YOU COULDN’T IGNORE ME IF YOU TRIED — THE BRAT PACK, JOHN HUGHES, AND THEIR IMPACT ON A GENERATION
Written by Susannah Gora
There was something in these movies that elevated them, almost, “to become fairy tales”…
Twenty-five years: an entire generation has passed since the era of Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, St. Elmo’s Fire, and The Breakfast Club. A generation weaned on big hair, big shoulder pads, loud neon colours, the advent of the VCR, modern pop music & MTV.
I was at the slightly younger end of that generation, but it’s one I remember vividly. Sometimes, it feels as if the 1980s was the birth of the modern era. Then again, at other times, it can feel as ancient and alienating from today as the Roman Empire.
In any event, there has been a great deal of recent nostalgia about the time period, particular on the film ouvre of writer/director John Hughes. His movies — and those of his contemporaries — defined that mid-80s generation in a way that boggles the mind, especially in this lightning-fast, digital age, where attention spans and fads can be measured in milliseconds. Even the recent Academy Awards celebrated the legacy of the recently deceased director with a special memorial segment.
So what was the magic…the power…behind these films? How did they become so associated with the 1980s that they act as a cultural touchstone for millions of today’s 30-40 year olds?
Susannah Gora’s book on the topic does an admirable job of trying to gather the various reasons & possibilities into a single synthesis — a combination of interviews, observations, and stabs of psychological insight. It’s not the most academic of studies, but it’s certainly a fascinating examination of the power of John Hughes and his contemporaries.
Part nostalgia, part expose, part rumination…with extra citations thrown in for good measure. It’s an easy to read chronology that doesn’t wear out its welcome. It covers a broad base, but with enough depth to satisfy most readers. It’s entertaining, engrossing, and fascinating.
Above all, it manages to have its cake and eat it as well. It’s a Wizard of Oz style parting-of-the-curtain, but instead of being disappointed by the prosaic reality, the reader is presented with all the ingredients needed to understand how these movies were made, what drove Hughes and company to make them, and why this reflection in the reality of 80s culture was so powerful, so distinct, and so eerie in its accuracy.
There’s a melancholy to much of the book, especially as it describes latter-day events, such as the unfortunate label of “brat pack”, Hughes’ increasingly Hollywood temperament, his eventual exile, and the paths taken by the repertory company that filled the cast of these films. Nostalgia, both good and bad, presented in a fresh, unpretentious manner. If only all pop-culture history was this digestable-yet-informative.
It may not have the same power over younger readers, but if you’re a GenXer like myself, this will be a throwback to a far more innocent world. Luxuriate in the glow of a simpler age, and let loose the memory of those bygone teenage years. Today’s kid’s simply have no concept of what they missed…but after reading this book, they might have an inkling.
Hmm…let’s leave the final word to the book’s introduction:
Some people may ask how can a handful of movies about slight teenage problems…make a sociological impact upon a generation?
The answer to that question lies in the ways the movies taught us to think about ourselves, about one another, about our own innate, infinite possibilities. Through these movies, we found out that powerful friendships and life-changing love can be ours, if only we are smart enough to look for them in unexpected places.
We found out that optimism and bravery are worth being rewarded, and often are. And through these movies, we found out that each one of us is a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel, and a recluse.
Does that answer your question?
