MovieChat Forums > The Breakfast Club (1985) Discussion > Bender's fake applauding

Bender's fake applauding

posted 8 years ago by alonzo9772
17 replies | jump to latest

After Claire showed her secret talent of being able to put lipstick without using her hands, has anybody else's thoughts about the scene changed as you have gotten older?

I understand from a teenager's point of view that what he did was completely unacceptable, and that they saw it as a severe case of bullying for the moment.

However, now that I am in my 20s...I really do not see what he did as an evil act. I guess I have grown a thick skin over the years. Once I have had a university professor tell me that the reason that he gave me a D for my presentation is because he does not like my hair and that I use too much cologne, that started raising my tolerance of accepting others' cruel opinions.

[–] devrasmama 8 years ago

It would be considered a dick move even today. He's mocking her, clearly.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] deem_bastille 8 years ago

to be honest, I think he was just thanking her for proving his point of what a shallow tease she was.

only shallow girls and teases think that is a talent.

and it's not about accepting other's cruel opinions, it is about standing up for yourself and what is right. you were not supposed to be graded on appearance, that is just stupid. appearance has nothing to do with whether you were prepared for your presentation or not.

what your professor did was clearly discrimination and that was dismissible. I have seen people be dismissed for things not as bad.

Oh God. Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more.

[–] Felixthecat34213 8 years ago

Bender was not impressed by Claire because she was clearly under estimating herself.

"I have no talent."

Well...what is she talking about? She knows who Moliere is. How many high school students can even pronounce his name, let alone know who he is and have read his works.

Obviously Claire puts on an act for everyone, even if it means pretending she can't do anything. Women have a tendency to dumb themselves down for their friends and for men.

[–] ttaskmaster 8 years ago

Seriously?
You think that is evil bullying of the highest order??!!

It's sarcasm. Plain and simple, nothing more.

As for your professor - If that story of what he said is even true, I strongly suspect he was joking and that your presentation was just crap. If all of it is true, then perhaps you should consider not slapping on so much cologne...!

[–] alonzo9772 8 years ago

Excuse me, you are not going to take an incident from half-a-decade ago in order to tell me how to use cologne. I was just bringing up an example of how someone's opinion can seem cruel, but the opinion can have bits of truth to it.

By the way, for anyone that is concerned about the situation between the professor and I, he and I have gone through multiple advanced classes together. In a way, we have worked it out. He even eventually signed my bachelor's degree. Nobody needs to come in here and demand that things should have happen differently.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] ttaskmaster 8 years ago

Excuse me, you are not going to take an incident from half-a-decade ago in order to tell me how to use cologne.

Your professor already did that!!

I was just bringing up an example of how someone's opinion can seem cruel, but the opinion can have bits of truth to it.

You cited an example of a situation where someone used a personal opinion to justify a professional decision.

Nobody needs to come in here and demand that things should have happen differently.

Who is demanding?
Aside from you getting on your oversensitive high horse and complaining to an administrator that someone dared to post a difference of opinion, there's no demanding.
I'm supporting your professor and playing the opposing side. Man up and deal with it, kid.

[–] deem_bastille 8 years ago

hey: you are the one who brought it up! and obviously too stupid to report that grading and the professor to his superior for investigation.

you brought up something that happened 5 years ago and your 'example' of how someone's opinion can seem cruel is moot. that is not an example of someone's cruel opinion of you. it IS an example of unfair judgment due to appearance.

a personal opinion about your appearance is not in a grade. you are to be graded on the subject matter.

and not for nothing, I consider every day and action a learning experience. so you snapping at someone for 'maybe the lesson is to use less cologne.' is uncalled for.

the only thing i can say about the cologne... unless your professor was right next to you the entire time during your presentation, maybe you used too much cologne for anyone and you were overpowering the room. If he was sitting in the audience or was otherwise away from you and STILL SMELLED YOU then that is a problem for everyone.

fyi: many times overpowering smells/scents, especially cologne and perfume can bring on asthma attacks. maybe his heads up in that matter was to save you from sending someone to the hospital under an asthma attack.

Oh God. Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more.

[–] alonzo9772 8 years ago

There were two reasons for me snapping on the previous commenter: firstly, with the person's wording, the person made it sound like the mild conflict that I had is a currently ongoing event. Thus, to me, the commenter was trying to drum up drama that has already be buried, and the person's only reasoning behind it is that the person felt the need to play devil's advocate. Secondly, in the deleted comment, the commenter used a bit of foul language which is why an administrator approved the deletion of it. Following that, the commenter came back and basically copy-and-pasted everything with the foul language removed in order to try to get the last word.

That summarizes everything that happened here?

[–] ttaskmaster 8 years ago

firstly, with the person's wording, the person made it sound like the mild conflict that I had is a currently ongoing event.

So you completely missed how I was using past tense wording, then?
I know it was in the past. You said so from the outset.
Hindsight is (supposedly) 20-20 and I'd have thought you might have considered things further since then.

Thus, to me, the commenter was trying to drum up drama that has already be buried, and the person's only reasoning behind it is that the person felt the need to play devil's advocate.

I'm pointing out that there are two sides to every story and you're only giving us your one-sided opinion of events, to the point where you seem unwilling to even entertain the possibility of the other side having validity and kicking off when it was brought up.
The only drama is that which you yourself are raising.

Secondly, in the deleted comment, the commenter used a bit of foul language which is why an administrator approved the deletion of it.

Whoopee-do.

Following that, the commenter came back and basically copy-and-pasted everything with the foul language removed in order to try to get the last word.

The commenter feels he (and potentially your professor) has a very valid point, which you are unwilling to even consider properly, giving rise to the suspicion of self-entitlement.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] adresher-1 8 years ago

Well...I would not consider that "severe case" of bullying. I would consider what Andy did to end up in detention severe bullying, but not fake applauding.

By this point in the film Bender was madly in love with Claire. He was simply teasing her a bit since he was embarrassed and did not know how to or did not want to reveal that he liked/loved her. Very common to see kids in high school act that way. I am not saying it is right, but just not "severe bullying."

[–] AllEighties 8 years ago

Hmm I'd hardly call that severe bullying. He was just being sarcastic. Sure a little jerky but pretty minor as things go. Although it was even more just a mocking tease in a slightly put her down before she rejects him defensive way thing. It could've even been an utterly harmless playful tease, although I guess in that scene it did have a little bit more edge to it. Anyway, nobody would've called that severe bullying in the 80s and people would get over it in about 5 seconds, literally (unless it was done by someone you had a major crush on). If you fell apart from something that trivial you'd have been considered the most delicate flower imaginable. I don't see anyone would call that severe bullying today for that matter either. I don't know. Post-80s people seemed to be a little rougher and ruder on average (hard to describe but by late 90s the way kids at an Ivy acted was more like how kids at a decent public university acted in the 80s and how kids at those places acted by late 90s was how kids acted at low tier state school and then those kids acted how they used to at a school in a rough area, etc.) but then more recently you also have all the safe space hysteria.

The thing your professor did is nuts, if it was really serious, he get could totally reprimanded for that.

[–] leishayoung 8 years ago

He does it because it's kind of lame. It's a party trick at best; not a skill.

He mocks her because she has so much prestige at school but she's got nothing going on...there's nothing interesting about her...and in life stuff like that doesn't mean *beep* He's just letting her know that.