Picture above: screenshot from Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1988)
How some films of the last few decades are still relevant towards society today with their themes and their ideas they explore..
Having just graduated with a BA Degree in filmmaking from Royal Holloway in Englefield Green, it’s safe to say that I have had my creative hat on for the last few years. I have lived in this area since I was born and I did not see any reason to venture further at this point of my life.
However, my passion, dreams and aspirations to reach my goals have become stronger than ever, and filmmaking is the likely path that I am choosing to take. This is why I feel it so easy to discuss films when they are so intricately embedded into my life.
With that introduction,I intend to discuss the ways in which some of the older films can still be relevant in society today, and perhaps how it can be relevant to an individual such as myself.
Think back to when you were a teenager. The hormones, the emotions, the drama and the trials and errors. Now of course as I am from the UK, the differences between UK secondary school and US high school are quite distinctive, however The Breakfast Club as a standalone coming-of-age film, has become a universal truth that being an adolescent is pretty grueling. And when society was presented with a film in 1985 that spoke the truth of a teenager, it’s no wonder it became such a success.
Heathers is another cult classic eighties film that also speaks volumes for the young generation. This film begged the question: what were the young generation in the eighties supposed to do with their lives? It has become clear that the current adolescence are now feeling the exact same way (probably more than ever before). The teenagers in these films were struggling with school and growing up just like the ones in real life have.
Whereas in A Clockwork Orange, the adolescence were not seen as victims of puberty and their parents’ incompetence, but rather perceived as ill-minded, stupid and the scum of the earth. A film that had been hard to swallow for decades, paints a surreal version of society. It indicates that those in power are trying to control the youth, which some might argue has happened behind closed doors. Revolutions have been formed to stop the masses from controlling every part of their lives and leaving them behind.
Taxi Driver shows the aftermath of men when they have endured the horrors of war. Whether it is WWI, WWII or Vietnam, the effects can be the same. Travis Bickle, a war veteran, cannot sleep and cannot bear how society has become. He believes it’s his duty to change it. I’m sure some soldiers of war have felt that it’s their duty to protect society even when the battles have stopped. This could be an example of PTSD, which many in this world have experienced in various situations.
What about Blade Runner? Are we all to one day experience the progression of AI? Are we to live with machines among us that look like humans? These films are designed to make us question reality, and they are films that I have related to considering all factors. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a film that shows what a man or even woman can experience when they’ve been neglected by the system. All these films have tried to tell us a story about society, but in their own unusual and extreme manners.
Whether you relate to Travis from Taxi Driver who hates the city he lives in, Murphy from One Flew Over who has to endure the poor standards of mental institutions, Veronica from Heathers who just tries to fit in and takes drastic measures to keep her school experience pleasant, Rick from Blade Runner who struggles with his own identity and the truth of reality, or the teenagers from Breakfast Club, who all have their own personal endeavours, as stereotypes manipulated by adults.
Who can really tell your full story? Society has its patterns, but we are all individuals. Who knows if any of us can truly be understood. Perhaps we’re all just painted as a statistic by those who control most of the power.
Here are some clips that you can find via the links that show significant scenes in each of the films listed in this article:
