Another washed up has-been making one last desperate grab at the limelight, attacking the film and people who made her in the first place. Sadly, for her, it's actually her best chance for a "sympathy resurgence" in her career. We'll probably see her in some shit movie or show here in a few months.
shareIt's hard to believe a 50-year-old wrote this, it reads like a Tumblr post.
shareWhat a cunt.
I'm so sick of this #Metoo garbage. The Breakfast Club is a great movie. Why on Earth would you want to taint your own movie for your child?
She didn't write the movie, you misogynistic pig. How could she taint it. Some scenes played for laughs aged poorly. Like a lot of 80s comedies.
shareDidn't she kick him or something under the table?
sharePathetic. How even when nothing happened to her on set, she can still criticize the WRITING of a movie and spin it as if it was a personal attack on her. Didin't see her complaining about the script when she agreed to make the movie. She was perfectly fine with "sexual objectification" then wasn't she? Technically you could say she was just as complicit in this new "#metoo rape culture" as Hughes was and didn't seem to have any problems with it as long as she was getting paid. And I love how everyone saw this film in theaters, fell in love with it, made it a cult classic, but only NOW...30 years later....NOW it promotes sexual harassment? I honestly can't believe this. I expected a lot more spine from her. That even when NOTHING HAPPENS, it's STILL a problem.
No wonder men aren't marrying anymore. Imagine waking up every morning and worrying that today is the day that your wife accuses you of rape for consensual sex that happened 30 years ago.
amen. well said.
shareUm right...
So what about Ringwald's argument? What do you think of Bender throughout the film either lambasting her character or getting in close to make unwanted sexual remarks, as well as trying to go down on her under the table without her consent? Then in the end on the same day, without any apology as well, being rewarded for his behaviour and hooking up with her? You really don't see any problem here? Because there was a problem with that resolution long before MeToo came along.
And this reaction isn't some urging on the "regressive Left" wanting to throw the film into a bonfire. And I for one still greatly enjoy this film.
No. I really don't see any problem here. It wasn't a problem then, and it isn't a problem now. You'll notice that when he berated her character she had no problem telling him to shut up or get fucked right? That's how you handle a situation like that. When someone says mean words you to, you tell them to fuck off and carry on your day like a bloody adult. What on earth gives you the idea that it's not ok to be an asshole? You think you or anyone else has the right to demand that someone treat you with respect? Got news for you honey, you have to share this planet with 7 billion other people. You're bound to have an insult flung you way sooner or later. And you DON'T get to dictate to them that they owe you manners or respect. You choose your company as you will.
You'll remember, SHE kissed HIM at the end. Why in the living hell would it be assumed that he needed to apologize for his behavior? You don't think that's an adequate enough forgiving? Why does this shit need to be spelled out to you?
So basically your argument is she gave insults back to him and a kiss was all that was needed in the end to make a loving couple. Good one...Oh and that everyone has a right to be an asshole and no one has the right to be treated with respect. LOL that's the most stupidest response I've ever read on this site.
shareThat's how the MOVIE WAS WRITTEN you blithering idiot! After all the mean things he said to her, Did you NOT see her kissing him in the end? In what way does her kissing him not imply that she swept it all under the rug? That's not ME saying they were a loving couple, that's THE MOVIE! Jesus Christ how dense are you?
And yes, everyone has the right to be an asshole. We teach our children not to be, because we want them to be respected, and therefore we teach them to give respect in return, but those are morals that we instill into them. They are not laws. Do not mistake good parenting for laws. Unfortunately for you, we live in a free society, where behavior is not mandated into the judicial system. People have every right to say whatever they like to you no matter how hurtful the words are. We place the onus on the recipient to walk away like a fucking adult unscathed.
I mean for Christ's I remember growing up being bullied at school with mean words and my parents told me to grow up and ignore them. And then I did. And I'm still here. That was THEN when we told CHILDREN to follow these steps. But now we're having to teach ADULTS TO DO IT! Jesus Christ man the level of coddling and infantilization right now is just repugnant.
Additionally, "most stupidest" is redundant and doesn't work in any English sentence. Try writing an essay with that kind of English and watch the professor laugh in your face.
Yeah obviously being told to just grow up when dealing with abuse has left you an agressive and resentful person angry at the respect and understanding given to others. That's very unfortunate and I hope you move past that and grow. And I'm pretty sure behaviour is mandated by the judicial system.
You're point about how that is just how the movie is written doesn't compute. We interpret things from film that may have been unintended by the filmmakers. I don't think you would want to understand this and I'm not gonna explain further.
Of course not. Can't explain what is unexplainable. Why is it just assumed that I'M the one misinterpreting the film and not you? SHE KISSED HIM for crying out loud. In what part of that are you thinking "this isn't going to end well"?! How does someone even think that after watching this movie?
Jesus, we as a species have domesticated the elephant, traversed the world, created the internet, telephone, built sewer systems, put men on the moon, won world wars united against fascist dicatatorships, but somehow we can't handle mean words anymore without melting apart into a puddle of weakness and infancy? My god. What is happening to us?
"[–] not_a_virus.exe (624) 14 hours ago
...Why is it just assumed that I'M the one misinterpreting the film"
right now i could give you 623 reasons why it is rather easy to assume that.
hey , not_a_virus.exe ,
Could you stay off my side of the discussion please! (not that im in it yet)
Everyone has the right to be an asshole? whilst ,yes, its technically not illegal to be an asshole its socially unacceptable by defintion.
you can put SHE KISSED HIM in caps all you want , but that dosent mean anything: If the script had been "Bender brutally beats her until she is blue , then she had to kiss him" would that be ok?
And congrats on getting pedantic on "stupidest" , perhaps you can tell me not to start a sentence with "and" now?
What do you mean stay off your side of the discussion? You replied to me. That warrants a response.
Oh, I see, so while you agree it's not illegal to be an asshole, it's socially unacceptable, and therefore, characters should be written according to what is considered "proper" by society's standards then right? Can you imagine how unbelievably boring all of our books and films would be if we followed your crackpot formula?
Voldemort is "socially unacceptable". Edward Norton in American History X was "socially unacceptable". Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino was "socially unacceptable". Norman Bates was "socially unacceptable". Freddy Krueger was "socially unacceptable". Hannibal Lecter was "socially unacceptable". Don't see anyone complaining about those guys do you? Murder, cannibalism, racism, those things are fine in our movies. Name calling women?! HOLD THE PHONE AND GET THE PRESS!
If the script was written that Bender brutally beat her until she was bloody, she would have been sent to a hospital. In what world are you thinking that she would kiss him with her swollen lips and broken nose like everything is fine?
no I agree with you that Molly Ringwold is making something out of nothing .
Like i said , im on your side of this debate
The Benders character was being a bit of a dick at times , and that happens in real life.
Sometimes really bad things happen in films , like murder , but its ok in the film.
You were kind of coming across as saying that anything that happens in a film is ok to do in real life.
I think the crux of this particular debate is how far he went while hiding under that desk . i cant remember the scene. Didnt he just look , and raise his eyebrows or something?
When did I ever imply that anything that happens in a film is ok to do in real life? That's quite the leap you made there. I honestly can't fathom how someone would have carved that out of what i said.
I don't understand how this movie now all of a sudden is getting attacked for the behavior on one single character. Out of all of the poor character traits of each of them, Bender's sexual assault is the only thing we're talking about. Because Molly Ringwald up and decided to ring the bell and let us have at it.
Bender also forced his hand down Johnson's pants to hide his weed. and no one made a fucking peep about it. It's like they get the character when he does everything until it's being done to a woman. The hypocrisy is just incredible. All of the things these kids did and no one bats an eyelash until Bender says mean words to Claire and tries to go down on her.
We turn a blind eye to cannibalism, murder, theft, drag racing, violence, bullying, racism, etc because we know it's just a movie. Those things are ok in our movies because it's just entertainment. But once a man starts being mean to a woman then all of a sudden it turns into a preachy choir about how the film makes a bad example of how men should act? Jesus Christ.
Go ahead then...I'm waiting..
shareIf Derek Vinyard was presented as a hero in American History X, got away with everything and was presented as being correct in his racist views of African Americans then many would have trouble with the film's MESSAGE. Films convey themes and messages did you know? The issue with The Breakfast Club is that Bender is rewarded with the girl after harassing her throughout the film and trying to go down on her without consent. It's not rocket science to figure out.
shareBut SHE was the one that rewarded him. SHE did that. Not him. It was her decision to reward him, so why are you disputing her decision? She's free to choose is she not? Or are women's choices in films only supposed to be written so that they make "yours"?
share" SHE did that. Not him"
well , no , the script did that .
Therefore she did. And Molly Ringwald seemed to be perfectly fine with it enough to take the part and cash her check didn't she? Yeah. That's what I thought. It isn't until a hashtag started trending on the internet 30 years later that it becomes a problem.
shareI was picked on to in minor ways. I have that person a piece of my mind, or just ignored them. It did not scar me for life.
shareLame. She needs to look at the script in context. There’s nothing suggesting rape, objectification
shareUnwanted muff diving? Maybe watch the film again.
sharewith the rest of the group and the principal right there? seriously ask yourself if that was a rape scene or a gag.
shareIt's treated as a gag. If someone was attempting to do that to your wife or daughter would you not consider it a form of assault?
shareAnd yet even when it's treated as a gag, we see her crushing his head between her legs and kicking him violently while he's under the table do we not? That was how women BACK THEN reacted to something like what Bender did. NOW? Now if a boy tried that kind of thing girls would be running to the principle so they could call two armed MEN in police uniforms to take care of it. Such strong. Much independence. It's almost ironic how The Breakfast Club paints women in a much stronger image back then.
It's not like the film is trying to teach boys that that kind of behavior is acceptable. The whole point was that it was NOT acceptable. NOTHING THAT BENDER DID WAS ACCEPTABLE! He was a CRIMINAL for Christ's sake! Did we just forget about the whole cussing at the principle and smoking weed on school property thing? Or how about when he pulled a FUCKING KNIFE on Clark?! Did all of this just escape you? In what world are you seeing Bender as the hero here?
Yeah right, a girl calling the principal because a guy is trying to go down on her is such a whinger according to you.
The film doesn't present it as acceptable behaviour we know that. The argument is a criticism of Bender being rewarded for his behaviour in the end by getting Claire without any visible apology for his actions.
Now tell me, if your mother, wife or daughter had hooked up with a guy that did everything Bender did to Claire on that same day would you be happy?
No, I wouldn't. But Claire wasn't my daughter was she? If YOUR daughter decided to hook up with him even after everything he did to her, would that not be entirely up to her? Would you ground her and make sure she never dated boys again like she was a prisoner? Claire "rewarding him" was a decision SHE made. I thought feminism was supposed to be about women's rights and freedom to choose. That includes the freedom to make mistakes without daddy getting in the way does it not?
shareNo you wouldn't. That's the point! The problem with the outcome where it's all supposed to be just bliss. Yeah sure you would be happy to just let your daughter be with an abuser... Jesus Christ, feminism isn't about being happy that a woman has chosen to stay with an abuser. It's about helping said woman realize she deserves better and has the freedom to escape. You really think abuse is normal don't you?
shareThere's MANY MANY MANY things that different characters do in MANY MANY MANY movies, that I would not have wanted them to do if they were my kids. How is this supposed to be any different? I don't see Claire as my daughter or mother when I watch the movie, I see her as Claire. A normal individual making her own decisions. Why on earth should I be protective of her? Is that how you see women in films? As an extension of your family of which you want the best decisions made? That's weird. And rather frightening.
shareIf Derek Vinyard was presented as a hero in American History X, got away with everything and was presented as being correct in his racist views of African Americans then many would have trouble with the film's MESSAGE. Films convey themes and messages did you know? The issue with The Breakfast Club is that Bender is rewarded with the girl after harassing her throughout the film and trying to go down on her without consent. It's not rocket science to figure out.
shareHow old are you really?
shareBut SHE was the one that rewarded him. SHE did that. Not him. It was her decision to reward him, so why are you disputing her decision? She's free to choose is she not? Or are women's choices in films only supposed to be written so that they make "yours"?
shareThe issue is she chose to reward Benders bad behaviour. Of course she made a choice - that's the problem.
shareSo why is it yours? Why are you making a big deal about a fictional character's bad decision in a movie? Do you obsess over every fictional character's bad decisions? I just don't understand what your point is.
One of my favorite shows is Breaking Bad. In it, Walt is painted as a hero. Despite that, he makes some bad decisions along the way. In the end he pays for them. I would never once think to complain and whinge on the internet about how Vince Gilligan wrote Walt to make all the wrong decisions that I personally would not have made. Couldn't even imagine it.
Here I am being told this story, a story written by the creator, and to think that I have more right to how his story ends than the creator does? Unbelievable.
Here's an idea, how about YOU write your OWN story the way YOU want and then get it published or scripted so that you can have your own characters make all the decisions you want them to? Sound like a plan?
Yes obviously you're not understanding the point here. One last time: in reality guys aren't supposed to be rewarded by a relationship with a girl they've verbally harassed and tried to go down on. That's what happens as a happy ending in the film. That's the problem. It's an outdated message.
share"Supposed to be" is the issue we are discussing. Claire did not make her decisions according to how you think she's "supposed" to make them. Claire is not a robot that you get to dictate around however you like. She was never supposed to be a rolemodel. None of these characters were. That's what makes them real. How come no one is bitching about Alison being a chronic liar and kleptomaniac? Is the movie not promoting deceit and theft? How come no one is bitching about Bender pulling a knife on Clark? Is the movie not promoting smuggling in contraband like drugs and weapons into school property? How come no one is bitching about Clark taping some hairy nerds ass together? Is the movie not promoting bullying and physical abuse? How come no one else's shady history has come into this discussion once since Molly Wringwald decided to retroactively lament her character? Because no one cared until it became trendy to. You're a band wagoner just waiting to pounce on the opportunity to feel like a victim. Just like her.
share*Sigh* you really can't comprehend anything can you? BTW the problem of the Bender and Claire hook up was discussed as far back as the 1990's and has been mentioned by many on this site, including myself, way before Molly Ringwald said anything. So there's no "band wagoning" here.
shareI'm comprehending just fine, you just aren't making a solid case of your argument as it has been refuted more than one way since the conversation started.
shareNo you're not. The point has been made to you numerous times - even using your example of American History X - but it's all gone over your head. PLUS it's been pointed out to that the criticism existed way before MeToo.
shareThen why can't you address anything I'm saying? Every argument you put forth, I'm refuting. And then the only thing you have left to say is "you just don't get it". A clear sign of failure.
shareIt's ridiculous how everything gets linked to the #MeToo movement. There is nothing harmful about this movie.
However, I do agree Bender got rewarded for his creepy and rude behavior. I don't think he deserved it because he hardly showed any change.
I don't have a problem with her change of heart about that stuff.
We all eventually have the experience of looking back in our lives and discovering we feel very, very differently about something we were "okay with" AT the time.
It isn't just arising out of disingenuous band-wagon jumping -- I don't know anyone with even the tiniest ability to reflect upon their own positions on things, who hasn't reversed position on something in their past.
It's part of growing, learning, getting enlightened, finding you regret things. This is normal human stuff and hard to NOT to do, actually.
I still love this movie but I'm not above acknowledging that there's always been some questionable and outmoded messages, even if unintended, in there, but that too is part of life.