"You see us as you want to see us" Five teenagers gazing down into the abyss of young adulthood are grouped in together for a Saturday morning detention at Shermer High by stuffy old assistant principle Mr Vernon. In an unusual twist, this rite of passage isn't about going on trial to be accepted into a clan or clique. John Hughes' coming of age tale is about breaking down the perceived cliques and stereotypes, not dehumanising people to one sentence clichés and insulting two-dimensional rap sheets. The five teens are initially labelled by their perceived attributes as the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess, and the criminal. These surface observations are made not only by the adults in their lives, but are also echoed by the teens themselves. They end up providing for each other what they crave from the adults; understanding, compassion, and realisation. Humour, drugs and confrontation are all employed to slowly associate the group but in the end the real connection comes from communication. Talking TO each other rather than being talked AT. This is a rite of passage to becoming not necessarily an adult, but an independent human being, free-thinking and unsuppressed. They complete their rite of passage when they acknowledge that their labels do not define them or others, they transcend their stereotypes and realise that the only thing they all truly have in common is that they are complex human beings with their own history, beliefs, dreams and personalities. Don't you forget it.
Film Graduate, tea chugging, whiskey sipping metal head. Love of films, video games and a perfectly healthy appreciation for comic books. Black Bolt is the greatest superhero and Rock Me Amadeus is the best song ever made. No, don't argue.
