Another Perspective
John Hughes: American Rebel
He was a director who respected and did not exploit his young audience — imagine that!
(Page 2 of 2)
In John Hughes’ world, adults were not always wrong; teens not always right. Nor were the poor always virtuous, the rich always evil, the counter culture always noble, or the prevailing norms always repugnant. Everyone was to be evaluated on his or her own merits as an individual, not as a representative of class, culture, authority, or anything else.
By asserting the supremacy of the individual, John Hughes was himself rebelling against type. He was a Hollywood director refusing to promote the standard Hollywood clichés about America and its youth. His vision was essentially a Reaganite one: that we are all individuals and that the key to our destiny is found not in external social causes, nor dependency on others, but in our own willingness to shape it.
He managed to impart this crucial lesson without preaching it, but by doing the vastly more difficult job of entertaining. He told honest stories, and the lesson told itself. His honesty was why we, his audience, loved him so much. And it is why his films will be watched — and loved — long after the hair styles, clothes and music cease to evoke fond memories from any living viewer.
About the Author
Andrew Cline is editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader. His Twitter ID is @Drewhampshire.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (41) | Leave a comment
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Doctor Right| 8.10.09 @ 11:56AM
I must be one of the few people who absolutely loathed "FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF"...And loathed that smarmy, obnoxious, know-it-all punk Ferris, too...
But anyway...John Hughes...I'm sorry for his family, but I don't think the art/entertainment world has lost a great mind.
With the exception of the "16 Candles", which brilliantly satirized teen angst, Hughes's films always seemed to rely on the same, tired old cliches:
Teens are always horny, and full of angst about life.
In a word...Yawn....
Don't get me wrong...As a Director, Hughes knew his audience, and also (most importantly), he knew how to make money for his producers...That alone is an accomplishment worthy of respect in fickle Hollywood...
Hughe's films were fun, and cute, and (sometimes) poignant...But they were also dated. They were very "80's"...Even the ones he made in the 90's...And Hughes was not exactly an innovator, either. There's a reason he kept recycling the same themes over and over:
1. It sold
2. It was easy
...So we can mourn the man, but let's not confuse him with John Huston, or Fellini.
Smoot| 8.10.09 @ 12:04PM
If you are of the age between 47 and 50, you likely found The Breakfast Club INSUFFERABLE.
Spicy Joker| 8.10.09 @ 1:26PM
"Ferris Bueler's Day Off" - best movie of the '80s.
Alan Brooks| 8.10.09 @ 1:46PM
What do you mean he didn't exploit his audience? Was he a Vatican charity official?
C'mon , be careful with your puff pieces.
Carlos| 8.10.09 @ 3:58PM
Anybody who didn't like Bueller probably goes into paroxysms of delight watching that idiot Swedish YouTube video of the sniveling hippie girl wailing through a thunderstorm.
Save Ferris!
Alan Brooks| 8.10.09 @ 5:10PM
cinematic progress reached its apogee with A Man For All Seasons. not an inch of 'progress' since then. Comedy?
'Some Like It Hot' hasn't been beat.
films are just as good today, but no better.
Mark| 8.10.09 @ 5:14PM
two best teachers to ever appear in film: Ben Stein in Ferris, and Sam Kinison in Back to School
Brian B| 8.10.09 @ 6:24PM
As someone noted above, depends on your age.
I came of age in the seventies and find his teen movies pretty bad.
However, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, Christmas Vacation and Planes Trains and Automobiles were all pretty entertaining even though not exactly high art.
But then what movie in the last forty years has been both entertaining and high art?
Pingback| 8.10.09 @ 9:22PM
Rest in Peace John Hughes | Axis of Right links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Bill Lawrence | 8.11.09 @ 12:01PM
What you said, GG.
Save Ferris
(And how come nobody's mentioned Home Alone which he wrote and produced albeit not direct)
acewater| 8.11.09 @ 1:38PM
The Breakfast Club was horrid.
Chas Morgan| 8.11.09 @ 1:38PM
People who didn't grow up in the 80's might not appreciate his films, but any sane person would have to admit they were amazing better than what passed for teen cinema in the 90's and thereafter (American Pie, etc.)
And by the way, she should have gone with Ducky.
Seek| 8.11.09 @ 6:11PM
I've seen all of John Hughes' films. He was good. I liked his work. But Judd Apatow is better. I can't see "Sixteen Candles" or "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as in the same league as "Superbad," "The 40-Year Old Virgin" or "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."
We live in interesting times. And that's not a curse.
hellen| 9.3.09 @ 10:29PM
Warehouse racking.
hellen| 9.3.09 @ 11:12PM
minute Archlord Gold was AION Items
poptropica | 4.10.10 @ 12:10AM
thanks you very much for your information
Poptropica
Poptropica
poptropica