse, because as I said, his father most likely has PTSD from seeing War, and an alcoholic to boot, and this would cause Bender to baulk and rebel, only adding to the abuse in a never ending cycle.
Your theory reminded me of Jim Morrison’s childhood. Jim’s father was a Rear Admiral in this military, and he obtained that title by starting America’s involvement in the Vietnam war. Jim’s parents method of discipline was “dressing down”, which is basically a fancy work for verbal abuse. But Jim knew his parents actions were wrong, and he became like an Allison instead- withdrawn, shy, and sometimes would say or do erratic antics for attention. Edit: after rewatching this video I now see that at the 6:30 mark, you can see the logo for The Doors in Bender’s locker. Coincidence lol
The 2 characters I relate the most to in this film are Bender & Allison. I think that's probably the reason why I fell in love with this movie all those years ago when it first came out & why it is still, to this day, my absolute favourite. Thank you so much for these wonderful videos on this incredible movie.
My fave character. I see myself in him as a teen- I was one of a few who had ADD and Dyslexia in my class- back then it was very rare. All the teachers wrote to my parents that the potential there- but I'm just lazy- but nobody really believed in me or my future, plushome wasn't a safe place either. I also see myself in Alison- the weirdo who can't be venerable but needs to be heard.
It’s sad because when you do come from a situation similar to his you can really understand the reason behind his words and the true meaning. You analysis this character really felt like you were analysing the anger and fear within myself. Very good video
I think Bender got eight weeks of detention on purpose. When you're a kid in an abused home the weekend can feel like Hell because you have to spend two days with your abuser. School becomes a temporary reprieve from that. So having to spend another Saturday at school would be a break from the abuse at home.
wow, never really thought of it that way
I loved spending most of my middle school years in iss and alternative school. You spend your time alone. Got work done at your own time frame and learned class time was a waste besides the social aspect of other children. But in school teachers dont like you to socolize unless they allow it.
@@nicholasmolnar8312 same
Yes and Claire might be there too 💘
My strategy was better just get up and leave the house at 7 sm and come back at 10 pm.
the scene where vernon locks bender in and threatens to hurt him physically is such a raw and emotional scene for me, because it showcases that bender clearly isn't the person he's trying to be, but that it's rather a front to avoid getting hurt. in that scene, vernon has severely misjudged bender's character and confronts him with violence, just like bender's father. bender doesn't fight back, because he's in a position of weakness. vernon is a grown adult, towering over him and using his power to push bender down. again, just like bender's father. it hurts me to watch that scene because it's clear then that bender isn't invulnerable, rather the opposite. he's scared. so scared that he has to make sure no one can hurt him like his father does, and in that moment vernon turns all that against him.
Great comment. Makes you think how hugely important that scene is. The film wouldn't have worked as well without ot
Also, Bender has learned when to fight his battles. He knows Vernon is right. The system favors him, and anything he did he knew it was a no win situation.
I remember one of my teachers telling the class that she didn't like me, like as a person in no uncertain terms It made everyone go dead silent. I was kind of a loud mean loser, so when people that bullied me sometimes came and sort of apologized in the hall it was weird. It's like she broke a taboo and everyone knew it. It scared us all that teachers could say that stuff
@@MayaKulpa
Yea man it's off putting. I had to deal with a teacher who not only disliked me but I'm fairly certain she was sexist too. Although I can't place why she disliked me because her attacks actually went over my head most of the time because at that point I was really resilient to petty insults but looking bacl she did her damndest to make me feel left out. Even kicked me out of the Christmas celebration we had in class and her reason? I was accidentally the last person to be quiet when she called for silence. It was too loud in the class and I was too slow catch on and mid sentence so it just happened. But she didn't skip a beat. I was out for the rest of the class and this was at the start. She had other moments that insulted my character and my intelligence. One time it was late after school and I was probably staying for tutoring or something and as I'm leaving I see at the very end of the hall in the direction I go to leave a locker was left open. Now there was a prank people liked to pull called lock flipping. So in order to make sure that didn't happen I closed the locker and locked it and kept walking. All of a sudden I hear in a loud surprised tone "I KNEW YOU WEREN'T A BAD PERSON!" And there she was mouth agape with a surprised look. I turned to her and was pretty stunned by the comment and just said "uh yea" and I left. As I went down the stairs her comment repeated in my mind. "A bad person? What did I do?"
Now I wasn't exactly Mr. Know it all Ace in class but I think I got on averagely and fairly. I was probably the 3rd talkative kid in class because the other 2 were the major popular guys and they bounced off eachother while I only ever made jokes or comments when asked in questions or in the normal cleverly way and usually it had to do with the subject. I usually did my best to not disrupt class and nor did I ever insult her in anyway or intend to. So her reasons for why me are still a mystery to me but then again I don't know why most of bullies did what they did.
The actual visceral fear in Judd Nelson's eyes in that scene is heartbreaking.
Like you said, I think Bender doesn't t have any problem with Allison because she doesn't want to conform either, and I think it goes beyond that. In the scene where they all have lunch, he throws her a coke and I think it shows he doesn't just leave her alone, he sees her as an ally because she rebels on some level too.
Léa Ledoux I’ve always felt a strong connection between the two, they both react to the world in extreme ways to protect themselves from the craziness that surrounds them. I am an Allison, but I always wanted to break free and become a Bender. Back in high school I was friends with a lot of Benders and idolized the fact that they could stand up to authority like that.
I think you make an excellent point there. I 100% agree, thanks
as a teen i grew up late 80's beginning of the 90's, although i grew up in the Netherlands, at my school it was pretty much the same, most comformed to the status quo, i was a bit rebelious but not that much though, always a bit angry but not as much as bender, was more silent, also ignored most of the time, but i did have a very small group of friends who were all a bit like Bender or Allison, it's funny, everytime i watch this movie i can see alot of it comming back
I originally thought that Allison and Bender would have been more likely to get together, on first seeing the film. However, being that I'm literally an Alison, I wouldn't have been attracted to the extremes of Bender. I literally married an Andy. I get it now. If you are so turbulent, you need someone more stable than you are. And you need them to have a more solid background.
When will the video on Claire be out? I can't wait!
@@AlisonWild I think Alison and Bender would make better buds.
bender is also really witty with his words, he seems extremely capable in regards to intelligence. he can string phrases together in milliseconds and his vocabulary isn’t limited
Exactly. He was very good at analyzing people, and you could tell he was quite intelligent when he spoke. I loved Bender.
IT’LL BE ANARCHY
He is extremely bright, actually. Well portrayed by Judd Nelson.
Screws fall out all the time the world’s an imperfect place
All Bender needs is someone, an adult, probably a teacher or guidance counselor, that can understand his situation and support and encourage him to succeed and become a better person than his parents. He has the potential to go on after high school and make something of himself which would be a big "f*ck you" to not only his parents but also Vernon and all the snobby kids from high school that treated him like he was lower than them.
Bender only picks on the people that he sees as having a better situation than him self. His envy drives his rage twords the people in the group. He doesn't attack Allison because she is obviously as messed up as he is just in a more fragile way. Bender probably was quite a bit like Allison when he was younger, before he got kicked to many times and reverted to rage to protect him self.
Another good reason for his attacks, thankyou
The geeky kid doesn't have a better situation than Bender. Not where it would count to a high school student. He still picks on him. The OP is right. he picks on the ones that conform. If they had a priviledged life but still rebelled he would have respected it.
@@Khiarika1 Bender proves that he is jealous of Brians home life and perceives Brian as having a better situation than him self, particularly when he sees the "nutritious lunch, with all the basic food groups represented" that was packed for Brian. Right away after seeing the lunch Bender acts out "a day in big Brians house" Bender acts out his perception of Brian's family. During that scene Bender acts out an all to wholesome, loving and Mr. And Mrs. Rogers-ish wholesome leave it to Beaver scenario that is so sweet it could have given everyone tooth decay. Right after Bender does the mother and father kissing scene he angrily air punches the imaginary face of one parent and then quickly after shows an acted out representation of his own family where his father calls him bad names, his mother agrees and it ends in cursing and physical violence. Bender also shows that he is jealous of Clair's home life when he mocks her for her earrings. He asks her angrily if her daddy have them to her and says he bets they were a Christmas present and then angrily tells the group that he got a carton of cigarettes for Christmas. His dad grabbed him by the shirt and said "smoke up Johnny"
Benders only mentioning of Andrew and Clair's popularity comes after he's told by Andrew that he doesn't matter and could disappear and no one would care. (The same verbal abuses he gets from his father) Bender retaliates by attacking what he thinks Andrew loves, his sports. I really don't think Bender hates these kids because they conform, I think he hates them because he can't conform and it leads to him being rejected. He judges the other kids home lives by how well they are able to fit in at school.
A person who is NOT capable of conforming due to abuse is very different than a person who chooses not to conform for the sake of rebellion.
The severity of the abuse hes suffered, and the level of neglect and poverty that is obvious in his appearance and rage issues, makes him stick out like a sore thumb. His personal rebellion is not one he chose but something that was forced upon him due to his tragic situation at home.
His acceptance and care of the group members happens only after he tells them about the abuse at home, (why he is the way he is) and the group begins to understand and even do the same things Bender does (acceptance of him/walking a mile in his shoes) Bender also shows a significant amount more respect for Brian and Andrew after they confess that they also deal with forms of abuse at home. They literally took away Benders belief that because they appear to have it good, doesn't mean they actually have it good. (Quote: "I guess were all a little messed up, some of us are just better at hiding it") .
p.s I hope everything I wrote is readable and coherent, it was almost 1 a.m. when. I wrote it and I have had a couple days of insomnia hahaha
Have you ever in been in Benders position in life where the kids who are well off ridicul those who are not? It's mentally devastating to be treated that way
@@LisouFlower I get it, it's like a person who has very little will envy those who take it for granted, so by reacting the way bender did is to make their better situation look less favorable so people will accept him due to his lack there of
In the 80s, Allison would have been considered a freak. Freaks and stoners got along fine. Freaks and stoners did not get along with jocks and preps, and sometimes picked on the geeks. Jocks bullied geeks the most. Jocks and preps were in the same social circles and overlapped, just like freaks and stoners overlapped.
@Deplorable Cat In my school we were a little more blunt, we called them "druggies". I guess I was a freak, because I got along with the druggies even though I never took any myself. I found a least half of them to be more down to earth, oddly enough.
You watch to much 80s movies,chill
@@createdbynemanja3431 I'm not describing 80s movies dumbass. I'm describing real life HS cliques in the 80s.
@SuperMich66 same lol
I like how every character represents a stereotype, and how they break that stereotype by showing the character as a real person with issues and motivations. It takes a two dimensional construction and adds a third dimension into it.
What I love about Bender is that he is a good person deep down who cares about people, he’s just convinced nobody will ever actually care about him.
Bender had a marvelous sense of irony, humor and incredibly physically intelligent. His ability to mimic and perform is mesmerizing. He has definitely a charisma and imagination.
The closet scene always gets me- cause we can see him flinch and take it, and know he has no power. Bender knows at school he is safe, from physical harm and being forced to really submit, and that was ripped away. He has 8 more detentions with Vernon. If he had parents who cared and told them a principal locked him in a closet and threatened to beat him,, well Vernon face some trouble. I always sympathized for Bender and in my teens somewhere between him and Brian. Trying to get right but also burning with anger and refusing to back down from anything. Took going out to college to not be as bitter and have better sense of self. I always hoped Bender got to leave that town and make connections and build trust
I was 15/16 when this movie came out and just wanna respond to the sexual harassment and the question about what Claire might have been thinking... at the time, I don't think we would have considered it sexual harassment; we would have considered it rude, of course, but We saw it as boys doing what boys do, and as being something girls had to put up with and guard against. I don't want to imply it was socially acceptable; it wasn't. It was tolerated, however, and dismissed as not a big deal, especially if it was brushed off as though it were a joke. In fact, a girl might even feel guilty, as though they were somehow complicit in it for letting her guard down enough for it to happen, or embarrassed for making a fuss over it. On some level, if she liked the guy, she might even feel a little flattered by the attention, even if she was frustrated by the act itself (it was seen as an extension of little boys pulling your pigtails in kindergarten because they had a crush on you).
I think a lot had to do with it being the tail end of the sexual revolution and boundaries were unclear and being redefined. It was more acceptable for guys to push boundaries because it was more acceptable for girls to let them. They even explore this in the film as Allison says something like sex being a double-edged sword for girls-- you want to, but you can't, and if you do you wish you didn't-- or something to that effect. Teen girls were afraid to be labeled "prudes" or "sluts" so we had trouble figuring out where to draw the line. If we didn't know, it's not surprising that the guys didn't know either.
I think Claire and Bender shared an attraction from the start; I don't think the way he expressed his interest is something she desired, it probably embarrassed her terribly. But I do think that it was something that a girl of her age at the time would have more easily been willing to overlook.
Please don't blast me with comments about how this isn't acceptable behavior, etc.... I know that; I'm not defending this behavior. It's a serious violation, not something that should ever be tolerated, and no girl should shoulder the blame if she's a victim of this kind of harassment, and certainly, it is offensive rather than flattering by our current understanding. But perspectives change and in the 80s we simply didn't think about it in the same way.
No, don't you worry. I will consider the context and the social pressures of the time. I would like to return to this comment when I make that video, however UA-cam makes it difficult to find old comments again, but hopefully I'll remember.
I take no offence to what you've written here though, and I can't imagine anyone else will. Maybe I've been lucky but nobody in any of the comments on any video of mine yet has been uncivil or unable to tolerate different opinions. I guess that will change with time but, for now, it's been a nice reminder that 90% of people are nice people, even if the other 10% often shout louder
@@mylittlethoughttree Thanks so much; I didn't mean you specifically, though it's nice to know your viewers are civil enough so it's not an issue. I've seen some raging arguments over old movies being looked at in the context of their time, I just wanted to make it clear I wasn't excusing the behavior or belittling anyone offended by it now.
I enjoy your videos, I would enjoy seeing the topic explored. It's such an interesting film. I remember in the 90's I took a class and we explored it, I wrote a paper about the names in the film: John Bender (John=an everyman/Bender=bender of rules), Brian Johnson (an anagram of brain, Johnson being common/average), Andrew Clark (Andrew like "android", Clark as in Clark Kent/Superman's alter ego), Claire Standish (Clairol beauty products, Stand-offish (snobby)) and Allison Reynolds (Alice in Wonderland, Reynolds wrap (foil, reminding me of a metal shield or shiny mirror)). The film opens the way for so many topics of discussion.
I know what you mean. But even now in this day and age this still happens. One month ago I was wearing a tank top with a flannel over it at school and a boy came up to me and pulled my sleeve down and pulled my bra strap and tank top strap down too. I had no attraction to him at all. I was frozen and shocked. But everyone else just laughed. So I didnt want to make a scene and I just pulled my sleeves back up and ignored it but I wanted to cry. Then I was wearing a skirt a couple weeks later and me and my friends took group photos. He made sure to take them at an angle up my skirt. But I didnt know until he sent them to everyone in the group. I was so scared someone would zoom in to me orivate area (yes i was wearing shorts underneath thank god) but it was still horrible.He continued to single me out and make comments about my breast's for weeks until I finally broke down and told a teacher who told the principal. All he said was not to dress like that. Like seriously? Its my fault that hes a creep cause i was wearing a flannel and a skirt? But all the boy said was he was joking and it wasn't that serious and that he thought I was hot. He didnt even say sorry. But my point is that even now, girls still don't know what the boundaries are for what we should tolerate due to what the media and society says. No girl wants to be a slut. And no girl wants to be a prude. There is no win for girls.society says "boys will be boys" "it just means he likes you" "you should be flattered" and it makes you feel like you just need to accept it. If someone would have stuck up for me when he did that, I wouldn't have blamed myself for it. I would have said something. But no one did, everyone just laughed, even the other girls. So I just tolerated it until someone told me it wasn't okay. I wish we lived in a world where this sort of thing didnt happen
@@miranda_turtle0566 Sorry hon; it is not your fault, and you're not wrong about how it made you feel. It is irresponsible of adults to tell you to change or to ignore it. You shouldn't have to put up with that kind of behavior, I hope you can stand up to him and tell him it's unacceptable or find an adult to do the right thing.
yea.. unfortunately, sexual harassment towards girls, especially in high school and college, is still rampant. despite what the media has led you to believe. i couldn't even begin to tell you about the times i've experienced assault and harassment just within the walls of my high school alone. i know thanks to social media, we've been able to start worldwide protests and like movements. and were really outspoken about consent and stuff but, it's still pretty normalized. ik exactly what claire was thinking cause i thought it on the daily, and so do many girls. it's so sad :( you would think with time, it would get better but it honestly hasn't. and i guess on a very superficial level, they have, but deep down they really aren't. it's still tolerated, like other people witness it all the time and do nothing, usually just to avoid holding others accountable. excuses are made for the guys actions even if he was blatantly in the wrong. it's just straight up ignored by the administration. it's a common conversation topic with girls, how bad the sexual assault and harassment is at their school, times they experienced, which guys to watch out for bc (no one stops the guy's, so girls protect girls) we don't even report it. we just keep it to ourselves and only share with other girls cause no one else cares. a school in my area had a really terrible r*pe problem. it was awful, and the school just completely ignored it. i was afraid to go to the bathroom :/ a few months ago students from a lot of schools in my district made anonymous instagram accounts for girls and guys to share their experience with sexual assault, r*pe, etc. to try and spread awareness. the amount of submissions were endless. the schools ? administrations ? district school boards ? all did nothing. Its really up to us as students to do what we can to protect each other since no one else will. but anyway ! great point; it was super interesting to read ! i didn't even think about how it was the tail end of the sexual revolution and how that could have affected social norms and contributed to r*pe culture.
I absolutely love these character analyses! I can't wait to see Brian and Claire's
What about Verne ?
Me too!
@@bluejem1315 ooh yeah! Why is he so HATEFUL to these kids?
Maybe the janitor too
Yeah, definitely Brian! My mother was just like his mother, so I can relate.
I always thought that Bender was the smartest person we see in the movie. He's always so quick on his feet and he has a comeback for pretty much everything the others say to him. He even acts in a very intelligent manner when him and Andrew get in the fight. He doesn't back down and gets slammed down by Andrew. Afterwards, he doesn't go back in to try and hit Andrew. I think he realises that he can not take him on, so he slowly goes back by also saying "you're not worth my time" and so even though he escapes the fight, a fight he knows he would lose, he actually looks like he wins.
By the way, very cool vid as always. Will you be doing one of these for Vernon aswell? I think there's some stuff to be said about him and the janitor.
Nice comment, thanks!
And I will do a Vernon video, yeah. I thought about splitting it and making a vernon/carl video incase there's not enough to say about each individually, but I'll have to see what that's like when it comes down to it
My Little Thought Tree If you want to learn more about Carl’s past, there’s a deleted scene where he explains how he ended up as a janitor. If you want a transcript of it, I can get it to you.
ua-cam.com/video/PpyGN_2Kvvw/v-deo.html
TheBestFighter ufc proved wrestling could only lose to bjj.
There's also the fact that Bender has a knife on him. He could have won that fight, but *only* by escalating it to a whole other level--and Bender doesn't actually want that. When Andrew threatened him to get him to stop picking on Claire, Bender's response was turning around and brushing Andrew away.
He acts very intimidating, but he never engages in physical acts of violence against anybody. He wants to be scary so that nobody tries to hurt him, but I don't think he actually wants to hurt people in a physical sense. If anything his whole image and demeanor is designed to prevent that from happening.
I think Bender's mind is always two steps ahead of everyone else...being smart would make him more of a target at home so he has learned to disguise it and refuses to do school work at his real level because that also feels like submission to his abusive parents. People who grow up in abusive homes learn something that other kids don't yet realize and that is that life is pain. He could beat Andrew in a fight but he abhors violence so it would be a last resort and only to defend himself. He doesn't actually want to kill Andrew and that might be what it would take to win - it's not that he is afraid of pain - he just thinks it's inevitable...even if you ultimately win the fight. Most "normals" avoid situations that would cause actual physical pain so he seldom has to take it that far. I think he also sort of admires Andrew because he is standing up for Claire and not trying to fight him for machismo.
Bender reminds me of an old coworker/friend, the asshole anti bully. His father left him with permanent scars, however he was able to stop the cycle of abuse and realized from his own trauma how it could affect others. He’s like Bender to a T in some ways, he pushed me to realize I was in an “unsatisfying” relationship with an ex, but he never pushed me beyond what I was comfortable with (unlike Bender bullying Clare to tears). He always wants to see the best in people because he has experienced the worst for so long. He’s a good guy, I really miss him and hope he’s doing well, we haven’t spoken in a while, unfortunately.
Sorry for the long reply.
One last thing. I believe he treats people badly because he assumes he will be rejected and so if / when they do it can be because of his behavior and not because of him. I took the opposite and tried too hard to make people like me. Abuse sucks
You've written a lot of good comments on this and the other videos, thankyou, and I wanted to say I hope whatever abuse you've been through, that you've since found a way forwards. It does indeed suck
@@mylittlethoughttree your response to this person seems to be a passive aggressive response, which is disappointing to me. You mentioning his/her comments on this video and the "other videos" just did not sit well
@@tammyallen3813 it wasn't meant to be passive aggressive, sorry. ourtravellingzoo has written a lot of very insightful comments on several of my videos, and I have replied to them before but I just to say in general, thanks for the support.
If it seemed passive aggressive, then I guess that's the issue with typing: you can't easily convey your tone
@@tammyallen3813 I think you're reading too deeply into that.
There are truths to this. Its a way of retaining some sort of control using the limited means he has, and the nearly uniformly negative experiences he has in life with anyone outside of his own tribe.
I feel that Bender is in terms with Allison because they know they both understand what parent abuse is, one is familiar with ignoring neglect and other one with nothing more than physical and verbal abuse. And that at some level makes them silent allies. His problem is that he barely knowns how to interact without aggression because he lives his life in a cruel world where parents are no help, they're the danger. Same to Allison. Say what you will but his everyday life sketches are nothing about love and care from his dad. At some point they're jealous they don't have some normal life like the rest of the group, at least they think they have it, they're just confused bitter kids, as they put it "a basket case and a criminal", people with no future, who just wants some help and care after all.
I think Claire's parents were also abusive (at least emotionally). I think people in the room just poo-poo'd it because she seems privileged from the outside.
I've known a lot of people from wealthy but shitty families who struggles with this.
As someone beaten and down out by my parents I took the opposite way and tried to excel at everything to prove I wasn’t useless. I think you can go either way. I believe he is like Bart Simpson in that he wants attention and he doesn’t care if it’s negative. I believe he doesn’t go after Allison because he sees her fear and knows that feeling. He’s also pretty easy on Brian. He looks at Claire and Emilio’s character and sees what he could have been had he had the means and support and probably resents them. I also believe he doesn’t mind being in detention because it beats being home with his father
😊👍🏼
Both Bender and Bart Simpson say "Eat my shorts" to an authority figure. Oh, and Matt Groening (creator of THE SIMPSONS) also created FUTURAMA, which has a robot wisecracker named 'Bender' in it. I suspect that Groening was/is a huge fan of THE BREAKFAST CLUB.
100% agree here
@@patricktilton5377 apparently Bart's voice actress (Nancy Cartwrigt) ad-libed it I think. There's a chance she could've gotten it from the movie, seeing as the first episode it was said in the series/table read, The Breakfast Club predates it by 5 years.
One thing I find interesting about the way they react to Bender, is how Claire and Andrew both turn their heads away and down, when he shows the burn scar. Their entire mood changes, as they both instinctively recognize a distinct difference in their homelife versus Bender's. And after he leaves, Claire's first words were to admonish Andrew about what he said, and Andrew doesn't try and defend what he said, simply pleading ignorance. He realizes that he did push too far, into a subject that he clearly acknowledges as beyond his own in some ways. "How was I supposed to know?" His only defense, and it's still an acknowledgement that he did something wrong. And from that point forward, while they still might question Bender's behavior, they don't question his upbringing, and how it's impacted him. It's an interesting tonal shift from confrontational, to....well I wouldn't say accepting, not yet, but more at least seeing him as more than just a collection of aggressive outbursts, and as a person.
That teacher was a monster.
Great hair, though.
There were some teachers like that, at least in my high school. They would never make it today...
Welcome to my highschool life in lifeskills/LALS. The teachers and other people who were supposed to be teaching the kids how to behave (this was in 2016) would tend to do nothing except shout at the kids for not being neurotypical.
@@katycheckley Shut up, bitch. I'm talking about 2016. Not the early '90s. So shut your boomer ass up before I make you.
@@APoliticalConfusionAndMess The point I believe she was trying to make was that things were harder in the past. Who knows if they'd be able to get away with it today. But, some of our teachers were scumbags. Btw. If she went to high school in the 90s that would make her a millennial possibly a late gen X er. Boomers went to school in the 60s and 70s kid
I don’t know if it totally makes sense, but I feel like the way he’s dressed during most of the movie adds more depth to his character. He is wearing multiple layers to probably look bigger and hide scars (signs of vulnerability), but the rebellious style also draws attention to him, which is something he seeks. Same goes for Allison, but hers is to draw away attention from herself.
Btw, I liked the point you made of the way bender moves during the movie. I noticed there was something different about it that made him stand out from the others, but I couldn’t describe how, other than it being almost theatrical.
Thanks! Yeah, I'd agree with that point. He probably wears the most layers at the start out of anyone.
Someone elsewhere in the comments also described his movements like being a boxer, so that's another good way to see it, too
@@mylittlethoughttree Dancing and boxing have a LOT in common, don't they? I liked that observation also. He's got a half-drunken sway and fluidity that's charming, and deceptive, and protective all at once.
As a woman who was a teen in the 70's-80's, this type of harassment (Bender looking up Claire's skirt) would have been easily dismissed. We weren't "woke" back then, we knew boys could be pigs and we pretty much accepted it. The attitude was different back then. That's why Claire could still fall for him.... though I honestly never understood how those 2 got together at the end of the movie because I am not a girl who goes for the bad-boy. (PS - I love the analysis in these videos!)
Edit: Unless Claire wants to "save" him (sees him as a project)? Or he is forbidden and therefore exciting? Or, because Bender becomes the Alpha Male of the group, she's attracted to him? I know in the movie Bender tells Claire that he would be the perfect vehicle for Claire to get under her parent's skin, but I don't believe that can be her only motivation.
I think it is about him becoming a leader through rebellion - the type of leader that is immune to limitations because he makes his own rules. Only that she thinks that he's "Just the right amount of danger" as the Simpsons would say. It'd be interesting to see how long it would last - considering her parents objections, her awareness of the social scale, and the very likely chance of him going into rage whenever he doesn't get his way.
The movie ends with things going back to "normal" - the supposed clean-cut hero who abused a classmate, and the supposed rebel hero who publicly sexually harassed another classmate - get the girls, regardless of their flaws - and the nerd, who only tried to hurt himself - ends up alone and does the project.
Well, I would like to offer another interpretation. Bender is at his *MOST INNOCENT* when he is "sexually harassing" someone he is attracted to. *WHY?* Because it is his Subconscious Drive, not his Ego, not his Superego. It is Survival Instinct, and natural to boot.
*WHAT MAKES POST-MODERN INTERPRETATIONS OF THIS SUPERIOR?* Oh, Lobby Money. #TMYK
@@jamespfp - Good point. What's at play here is normal human sexual dynamics, not the bad boy/evil man simplistic SJW interpretation.
Let's hope that someday soon, just like Phrenology before it, this pseudoscientific faith will be consigned to the dustbin of history and embarrassment. It's no surprise that it was the "Progressives" of the time who subscribed to Phrenology. They've still never learned from their mistakes.
As you said, of course, it's about money, and ultimately, power. And we all know what happens when it's taken to its "logical" conclusion.
@@Fredjoe5 whoaaaa whoa. not normal. NOT NORMAL. it's not normal to sexually harass someone. it IS normal to look up a girl's skirt, if and *only* if she invites you to. DOn't confuse attraction with harassment, jesus. Don't get it twisted: don't dismiss the idea of CONSENT as some 'sjw nonsense'. It really, really isn't. Its BASELINE for being a safe person to be around any women.
@Mean To Girls wow, what the fuck happened to you?
it breaks my heart when bender says to allison: who cares. you can see how he really doesn't like his father. great video
I gotta say, on the note of Bender's dad loving him deep down, i highly doubt it.
My dad didn't care about me or any of my siblings. He got my mom pregnant seven times, because he wanted the tax breaks and welfare checks. Any happy moments were more like him participating in a side hobby, like we were model cars he could interact with when he felt like and could be kept on the shelf when he didn't want to deal with us.
The notion that Bender's dad could have some love for him deep down is a little idealic and shortsighted to me. It's entirely possible that Bender's dad got Bender's mom pregnant on accident, and they couldn't afford a kid but couldn't go through with ending the pregnancy or putting him up for adoption for whatever reason.
Wow, that's rough. I was Bender in high school, absolutely. The reasons are there: a step dad who treated me like shit and a mother who was silently complicit. Luckily, I got over it on my own and became a decent person. I hope you can also overcome your circumstances. Never give up and know there is something good out there you can make for yourself.
There's a theme of parental interaction running through this. From the parents who expect too much on down. It's Alison's parents are the one's who don't care. They expect nothing, they don't interact with her. Bender's father/abusive parents ARE at least still involved, just in a negative way.
That’s rough buddy
I am sorry about that Jenni. You deserved better.
I think this guy might just have a hard time understanding how a parent can not love their child, which honestly is hard for me to understand too.
I was Bender in almost every way. It took many, many years of therapy to get past all the crap that was stuffed into my brain, but I was able to. I still have my issues, mostly depression. However I can work through them with the knowledge I received from some truly awesome people (my therapists). Bender will always hold a deep attachment to me, I like to think that he was able to come through just as I did.
That's such a nice comment to share, thankyou
I always felt like Bender would become a school counselor or a counselor that works specifically with troubled kids. I always had that feeling growing up and watching this movie.
Like, it would take a while for him to get to that point, but since he was so introspective and good with other people, and has lived through the abuse of his father, and to an extent, teachers, he could empathize with people who are struggling with a variety of things and learn how to help them through it.
But that's just my own headcanon.
Thank you for doing the characters of this movie. It's been one of my favorite movies since I was growing up. The videos you've done so far with these characters have really helped me with a lot of introspective problems of both myself and people around me. It's not exact, but I see a lot of similarities between the psychology of your videos and my own personal events.
Thank you again for doing these, and I look forward to seeing the other ones.
I like this prediction. It’s nice he had these intimate conversations about the other kids and what they go through (including the deleted scenes ones in my mind), so he can have a good perspective for a lot of different types of kids/trauma.
Also you could really see Bender as some scared, little child who isn't as tough as he wants ppl to think in that closet scene. It was rough and also the idea that nobody believes in him is pretty much obvious
Clare is an interesting character. I've known girls like her. She's part of the popular clique. She appears to have everything she wants, but does she? Just like the others she is scared, insecure, and longs to rebel against a life that is already mapped out for her. Bender sees her and he's that rebellion. She is the female version of Andrew. Scared to rock the boat and be herself because that might make her loose points with her 'friends'. And to think for herself and choose for herself is scary.
people like u and 90% of the other ppl commenting are so lame its crazy... romanticizing toxicity
this video made me cry. I relate so much with bender. My biggest fear is that i am like my dad and mom. and i cant handle that because they are horrible and what they did is unforgiveable. so i feel like i am locked in at war with myself always
Stay strong, risha a, you are stronger than you realize. Many good thoughts coming your way and here's a hug for you....HUG
Well although Allison says turning into your parents is "unavoidable", I think she's wrong. We might end up looking similar or having some of their mannerisms, but in the ways that matter most, we often do avoid it, especially if we have the self awareness.
It's a big positive if you can think and reflect on that fear. It becomes less powerful when we're able to talk and process it, and the less powerful, the less likely to come true. My advice would be not to be too hard on yourself. Trust that you are you're own person with your own life. Believe that you are a good person
I don't think you were asking for me to write something like this, so I hope it doesn't come across intrusive.
@@mylittlethoughttree No, the more help the better! i'm feeling desperate if i'm being honest I am in therapy but doesn't seem to be helping regarding this issue. Idk maybe it will
@@tammyallen3813 thank-you
@@rishaa682 well obviously I don't know what your therapist is like but stick with it. Sometimes I think just that feeling of being helpless, like you're not sure things are getting anywhere, the feelings of desperation that come from it: that in itself is an experience that needs journeying through...if that makes sense. Slowly coming to manage the feeling until it feels a lot less helpless. Talk about it to your therapist, if you feel able, they shouldn't take it as a criticism of them if it feels like the therapy isn't going anywhere, because that feeling itself is something meaningful that they can work with: "why do we feel stuck? What's this feeling about?"
I guess I'm trying to say that we all feel what we feel, and if you feel desperate, then that itself is a feeling to sit with until the stormy seas calm
In case of Bender's dad, its very clear at least from a midwest native's eyes, that his father has alchohol abuse problem, his depiction of his father look and sound a lot like a Chicago man whose had a six pack to many and is an angry drunk, and that Bender shows signs of repeating the cycle, with him smoking both cigarettes and marijauna during the film, and while he is not hung over, it makes reference that he is at least a casual drinker.
Very interesting!
We do know a tiny bit about Bender's mother. She backs the dad up, probably because she's abused, and a codependent person.
Yeah, I misunderstood that bit in this video, which was an annoying oversight on my part
@@mylittlethoughttree No worries :-)
She could just be plain abusive too. Mothers aren't always good.
@@dee_dee_place his mom calls him ugly, lazy, and disrespectful before his dad slaps her in the face.
Nah fam she was complicit and Bender was standing up for himself, not her.
@@mylittlethoughttree Bender's mother was NOT backing up the father. Bender's mother was being sarcastic in an effort to stick up for Bender, by pointing out to the father that he criticizes and insults Bender too much too often. That's why the father tells her to shut up and go fix him a turkey pot pie. In return, Bender turns it around on his father in an effort to take the heat off of his mother, by asking his father "what about you Dad" and continuing until the father hits him; not the mother. Watch it again and I think that you'll see that I'm interpreting it correctly. In their own ways, Bender and his mother are trying to protect each other by provoking and drawing the father's anger towards themselves respectively. It's actually a common practice within such family dynamics, because most mothers would rather take the abuse than watch their son be abused and most sons would prefer to take the abuse than watch their mothers be abused.
I have always been perplexed by Bender and by Bender and Claire. Having watched this video, I am now kinda wondering if Claire giving Bender her earring was a way of saying that she’s giving him a chance. Even if they don’t get together, which let’s face it, it would be a rocky relationship, she gave him a diamond that could give him a way out. And he puts it on so he can remember there will be people who will give him a chance. I kinda like that thought, rather than trying to imagine them together as a couple.
One thing that always interested me about Bender is the reasoning he was in detention in the first place. He got it because he pulled the fire alarm to save his friend from getting caught with weed. I think that's a pretty important part of his character. it shows that he does legitimately cares for those he calls friend, and is willing to do anything to help them out. You see this again in the scene when they were all about to get caught, and he sacrificed himself so the others could get away, and again when they where talking about whether or not they would all still be friends on Monday. He got legitimately up set with Clair saying that non of them would be, and even became defensive over it. So I think he does have a fairly big heart under his tough guy attitude, he just shows it in different ways.
Wait outta curiosity where did it say that I don’t remember that but I also have the attention span of a peanut so maybe I missed something
I know he pulled the fire alarm but I didn’t know it was so his friend didn’t get caught with weed
It's never mentioned that the theatrical cut of the film that it was to protect his friend from smoking. That's never said. Just watched the film last night lol
After the scene with Vernon threatening him, he probably felt like his life is gonna be filled with hurting him or threatening to. The fear associated with that would be unreal.
The hallway scene is important because that's when his character shifts from defensive and obnoxious to submissive and vulnerable. He sacrifices himself and yes, that's the move of a leader. But it's also the move of someone who is used to punishment. He takes the punishment because another punishment wouldn't make a difference in his life. The vulnerability is shown when Vernon manhandles and threatens him and more later when he takes a backseat to conversations, watching and listening but only participating when he has to.
Moreover, he has learned that if he dares to want something, no one will give it to him. No - he has to take it. That's where his him losing his temper at Claire and the confusion to her visiting him in the closet stemmed. That, and the fact that he hates everything about his life - including himself. The self hatred has deep roots in the abuse at home and the reason he is so combative with everyone. So many victims of abuse are balls of self hatred because they blame themselves for what's happening and because they can't make it stop or get out of it.
I believe the way he moves about kinda like a boxer may be in answer to his father swinging fists. He’s a little peek at real life for them and shows them how to find a little bit of themselves instead of being the person their friends are or who they feel pressured to be
That's a good point. The movement is like a boxer's, that's a better explanation than the one I gave
My favorite line when you grow up your heart dies.
I love her faltering voice saying"I care" after it, as well
@@mylittlethoughttree me too.
@@mylittlethoughttree the best
@@mylittlethoughttree me 2.
I was the Bender of my School during that time, and I am not going to lie, the "when you grow up your heart dies" and "I care" made me cry like a little school girl then, and it still does to this day. I guess I only ever wanted to hear that from somebody, anybody, even just once.
Best movie ever. I love it. It takes me back to those days. I was probably 14 when this came out. I was definitely like Anthony Michael Hall's character ( but I was gay!) and it was all kind of like this. It was totally like this.
Best fucking script and performances ever.
Hey let's watch the mouth, huh -- Andrew Clark
One thing that was not especially addressed in the movie, is that Bender is also a hungry boy ...there is obviously not enough food at home . He was the only ine whi came without lunch ...he was still proud enough to not show it, but it showed up in him assessing every one's meal. That also one reason for his behaviors and also not learning as much as the others....im mostly touched by this character in comparison to the ithers..
Bender is the archetype of the 90’s. When people like Kurt Cobain became cool 😎 over the 80’s jocks like Andrew.
True to a certain extent. I graduated high school in 1998 and yes some of the jocks were still popular but some of these jock types with the medals on their letter jackets were seen as "dorks" and it was kind of uncool. It was seen as comformity and trying too hard...at least in my high school.
When you have authoritarian parents you grow to despise authority and rebel. Getting stuck in 8 weeks of detention with an authoritarian professor obviously was better than being at home because at least he wouldn't be physically abused. As for Bender's off-putting attitude with the other kids, it's purely a defense mechanism. He obviously liked Claire but figures that if he keeps them all at a distance they can't figure him out and hurt him in the end.
In high school, I was a nerd who had a Bender inside him. I was the kid everyone bullied. There's a lot of me that I see in Bender. His rage is like a small ember, constantly burning brighter and hotter, until he has to let go or the blaze will consume him.
I had metal to blow my mind away as a healthy outlet. I would come home, seething with rage, and I would go up to my room and play one particular album (Slayer's Reign In Blood for those who know 80s metal) at max volume over and over again. Every time I started the album again, the volume went down just a little. By the time that my parents couldn't hear the music anymore from the living room downstairs, I was calm again. Myself again. I shudder to think what might have happened if I hadn't had that music.
Bender has never found his healthy outlet, alone, in a place of safety.
That's actually a beautiful image. That's such a clear and vivid example out a safe outlet, I love it
@@mylittlethoughttree Feel free to use it at any time.
I know someone EXACTLY like you have described yourself here, edh, right down to the Slayer. In fact I married him (many years later). As you say, thank the universe for 80s metal. He might not be here without it.
"What Drives John Bender?"
Well- Obviously not a car or vehicle because he is walking to and from School!
.....I'll show myself out!
What drives Mr. Bender? Spite, most likely. Here's hoping he's got his HVAC cert. and is making constant, big, reliable money.
To be honest Bender was hot af 🔥🔥😍but his character 🙁
Ahh the classic rule to not being creepy, be over a 7
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
lil rapey tho?
@@TheBlackDeck yes him too😏😂😂
@Mean To Girls noo I'm not😂😭😭
Someone mentioned that Bender subconsciously wanted to get more detention so he could stay away from home, since it's a somewhat safer place than his home or on the streets or hanging with friends but that he wouldn't admit it. Seemed legit, a bad home life is where you want to stay away from as much as possible especially if it's a physically and emotionally abusive homelife.
I don't know if it's fair to say he has the hardest life. Brian almost attempted suicide. He may have seen and experienced more trauma but his character had developed some good and bad coping mechanism.
Yeah that's true. On paper Bender has the hardest life, I'd say, but he is also probably better equipped to manage
I feel like brian.I have not had a bad life compared to others but i cannot face my emotions because when i do my mind goes to suicidal thoughts instantly.I keep anger and sadness inside me and i cannot process them properly and some times they just burst and i feel very weak and unstable
@@stavroulathebest please stay strong, theres always the possibility that things will clear up & i promise there are people out there that want to listen and help in any way they can
@@ava5319 thank you.i try to stay strong all the time and this far i have been able to copr
patchie you can always hit me up...I struggle with mental health, ptsd, anxiety, panic attacks...nighttime’s are my hardest moments. Everyone else is asleep, and I force myself to stay awake as long as I can. My darkest times are when I close my eyes. But I know I’m not alone. There’s are hundreds of thousands of us dealing with this. You’re not alone My Friend. Stay safe. Stand tall. Reach out.
Bender feels alone, people see him as they want to see him so he acts like a criminal. I think bender wants so many detentions because he doesn't want to go home. When Vernon begs bender to hit him you can see the fear in benders eyes. When Vernon says "You wanna see something funny visit john bender in 5yrs" the look on benders face says it all vernon is implying that bender will be a nothing but I think that by vernon saying that in benders head he will turn out like his dad
That's a good point about not wanting to go home. I hadn't thought of it that way, thanks
@@mylittlethoughttree I mean if I was him in that situation I would do everything not to go home
I think it's both. Unable to back down and taking advantage of not being stuck at home. Even on the weekends, kids back then were generally in the house during the hours of Saturday detention. He might've gone out with friends sooner in the day without that detention, but that would've been an easy sacrifice to get the more significant hours of escape. We see Bender consider stopping and not getting more detention. Sure he is also showing off for Claire, but the gears behind his expressions very visibly never stop turning.
I also think it's why he looks so completely terrified of Vernon later on in that closet. He just trapped himself into 8 weeks, basically locked in a building with someone just like his dad.
He could probably kick Vernon's ass, but he also probably never would. Prison would metaphorically for sure but almost as likely truly and also physically kill someone like Bender. And he knows that, and he's faced with the possibility of a confrontation, maybe more than one happening in that time. And he'd have to device: either try for control and let Vernon beat him or giving up and striking back and ending up someplace even worse in an already horrible life.
I never did understand the tension between Bender and Clair. I was always surprised at the end when they kissed because of all the negativity and abuse that preceded that kiss. I had to watch breakdown videos like this decades later to fully grasp the psychology behind this movie ... and it’s then that I realized why I’m still living alone with a dog.
The scene where Bender's rage explodes reminds me of myself as a kid. Everyone in my friend group back in High School who had seen the movie said I was Bender and I embraced that. I was an incredibly angry person in my younger years.
The scene where he tells about his home life and explodes does something else too. It demonstrates in no uncertain terms that he's stronger than any of them at least in his mind:
It says "Fuck you, even at my weakest I'm stronger than any of you, and if any of you ever crosses me I'll end you."
And then he proceeds to demonstrate it with his rage. Its very unsettling for the other students because its unpredictable and also shows a lack of concern for his own wellbeing. Benders game is the game I used to play, I didnt need to win I just needed to make others lose and I could do that by demonstrating my destructive capabilities. It is psychologically frightening to witness that form of self destruction if you are even slightly well adjusted.
Bender still wants and needs help, which is why he gives that but when he gets that negative reaction he's quick to bring things back into his control even unconsciously.
One thing I've always noticed was before Bender goes on his suicide mission, he starts jogging down the hall singing "I wanna be an Airborne Ranger," a cadence the Rangers still sing, usually as they jog during formation PT. The cigar burn and other hints and evidence of abuse lead me to believe one of two things: Bender's old man is a veteran of some sort, possibly with PTSD or some other psychological illness, or worse, that his father is a wannabe, someone who wanted to join the military but never for whatever reason, and is exerting power over his son in order to prove that he's "tough" due to some sort of felt inferiority.
I became a forever fan of Judd Nelson after watching this movie...he is the one person who comes to mind whenever i think of
The Breakfast Club...
I watch every movie that involves him ....even up to now
When Bender reveals his family situation and Andy immediately responds with doubt, it really hits hard for me. By Bender's reaction, it's quite clear how painful that moment is. Revealing something that traumatic must be really scary in itself. He might be trying to play the whole thing off as an act, be a tough guy, but the truth is he IS in fact opening up to these people about something deeply personal and painful, and the invalidation must really sting. Bender reacts - he gets angry, than he goes over to prove the abuse, then he gets more angry, defensively angry, releasing that anger (smashing things...) and distancing himself from the group (essentially running away). The way he sits by the railing, his back to the rest of the group, his body language and facial expression, I thought it showed a lot of vulnerability and hurt, probably the most we've seen from him in the whole movie (maybe except for the scene in the closet where Vernon threatens him).
And that line, when he says "See, I don't think I have to sit with you Fucking dildos anymore", there's SO much emotion (SO much anger) in his voice, I'd even say the most out of any of his lines.. That's the moment he breaks his cool, it's all been playing and teasing 'till that point but this is where all these genuine emotions kind of boil over I think.
Brilliantly acted, really... And truly amazing line delivery. Quite painful to watch.
This was such a great video. Don't stress so much about the videos being too long. I love watching longer videos and I'd rather the video be "too long" than have you cut out insightful observations for the sake of time. Can't wait to see Claire and Brian.
Thankyou 🤗
I paused the video at 14:57 and you can really see the pain on his face, he looks like he's about to cry but he can't let that happen so he rages
Yes-- it IS realistic that she would fall for him after sexually assaulted.
Unfortunately.
I've been in her shoes.
Sexually assaulted. Embarrassed. Angry at first. After a while convinced myself it was no big deal. Tried to take control of the situation by over sexualizing myself. "Fell" for him. Toxic relationship ensued.
No one asked
@@NormadYT No one had to? She's allowed to comment what she wants.
damn, I been there too. I'm real sorry. I hope you have a good therapist and are healing
@@NormadYT and she is offering relevant feedback to comments in the video and other commenters
I’m sorry that happened Always. It was a big deal. It sounds like you felt traumatized but in that way where you didn’t understand what you were feeling and idk if it’s to try to make sense of things… you went out with him to make that trauma happen on your own terms. Hope you’re feeling better about yourself these days and I hope you know you deserve better :)
Bender explained the reason behind all of punkrock - emancipation of yourself. Well done!
I like the idea of Bender and other characters stripping their layers off as a metaphor. I personally see a jean jacket like armor so I really like that idea. Also the principal takes his jacket off towards the end and that is him showing his true self as well. I love this movie. Thank you for the breakdowns.
not to mention Alison's act of dumping out her bag (which could be argued is clothes, as she wears it most of the movie).
Thank you for this video. I'd like to share some hypotheses about Bender's parents. I hypothesize that they both participate in abuse. (I could be wrong with one or all of these, so forgive me).
-Bender's parents resent their son because there are parents who feel children have ruined their lives since they lost their youth and freedom (especially if the pregnancy wasn't planned). Both of his parents belittle Bender by calling him names like 'stupid, worthless, no-good, goddamn free loading son of a b!tch' along with 'ugly, lazy and disrespectful'--so this may explain why Bender believes he will amount to nothing (Vernon certainly is no help). Emotional and verbal abuse has a profound affect on children as physical abuse.
-Bender's mother seems complacent with the abuse that goes on. While Bender's father is responsible for the majority of the abuse in the house, his mother appears to go along with the abuse and accept it (possibly does nothing to stop it). My hypothesis is she resents him (many unplanned pregnancies lead to parents feeling resentful and place the blame on their child for all their problems). I'm guessing in her mindset, she feels Bender deserves it (I could be wrong) OR she just tolerates the abuse by her husband (I don't really know anything about the affects of domestic violence, but it'd be cool to learn more about it)
-Bender's parents are a low-income family, there's the possibility that alcohol or drugs are involved in the home. These factors, along with an unplanned pregnancy, are often a cause for domestic violence along with child abuse and neglect.
-Bender's dad appears to be the primary cause of abuse. He does this to assert his power and control over everyone. Even when his wife agrees with him when he belittles his son, he slaps her and tells her to 'shut up and to go fix him a turkey pot pie'. This seems like a very misogynistic mindset that women are to be submissive and silent.
Sorry, I forgot to reply to this! I think all of your suggestions are possible. It seems I misunderstood Bender's reenactment of his home, I didn't realise it was his mum calling him "ugly, lazy" etc which certainly makes her seem less innocent. The fact I got it wrong goes to show why it'd be dangerous for a counsellor to speculate like this about a real person, but for the purposes of fun here, I think all of your suggestions could be true
Rewatching this movie as an adult, I came to the same, exact conclusions. His home life has been terrible from day one.
I absolutely love this video analysis of John; it’s a very thorough, empathetic, and fair exploration. He’s easily my favorite character in The Breakfast Club; I’d even say that without him I wouldn’t like this movie half as much. Judd Nelson did an amazing job with the role (his method acting really paid off!) and I’m not entirely sure that if it’d been played by a different actor, the character would be as sympathetic or poignant to me.
Long ago when I was in high school, we had plenty of teachers who were exactly like Vernon and instead of trying to help troubled kids, they beat down on them even further, telling them in front of everyone how worthless they were and that they were going to amount to nothing in life. Judd Nelson said in an interview once that John is someone who’s likely been rejected and put down since grade school, so his anger and tough exterior come from dealing with that for so long. It’s a bit strange to see so many fans of the movie dismiss John the same way (not so much here, but elsewhere online), believing he’ll be troubled forever and will likely end up dead or in prison. In Claire’s video analysis I also see a lot of people simply pegging him as an abuser who’s going to doom her if she dares to go into a relationship with him. I have a different take on everything not only because I’m an optimist (and admittedly, a romantic), but because I’m open-minded and for one, I don’t believe that who you are in your teens or even twenties defines how the rest of your life will turn out. Sometimes all it takes is someone showing you some kindness, affection or sense of worth to melt away SOME of the hurt and anger and start you on a different path. I’ll give an example: in high school, a teacher told us of a student she’d taught a couple of years earlier who always got made fun of and called homophobic slurs for having long hair; in addition, there were a lot of problems at home. Not unlike Bender, I guess, he was angry, loud, disobedient, and had teachers at their wit’s end. One day, one of his classes had a motivational guest speaker; as soon as this lady saw the boy, she made her way over to him to say he reminded her of her late son, and that she thought his hair, like her son’s, was beautiful. Right away, there was a change in this boy’s demeanor and while it didn’t immediately resolve all his issues, of course, he seemed less angry and defiant after that day. I see Bender in a similar way; there won’t suddenly be a magical transformation after that Saturday, but he’ll be better, and with the proper guidance or even his own motivation, he could rise above his upbringing and all the issues it’s created within him. I see him as being the most intelligent and intuitive of the group and I believe that the need to escape his toxic environment could even lead him to end up being the most successful of the five (what a middle finger to Vernon that would be!). Someday he might even counsel the Benders of a younger generation.
As for what develops with Claire, remember that moment when she asks why he doesn’t believe in a one girl-one guy relationship and he angrily deflects with “Hey, why do you have so much s**t in your purse?” I think he’d already had his heart broken, maybe got cheated on, and from then on decided he wasn’t ever going to be anyone’s fool again (as teens we can be overly dramatic like that, I remember that well LOL). Having so many girlfriends at once keeps him from growing too close to any one of them. Then Claire walks in and not only does she represent all the privilege he resents, but he quickly begins feeling something special for her that could get him hurt again, so he acts like a jerk to stifle all that. That’s my theory and although it does not excuse his treatment of her, it offers some more insight. Claire isn’t clueless, I think from his reaction she caught on to there possibly being some heartbreak in his past, so I don’t think she would just use him to rebel and get back at her parents (even though he offered), nor would she make out with him (giving him false hope when she can see he’s falling for her) and hand him her earring as simply a parting gift, as many others conclude. If she had only wanted to be kind and give him some validation, as some say, she could’ve done it without sucking face with him, especially as she can sense how raw and vulnerable he is underneath his armor. It’s my belief she’s genuinely attracted to him too; how far they could go with all their individual issues and pressure from their cliques (and just the fact that they’re teens trying to figure things out, bound to mess up)--I don’t know. There’s likely to be conflict, although in contrast to many others (again), I don’t see him turning abusive. Most teenage relationships are full of drama and don’t make it past high school anyway. It’s actually not a bad thing; everyone needs room for growth and time to go off on their own and experience other things in life. Those who are meant to be might reconnect later in life (and I do hear of many who end up married to their high school sweethearts). The hopeless romantic in me sees something special in these two (again, I think some of it has to do with the charisma and on-screen chemistry of the actors), so I would hope they would find their way back to each other in a few years when they’re at different, better phases in their lives.
Although we clearly get a view of Bender's relationship with his dad (and a similar proxy through his interactions with Vernon) we do catch a fleeting glimpse of his relationship with his mom. In the scene where Bender plays out a version of his home life to the other characters, part of the monologue includes Bender switching characters between his dad and mom slinging verbal abuse at him on one occasion. Although I must stress that this is Bender's description and his wording of the event, it's not hard to imagine that its not far from the truth. In that monologue Bender quotes his dad giving a long list of terrible descriptive words on how his father views him. His mother, rather than trying to naturally protect her child, contributes to the verbal abuse by adding the hurtful adjectives "ugly, lazy, and disrespectful." It paints a harsher reality to one of the film's more complicated characters.
Another scene that feel gets short notice as being a more comical moment (which admittedly it is) takes place immediately after Vernon threatens Bender with more abuse. While Vernon adjourns himself to the lavatory, Bender crawls along the ceiling to the library. Interestingly, Bender tells himself a dirty joke before crashing through the ceiling of the library and causing a "ruckus." I feel that this quick bit of dirty humor is his way to relieve his own tension and express himself after he gets abused. Similar to Will's dirty joke in Good Will Hunting, Bender starts the setup of something to cheer him up and transition some of his rage of abuse.
"home is meant to be a safe space" this line hits right into my inner traumatized child.
The last time I watched this, the scene where Vernon locks Bender up hit me very differently. Vernon's anger goes far deeper than anything Bender has ever done. The guy is basically bragging how heroic he will be for beating up Bender for simply being bender 5-10 years from now. It's certainly not the "you're heading down the wrong path.." speech. What is coming out of Vernon in this scene is much more visceral than any other confrontation that he's had with Bender.
Bender is just a scared kid. His facade has melted away and he even looks as young as Brian. Bender puts on this facade that he is much older, tougher, and capable of defending himself. Some might get the impression that he instigates the abuse at home.
When I was in junior high school, there was a 14 year old who was the “Bender.” He was extremely smart and a very exceptional math student. He dropped out of school and who knows what ever happened to him? It’s really sad.
It is sad to look back and school and wonder what happen to some people, yeah. It's sad to think there were kids I got on with at school who are now in prison. Growing up can be so difficult
I think not only does Bender recognize Allison's outsider status, but also he may be demonstrating an awareness of a social hierarchy that she's not on or near the top of. He's innately avoiding being a bully in a circumstance he can't rationalize to allow for bullying. Bender would likely be repelled by and avoid being an obvious bully himself.
I so much agree with you on all levels...this is really a beautiful boy who is just so very heavily abused every single day! He is the true Hero of the group ...this is also why I think in spite of everything that both him and Claire can actually help each other....
I live these analyses! I can’t wait until Brian’s since he’s the character I most relate to, in that he’s seen as the perfect kid with a perfect life but others don’t understand how many problems he has because of his “perfect” life
I was going to do his next, I think. It was leading naturally to do Claire's next, but then Brian would be last, and it'd be so typical of his character to be forgotten and thought about last, so I'm not going to let that happen
That library is so cool. The rest of the school reminds me of high-school. That library just reminds me of this movie.
We do know that he's told he'll never amount to anything from his impression of them, and that's also how we know his mother is abused by his father too.
The point about Bender's movements is brilliant, and somehow touching. You have really opened my eyes to the depth of these characters. I've loved them for years, but I now I feel I really know them. Thank you.
The best character in a great film of interesting characters, he gets the last shot as the antihero. Genuinely felt for all the characters in this confession scene, which was apparently improvised. So powerful. 80s films were always about the underdog winning. Breakfast club incl. Thanks for a great breakdown on Bender.
The one question I feel is really missing from the video (a video I immensely enjoyed!) is: Why is Bender here at all? Why is Bender still showing up to school, and showing up to detention?
I see two possibilities. One is that he sees school as a way to escape his home life, at least for some of the time. The other (my pick) is, he actually is still hopeful for his own future. He still cares about his own future. And he knows he cares, and that terrifies him. Everyone's always telling him he's a failure. So he can't admit to caring about school, because if he fails, then they were all right. He has to try, but he's terrified of proving everyone else right about him.
I'm only part way through this Breakfast Club character analysis series, but as someone who was in my early 20s when this came out and then went on to become a licensed therapist who worked with high-risk children & adolescents, these are great videos. So glad the algorithm gods smiled upon me tonight. I look forward to watching the rest. These are so spot on.
This movie came out when I was in high school. I think I knew someone who was exactly like each one of the characters in the film. Watching it as an adult, it brings back a lot of great memories. I love that in the course of one day, these 5 kids, learn that they are more alike than they are different. Brian's letter to Vernon sums it up perfectly. I can remember going to parties and spending 10 hours in a room with 4-6 kids, I knew from school that I wasn't friends with, however in that room we shared everything with each other, kept each other's secrets, but never ever became friends beyond the door of that room. I always wondered if other people had the same experiences?
I was doing some sit-ups, I finished and went to the bathroom. Before entering, I checked youtube and saw this. Now I have to watch it before taking a bath. Damn it!!
John Bender is a fun character to watch, and you can't keep your eyes off of him. Judd Nelson did a brilliant job of portraying him. He is actually a pretty bright guy. He feels inferior, though, and overcompensates by picking on those he is jealous of and tearing down what they represent. Underneath the rebel persona, he is fearful and insecure. Why wouldn't he be? With the abusive home he comes from, it is no surprise. But he uses his smarts the wrong way, as an outlet to get himself into trouble. One could say that it is an escape from his bad home life to get Saturday detention.
Bender demands attention. It certainly is negative attention, but he wants to be noticed. He struggles with liking himself, and he wants to matter just like everyone else.
Vernon confronts Bender in that small room, and Bender backs down in fear. It is a good comparison of how scared he must feel with his abusive father. That is the only time you see Bender showing his fear.
He is great at showing his anger. When role playing how life is at home, the pain comes to the surface but he lashes out in rage. He never gets to show his vulnerability that way. I see him showing a softer, more humble side when he kisses Claire in front of the school. He kissed her like that was the first time he kissed a girl, and he pulls back quickly. It was a sweet ending.
With Claire, he is really attracted to her as much as he envies her. What he did and said wasn't right, but Claire is not as self-absorbed as you'd think. My take on her is that she sees the potential in him (given he stops acting like a jerk) and the diamond earring was a token of her caring. I can't imagine those two being a pair, though. Like the song says in the movie, "Don't you forget about me". I don't see Claire or John ever forgetting that day or each other. I see that with the other characters, too.
Bender’s sexual assault on Claire was played for laughs, because in the 80’s that wasn’t considered a sexual assault. I was 15 when this movie came out and that kind of behavior was how boys acted openly.
I'm 33 and I always related to bender the most. I've always had anger issues, psychologically abusive narcissist father, school was tough, had many drug problems in my 20s... I have found my way in life thankfully now, though. So I agree with you, I think bender would have sorted his life out eventually
I was Bender in high school... Even crazier I live in the same town this movie was filmed in... Haha.... Don't worry, I'm a totally normal dude in my 40's now... The flipping school has been a police station for the last 25-30 years...
Okay. So I felt the need to comment on this, because holy shit.
For better or for worse, I always identified a ton with Bender because, honestly, I came from an abusive home and was always the rebellious and brash type. I saw a lot of my own personal demons in him and watching this film helped me to realize a lot of my own problems and how I might have come across to others. A lot of what you said in this video was like someone poked around in my head when I was a kid, and it’s fucking wild.
I have a couple of things I’d like to add to this, just because I think a lot of people who came from this kind of life don’t tend to analyze themselves or speak up. One thing I can definitely say as someone with experience in this lifestyle is that how John acts at home is probably a complete 180 from how he behaves in school. I know that was a big truth to me. I made myself out to be the biggest fish and yet broke so easily at home, granted I did it behind closed doors. I created this persona that I would use to fool anyone around me that I was untouchable. In many cases, I even tricked myself. The embarrassment that I was just a scared little kid who was lashing out was too much. *This is why we see such an intense difference between Bender when he’s with the other students and when he’s locked alone with Vernon in the closet: He’s stripped away from the majority of the social environment that fuels him and gives him a reason to act strong.*
Another thing is covering the reaction with Bender’s trauma. When you come from a home like that, where you get beat down and snapped at for doing the smallest thing wrong, you begin to expect that from everyone. You live your life waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s this constant itching irritation, a constant anxiety, just underneath the skin that you can never soothe. It’s one of the largest reasons I was so destructive and took emotional aim at others; I was doing something, anything to distract myself from that constant dread. The need to constantly feel alive, constantly have an enemy to blame my discomfort on, was something like an addiction. It was my crutch I used to cope. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a couple of legitimate substance addictions, like nicotine or alcohol. I know at that age, I was drinking and was a sex addict.
To anyone who’s maybe concerned, don’t worry. I got professional help and am thankfully much better off in my life now. I still struggle from time to time and will definitely have some permanent issues from what happened to me, but I have coping methods to keep them and myself in check. Healthy ones. It took so much to get to where I am now and I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and say I still have a lot of healing to do that I haven’t even recognized yet.
Also, I wanted to make it clear real quick that none of this *justifies* Bender’s behavior. It just gives an explanation. Back when I was younger, whenever anyone tried to hold me accountable, all I wanted to do was kick and scream and yell that it wasn’t my fault. Truth is, I was terrified to realize I had become an abuser, but it was such an important step. When you try to get better in that kind of life, you often times have to deal with your own abuse *while* recognizing you’ve hurt others and trying to be a better person. When I first admitted to myself that I had repeatedly abused people around me, it broke me like nothing ever had before and sent me into one of the worst depressive stages of my life. It’s a lot to tackle. So just remember; Don’t excuse people who hurt you like this. You matter, too. But don’t be surprised if they can’t bring themselves to deal with everything at that moment. That shit’s hard and there’s a reason why many people fail to change and heal.
Hope this put some light on some of Bender’s insanity.
I can truly understand Bender because my father verbally and psychologically abused me from a young age. so in a way, I am a little like Bender, a little like Allie. and this explains why I have chosen this life and belief system . believe me when you are abused like this, it stays with you, and it fucks you up Man 😤 when ever I see the scene where Bender is talking about his home life, so many old bad memories come back. and I feel angry, and Sad . I have sympathy for Bender, because I was in that situation. and know what it like to be told over and over "Your no good,You'll never amount to anything", or to be made to feel stupid, incompetent , unwanted, or less than.
I think it should be noted how Bender seems zoned-out half the time...
Good thought! I'm not exactly sure what it suggests? Perhaps it's part of his refusal to conform as though saying "I'm not going to be engaged with all this, I'm not a part of it, I have better things to do with my time"
@@mylittlethoughttree I'd agree. I also think he has a hard time receiving all the backlash he gets, so he just sort of shuts down
Yeah, that's a better point
Bender is hands down my favorite character in Breakfast Club . I think he has the most layers. Every character in the film is wonderfully portrayed; but honestly, Bender is the guiding force in this film. I can watch it over and over for many years. Thank you for your wonderful insights! I would love a study from you on Vernon and Carl!
Thanks so much for doing these videos. I remember crying when Bender showed his burned arm and even as a child I remember this being a big moment as far as realizing that parents abuse kids. Bender is such a great character so well written and portrayed.
Im a survivor of child abuse and had a teacher treat me like this one does. In the end ,after about two years of this, i put him on his arse . When i got home my stepfather (the abuser) started at me about punching the teacher, id had enough and was now big enough. I put him on his arse packed a bag and left. 15 and on the street. Im 53 now with a wife n two great kids.
The only way for the cycle of abuse to stop is for those who have been abused to take the pain and not pass it on.
Im still working on myself re PTSD, with work it does get easier.
I was old enough to be there. Thank you for saying you are not.
This was a film that worked for us then
I like your hopefulness. Bender is by far my favorite character. I can feel his pain, his rage, his rebellion, his compassion, his passion, his hope. It does seem that some people get so damaged at home, then school and society that they shut themselves off from the pain by turning to addictions, and then comes the shame cycle over and over. Thank you for the hopefulness for this character.
I've always looked at benders behavior as a shield. Inside he feels scared and weak because that's how his father made him feel. So he puts up this front of "I'm a tough guy who doesn't care about anything or anyone" because he's too afraid of letting anyone in because what if they hurt and abandon him. Which is why when Mr. vernen puts him down in front of the students he explodes and yells at him, because he can't let the other students see any weakness, but as soon as he's in the closet he just takes the verbal abuse from the teacher because the students aren't there and it shows the real bender. It shows the scared jon who feels weak. Which is also why when challenged by andrew he backs down. Not because he's afraid of getting hit, but because he's afraid of losing and looking weak. At the same time he does want to let them in. Which is why he accidentally reveals himself in some scenes and shows them his vulnerable side. Which explains why he makes clare feel disgusting and embarrassed about the lipstick right after getting along with everyone. Because he ketches himself letting them in, so he gets scared and pushes them away again. Which i think is why he's always so mean to clair specifically. Because he likes her, so he pushes her away. And also there's that level of animosity and jealously he feels towards her because she got the nice things and (in his eyes) the nice parents. Same thing with andrew. Because deep down jon wants to be the cool guy with the all friends who isn't afraid of a fight, so i think in that way he despised andrew but also sort of looked up to him. Any way that was just always my interpretation of jon bender.
I think I'd agree
I'd love you to do a breakdown on the Outsiders
This was such a thoughtful and deep analysis of this character! I watched The Breakfast Club for the first time yesterday and was completely blown away by it. Your videos perfectly explain the motivations of each character, I fell in love with the characters all over again after watching your analysis. I'm looking forward to viewing your videos on Claire and Brian!
Thankyou! That's kind of you to take a moment to comment. Glad you enjoyed it
I grew up in a very similar home environment as Bender and just about everything you said rings very true for me. Great video.
me too
Bender's rule breaking most likely comes from feeling that no matter what he does, he will be published for something. If you're going to be punished for being bad might as well be bad. The reason he was so mean to Clair is because he does care about her, he likes her. He has to push her away know that he won't hurt her and his feelings for her might be a show of weakness - the unforgivable sin in an abusive home.
bros getting published 😀
Bender and Allison's analysis I find most interesting... I can relate to them more than the other 3... But they're all fascinating... Thnx for these uploads...wonderful movie and one of my all-time favs no doubt..
Man this is an amazing video. I think Bender definitely does what he does because he's so angry which his emotional pain has turned into just to survive. I think that he also kind of bullies and picks on his Detention Mates because as he starts to care for them, he's afraid they're going to let him down as well. I honestly always thought that Bender became a therapist. Based on "I'm trying to help her."
I always see the scene qith bender and vermon in that closet being a reflection of bemder and his dad. Bender looks genuinly scared by vermon, like he has lived that scene over amd over at home and the scaryness of it never deminished
Can you make a video analyzing why Allison and Andrew end up together? I’d also like to understand why a love interest isn’t even a possibility for Brian in the movie. I’m looking forward to a deeper explanation of the Bender/Claire coupling but I’ve always had a soft spot for Andrew and Allison. Thank you!
It's possible I could do a video on Allison and Andrew's relationship, although I'd have to watch the film again and see if there's enough I can say because, thinking about it now, it'd be quite a short video. I'll keep it in mind though 😊
The Brian question is an interesting one as well. Thanks for your support
Because Andrew's pressured socially to be mean, a bully. But he's a basically decent guy. He DOES feel guilt over it. Alison is bullied. In seeing her (and Brian) as a person, he's doing a sort of penance. He's rebelling from the social mold of jock=bully, and in doing so, he sees her for the first time.
He rejects the jock-bully thing, and when she starts coming out of her shell, she's rejecting the freak-bullied thing. So, they're going toward the same place, just from two different directions.
i love the breakfast club and it has been my favorite movie since i was 11. these analysises make me love it even more
I was also astonished even as an addict of enemies-to-lovers shipps bc Bender was so cruel and hostile towards Clair that I thought it would be the perfect recipe for domestic abuse or sth like that. Like who would choose to date someone who treats you like that and if there's so much bad vibes? But then again I think I didn't really understand the movie back when I watched it for the first time bc I wasn't as aware as I am now of some psychological facts and details, like I was unaware of the depth and complexity of some things. Still very good video and analysis. I can't wait for Clair's video 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
I absolutely love this movie! The Bender character makes me so sad, I almost couldn’t watch your video. As a Mother, if he was my son I would hope that he could meet someone like Claire and be in a relationship with her. I think he could heal and learn by being with her. However, if I was Claire’s Mother I would be very scared to see her in a relationship with a boy like that. I could see the pattern continuing and I’d fear for her safety.
Interesting way to look at it, I hadn't thought of things from a parent's perspective. Although, I guess the parents they do have aren't the most caring. That is true though, I'd always want to help people like Bender, I try to in my work. But if I had a daughter and she went out with him, I would be concerned. Maybe that makes me a hypocrite 🤔
I realized this on Andrews video, and came back to this one to post it on the related character.
I can't believe I hadn't tied these together, hear me out:
Benders dad is a War veteran with PTSD, probably a heavy drinker because of it, and abusive as a result of the two.
"I wanna be an Airborne Ranger." Is a marching Cadence. It's not something that's taught in a highschool, it's something you pick up in the military, specifically Army.
This also explains Benders rebellion a bit more. A military parent can be very strict and overbearing. Rigid rules and expectations. If Bender doesn't live up to these, he would be "punished" with physical abuse, because as I said, his father most likely has PTSD from seeing War, and an alcoholic to boot, and this would cause Bender to baulk and rebel, only adding to the abuse in a never ending cycle.
I wholeheartedly agree with this theory
Your theory reminded me of Jim Morrison’s childhood. Jim’s father was a Rear Admiral in this military, and he obtained that title by starting America’s involvement in the Vietnam war. Jim’s parents method of discipline was “dressing down”, which is basically a fancy work for verbal abuse. But Jim knew his parents actions were wrong, and he became like an Allison instead- withdrawn, shy, and sometimes would say or do erratic antics for attention.
Edit: after rewatching this video I now see that at the 6:30 mark, you can see the logo for The Doors in Bender’s locker. Coincidence lol
The 2 characters I relate the most to in this film are Bender & Allison. I think that's probably the reason why I fell in love with this movie all those years ago when it first came out & why it is still, to this day, my absolute favourite. Thank you so much for these wonderful videos on this incredible movie.
My fave character. I see myself in him as a teen- I was one of a few who had ADD and Dyslexia in my class- back then it was very rare. All the teachers wrote to my parents that the potential there- but I'm just lazy- but nobody really believed in me or my future, plushome wasn't a safe place either. I also see myself in Alison- the weirdo who can't be venerable but needs to be heard.
Judd Nelson has the most shy personality , but the best actor here. Most authentic
I knew a kid who said he felt like a train that wouldn't stop even when he was trying to put on the breaks. He couldn't stop even though he wanted to.
It's a tragically common feeling
It’s sad because when you do come from a situation similar to his you can really understand the reason behind his words and the true meaning.
You analysis this character really felt like you were analysing the anger and fear within myself.
Very good video