It’s safe to say that most coming-of-age films today are set in high school—a familiar setting filled with clichés, emotional growth, and moments that feel both personal and understandable. These movies capture the awkwardness, the feel-good moments, and the heartbreaks of growing up, wrapping them in scenes we can relate to, reminisce about, or even long for. Two standout examples, The Breakfast Club and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, enhance these moments through their use of music.
In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, two of the most important songs are “Asleep” by The Smiths and “Heroes” by David Bowie. Set in the 1990s, the film focuses on Charlie and his experience first entering high school. Recovering from the traumatic loss of his best friend, he has no other friends to confide in besides his family. He befriends two upperclassmen named Sam and Patrick, who introduce him to music and parties, and generally help him navigate through high school.
After he is given a mixtape from his sister, “Asleep” by The Smiths becomes his favorite song. “Asleep” can be considered somber and melancholy, with it actually being one of the saddest songs on The Smiths’s catalog. The lyrics encompass a certain surrender to the hardships of life and the hope for something more: “There is a better world / Well there must be.” This lyric can be related to a line from the movie: “We accept the love we think we deserve.”
Charlie, like many others, limits himself and keeps his internalized pain from ever being healed. The song’s lyrics echo this, presenting as an acceptance of the difficult circumstances you have been dealt. Yet, Charlie does heal, but only after telling someone how he is feeling and what he has been through. This act is paired with a critical shift in perspective: the realization that he is worthy of something more, something better. Therefore, this song becomes an echo of how it is possible to grow from the hardship and move forward, which is a constant theme throughout.
One other song that plays a big role in the movie is “Heroes” by David Bowie.
Starting in 1961 and ending in 1989, the Berlin Wall separated East and West Germany. The song encapsulates a love story taking place in this setting. As Bowie explained to Rolling Stone, there was a couple who met at the Berlin Wall, where they shared their time together in secret, almost like a forbidden love, with the overall idea being the value of small acts of defiance for the sake of happiness, and taking the leap despite the risk: “We can be heroes, just for one day.”
This song is played in the final, iconic “tunnel scene” of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, where Charlie finally decides to stand up in the back of Sam’s truck, and feel the wind’s breeze going through a street tunnel late at night. All of which happened as Patrick was driving, as Sam was smiling at Charlie in the passenger seat, and the radio on full blast. In this scene, Charlie finally stands up to his trauma and finally accepts himself.
The song lyric describes the freedom of embracing the moment and the idea of being beautifully imperfect, even if things are bound to change eventually. The author and director, Stephen Chbosky initially intended the tunnel scene to use the song “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. Yet, in an article from Vanity Fair he mentions how he wanted, “something that’s driving, that’s epic in nature, and “Heroes” was a perfect fit.”
Not only can a song amplify a moment or an idea in a movie, it can actually be the reason you remember it.
The ending scene of The Breakfast Club, with character John Bender raising his fist in the air while walking across a field, would not be remembered quite the same without the song, “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”
NPHS teacher Mr. Mase claimed that “It made people like a movie that wasn’t that great otherwise.”
The Breakfast Club is focused on five high school students from different social groups, taking on stereotypes such as “The Athlete” and “The Basket Case.” These five students were put together on a Saturday detention, and formed a friendship that changed their overall perspective of high school and of the world around them.
When the song asks “As you walk on by / Will you call my name?” it directly echoes how one of the less popular characters, Brian Johnson, asks the popular character, Claire, if she would acknowledge him in the hallway on Monday, or pretend like they didn’t become friends that Saturday. She said that she would not acknowledge him. But, her, and none of the other characters would forget about each other or that day.
When movies use music, they use it to carry their message to the viewer, and make it worth remembering, worth watching again.