does John Hughes' recurring theme of 'alienation' make him an auteur?
projector: picture of John Hughes
Speaker: John Hughes is most famously known for his dramatic comedies that with an optimistic approach show the life of teenagers and the life they live. The Breakfast club holds the legacy of being one of the best teen films ever made (13) with its insight into the teenagers home life and the emotions they bottle up. In a decade that revolved its films around films about killers and sex lusting teenagers it was good to have teenagers portrayed as just normal kids who have there own problems and change peoples outlook on them (16). Thought many of John Hughes films he uses the theme of alienation on his characters, he makes them outcasts and exploding with teenage angst, making all his characters relatable to the audience the films are targeted at, but they do not only appeal to the younger generation, his films have a certain element about them that draws every type of person in, maybe its because everyone routes for the underdog, which many of his characters are.
An auteur is a person, usually a director, who was able to stamp his own identity upon a film despite the commercial pressures within the studio system, whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp. John Hughes fits all the criteria for this as all his films have running themes, such as misunderstanding, high school, stereotypes and neglect, he also uses one actress, Molly Ringwood, in many of his films. Hughes style is recognizable to anyone who has seen his films, and in the time that he made his films, put a fresh new look onto films of that decade, he did not falter to the pressure of demand and brought something that would envetually become some of the most iconic films of this century , shining new light onto the real life of teens and high school and the problems they face, educating every generation of what it is like, but with a witty and comical feel to it as well, many of his films have an element of romance in, with the underdog coming on top at the end, which supports his audience as most people feel like an underdog so they seem themselves and identify with his characters, helping boost his success by relating to his audience better.
Projector: clip from The breakfast Club (1) [6 mins 13 secs]
speaker: This scene is a major part of John Hughes legacy, in the scene you can clearly see and hear the teens talking about how they feel isolated and misjudged, how they follow the stereotype and live up to expectations to make other people happy. Brian, who is the stereotypically geeky kid, starts the scene by talking about when they start school on Monday, are they all still going to continue the friendship that they started that day or are they going to go back to there stereotypical groups they belong to. You can tell by all the characters faces, which are shown one by one as he asks the question that even though they all want to stay friends that they wont because high school is based on cliques and clicks that they all belong to (7), and for them to break the barrier that is built up by society would alienate them more than they all ready feel. John Hughes alienates his character in the film, which overall makes them more popular to his audience and more relatable, which in the end made his films the success they are, because people can relate and understand the character and use them as support and an ecape from there lifes, and get involved in someone elses life that is going through the same thing, and since John gave all his films a happy ending it gave hope to his audience.
projector: pictures of sixteen candles(2) and Ferris Buellers day off(3)
speaker: another two examples of teenage angst in Hughes films is Ferris Bueller and sixteen candles, in Ferris, the protagonist fakes illness and takes a legendary day off school, with his principle chasing after them(3). In sixteen candles, the protagonists family forgets its her birthday and she is granted 16 wishes to use by the end of the day, which starts to get messy (2). Both main characters hold a lot of angst and both have the theme of misunderstand from adults, Ferris is assumed to be a trouble maker and both parents in sixteen candles are absent, in a way both characters act out for attention.
Not on was Hughes films entertaining, they also taught a generation, which were being brought up in a time of Hollywood being obsessed with sex drugs and crime, the clicks and cliques of adolescence, for example, The Breakfast Club taught us that no matter you group you belong to, you can find common ground with anyone, in the scene where they are all sitting down talking, each of the characters have problems going on, such as Brian tried to kill himself because he got a B on a test, another is being pressured into the jock lifestyle, one is getting beaten by his dad and another is bullied for how she dresses and acts, but at the end of the film they all make friends and hope to continue the friendship after school starts again on Saturday. He showed teens that its okay to be unusual and angsty, its part of growing up, and everyone is going through it, it also taught teens and parents alike that adults and youth don't see eye to eye, but its okay because it happens to everyone, such as in Ferris Bueller the principle is so convinced that Ferris is misbehaving that he devote his whole day to finding him out, he just assumes that he is up to no good.(14), Hughes wanted to help and support the vunerable and confused youth and show them that they aren't alone and in the end everything will be alright, at the end of his film the underdog always wins, like in Sixteen Candles, the underdog gets the boy, which normally its the other way around, which shows that he wants to break tradition and give his films a more realistic approach, Sixteen Candles ends with the protagonist getting picked up by the good looking boy that she likes, show that in the end things will turn out the way you want them, you just have to keep trying.
Many of Hughes films are critically acclaimed for the realist picture of youth and angst that he shows, winning over the hearts of many, not only did it give him multiple film contracts with big companies, it also won him the title of the king of angst. A lot of his films star Molly Ringwood, who in an interview (11) talks about how unorthodox his approach to film was and how he helps different views and politics towards films and the characters he created. This approach cause a significant change to the social and cultural deportation of teens in cinema, in the current decade and decades to come. (10) All of Hughes films take place in a town he created, which almost helps link all the characters up, and shows that every type of person has problems. (6) He uses stereotypes and recurring themes to push forward to the audience that everything is not as it seems, that people who seem happy may not be, this is also empathized by the recurring them of neglectful parents and acting out for attention, this may of also taught parents that they need to pay more attention to thee kids. Many film makers started taking on Hughes style through out the years, for example, Clueless, which was released in the 90's, has many elements of Hughes films, such as sterotypes and underdogs, neglectful parents and high school, Hughes shaped a whole new genre of film which to this day is still popular.
In conclusion, John Hughes is an Auteur as he uses reoccurring themes throughout his films and fits the criteria for an auteur, John puts a personalized stamp on his film, which is recognizable to anyone, he makes films in his own style and a passion for depicting the true life of a teen, through angst and alienation, over the years he taught many generations about the struggles of puberty and the stereotypes and cliques of youth. His constant use of misfits and underdogs helped support and entertain generations to come and help educate those that feel alinated themseleves that its okay and everyone goes through it, his films will go on to be legandary for years to come and will continue to help and entertain the audience, giving them hope with his witty and uplifting films, and happy endings, Hughes will remain to be one of the best directors of his time and the king of teen cinema.
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