the breakfast club

Happy National Library Card Sign Up Month!

So, first things first, how many of you have a card for your local library?

I hope all of our trusty Hub readers raised their hands with enthusiasm! After all, having a library card is cooler than being cool, as the 2015 honorary chair Snoopy himself tells us. Besides, a library is a gateway to a host of free and fabulous resources! If you haven’t had the chance to saunter on down to your local public library and receive your very own library card, take advantage of this celebration’s last couple weeks to investigate the process.

But if you need a reminder of just why libraries are in fact so cool, check out these examples of excellent and awe-inspiring fictional libraries.

The Hogwarts Library from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

What library fan could resist the cavernous and mysterious space full of magical texts detailing everything from how to take care of baby dragons to the secrets behind the creation of dangerous potions? The Hogwarts Library is located on the fourth floor of Hogwarts castle and contains thousands upon thousands of books. The space is divided into many specific sections, including the Restricted Section–a roped off area which requires a signed note from a professor to access. As far as we know, the librarian is the stern Madam Irma Pince. Additionally, the library is the site of quite a lot of significant moments and discoveries for Harry, Ron, and Hermione during their time at Hogwarts; it’s clearly a cool place to hang out–or at least a good place to conduct research on dark secrets and even darker magic. After all, as Ron so wisely states in his description of Hermione’s particular approach to problems, “When in doubt, go to the library.” Continue reading Celebrating National Library Card Sign Up Month With Fabulous Fictional Libraries

And these children that you spit on

As they try to change their worlds

Are immune to your consultations

They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…

–David Bowie, “Changes”

The 30th anniversary (and theatrical re-release) of The Breakfast Club seemed like the perfect time to indulge in (yet another) re-watch, with my Breakfast Club buddy (and lovely niece) Halle for company. Written and directed by John Hughes, starring Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, and Paul Gleason, The Breakfast Club is one of the many things we bonded over, in between comic books, Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, and good thai food, despite the fact that it came out in 1985, a good decade before she was born!

There’s no need to be coy; Halle is 19, I’m 44. I wasn’t old enough to see it in the theater (that pesky and widely despised ‘R’ rating!) when it first came out, and I was too much of a Brian to try sneaking into the theater. Thankfully, the magic of VHS brought The Breakfast Club to my very own living room; I’m guessing I finally saw it during my sophomore or junior year of high school. Over many years of re-watching, I’ve changed my opinion about some parts, noticed things that are missing (like any diversity whatsoever), and come to appreciate some of the scenes I didn’t before. It’s not an easy movie–it’s too ambiguous and hits too close to home–and I don’t think it’s perfect. But it’s funny and honest and real in a way that’s pretty rare, even now, 30 years later.

Halle here– I was a kid when I first saw it so it didn’t mean much. I thought it was really funny but I didn’t get a lot of it until I was 9 or 10, and even then it didn’t really hit me the same way. That probably changed when I was 13 or 14 and old enough to more fully appreciate what was going on. And then I loved it. It’s one of the only films about teens that isn’t full of clichés, that isn’t totally unrealistic. All of the stereotypes (athlete, princess, outcast etc.) are obvious, but not over-exaggerated. This movie has charmed two generations, at least, so we wanted to talk about some of the reasons we think it holds up.

Julie & Halle’s Top Five Things That Make The Breakfast Club Special:

Words, words, words

Halle: My favorite aspect of the movie is probably the dialogue. It’s hilarious and clever, but realistic and not over the top. The movie is basically just talking, but all of the dialogue is interesting and important and it never gets boring, which is amazing. The dialogue is especially good compared to most teen-centric films, which do not accurately portray what teenagers are really like, what high school is like, and how teens actually speak. You can basically tell right away what stereotypes each character represents by how they’re dressed and by their body language, but it’s their first few lines of dialogue that really tell you who they are.

Julie: Plus, the quotes! This is one of the most quotable movies ever. “Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?” “If he gets up, we’ll all get up…it’ll be anarchy!” “Screws fall out all the time; the world is an imperfect place.” “Could you describe the ruckus?” Hilarious and highly useful. But then there’s also “Sometimes I feel invisible.” “If you say you haven’t, you’re a prude. If you say you have, you’re a slut. It’s a trap.”

Continue reading Sincerely Yours, The Breakfast Club