Gemini Rising

I watched Brats today

In 1984 I was 16 years old. At the time, my life had its ups and downs. Typical teenage drama? Maybe a little more than that, but I some of the things I thought about was typical of what a teen goes through/thinks about – “Am I good enough?” “Am I smart enough?” “Am I pretty enough?” “Do I have enough courage to do the right thing?” “What is the right thing?” I think these are all questions we go through as we “Come of Age.” -- Mind you this hindsight.

2 of the most memorable movies that really framed those questions and perspectives at the time for me were “Pretty in Pink” and “The Breakfast Club.” Both were written by John Hughes, who I think captured the zeitgeist* of the times.

The young actors at the time, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, were very much demand and featured in movies that catered to young adults.

Then in June 1985, David Blum, writing for New York Magazine interview Emilio Estevez and called his article: “Hollywood’s Brat Pack.”

That title, “The Brat Pack,” really soured those actors at the time and left a bad taste in their mouth. They were actors, young actors, whose careers were just taking off. And now, people in the industry looked at them in a different light. Or so they perceived at the time. Hard to work with? Not good enough as actors? Brats?

Why now, 40 years later? I’m just giving some background before I go over some of my musings after watching the documentary. Andrew McCarthy recently wrote a book, “Brats” which I haven’t tackled yet, but will soon, and put together a documentary, to look at the effect the words “Brat Pack” had on them, where those actors are today, and how they’ve handled that “negative” connotation.

In the 1980’s, I connected, deeply, with those actors and the message of the “coming of the age” films that were filmed. I think one commentor said, and I’m paraphrasing. “We all wanted to be Duckie, but not many of us had the courage to be Ducky.” I think that’s true. I remember as I got deeper into my 20’s, that I grew more comfortable with my convictions, but Ducky was there already.

It was great to see the actors again in the documentary, older, perhaps a tad wiser, some were still hurt by the label, but they had all moved on, made their careers, and were now living comfortably.

It was like catching up with old friends in a way.

Demi Moore said something profound that struck me. I wrote it on my Facebook page at the moment so I would remember it: “The event is the event. What gives it (the event) meaning is the value.” – Each of the actors in the “Brat Pack” gave the coining of that phrase their own meaning/value and then lived accordingly. We can apply that same philosophy to any situation in our lives.

Honestly, I was struck with how articulate and thoughtful Demi was.

It was pointed out in the documentary that John Hughes did not deal with race, but with class. While I do think that’s honest, I think dealing with “class” issues is something everyone can identify with. Certainty it was a struggle I had growing up in my teen years, but as I got older and deeper into my 20’s those concerns fell to the wayside.

Toward the end, Andrew talks to David Blum, the author of that famous quote, “The Brat Pack.” I think it’s a meaningful conversation, especially to Andrew, who hadn’t ever talked to Blum before then and I don’t think it’s a conversation Andrew could have before now. Time has buffered the resentment I think, and Andrew is able to look at that quote more objectively now.

Did a label ruin a generation of actors? Ruin might be a hard word, but certainly, I think their careers might have taken different directions without it. Emilio talked about how he gave up a movie because of it.

Ah, but the timeline we’re on, the label was given, the event happened, and the value it was given by the individuals involved, was unique to them, and as the 80’s moved on, so did we. We came of age our way. We answered our questions, our way.

Having lived through the 80’s, 90’s 00’s, 10’s and now the 20’s – the 80’s will always be memorable for me. The music. The movies. The actors. But perhaps, for me, it was how I tackled the challenges and the adversities I personally faced, and how it made me more inwardly courageous and firmer in my convictions. It taught me lessons that aren’t taught today.

While Molly and Judd are seen in documentary in retrospective, they didn’t give interviews for this documentary. I would have liked to have caught up with them, but I respect their privacy. After all, how we give the event meaning, is the value.

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Zeitgeist ▼

Zeitgeist: for those who don’t know, zeitgeist means the general intellectual, cultural, and moral climate of an era. In this example, the 1980’s.