Introduction
Interpersonal communication has always been a subject of thorough psychological analysis. Communication, itself is not only a means of conveying some information to the interlocutor it is a way to find out more about oneself. This particular aspect is probably the most important one because every human being must define oneself as a person. Psychologists believe that there are many ways to make the conversation or perhaps it would be better to say interpersonal communication, which is the key to harmonious relationships.
It is believed that the so-called Lohari window can be of great avail for defining one’s personality through conversation. The very essence of this method or exercise consists of the following. a subject has to choose from fifty-five adjectives that characterize him as a person, these adjectives may correspond with his good or bad qualities. However, there is always the reverse side of the coin, other people, who know the subject also have to characterize him as a person. Then they have to compare and contrast their views. Such kind of experiment is hardly possible under “natural” circumstances.
Lohari window in “Breakfast Club”
However, the makers of the movie “Breakfast Club” eloquently describe this experiment, which practically takes place in the detention room. Five teenagers, who seemingly have nothing in common with each other are compelled to “sacrifice a whole Saturday” for their misconduct. The point is that at the very beginning of the movie, it seems to them that they will hardly talk to each other when their detention is, however, it happens to be just the opposite because the main characters of “Breakfast Club” become the best confidence and what is more important they happen to know each other and themselves much better. Naturally, we cannot say that what we observe in the film can be classified as the Lohari window; however, it resembles it to a certain degree.
Relationships between the characters
We can analyze the relationships between some of the main characters. It is of crucial importance how the perception of themselves and each other changes as the film progresses. For example, if we take such pairs as Claire Standish and John Bender. Initially, these two characters tend to be hostile to each other, however, as the film progresses their attitude towards each other evolves. Through conversation, they begin to self-disclose.
At the very outset, Claire is a wealthy, popular and to a certain degree spoiled girl. It will not be a far-fetched conclusion to say she is not aware of that fact. This person takes for granted that other people dote or even worship her. Moreover, Claire thinks that every person has to serve her interests. The thing is that she is quite used to being treated like a “princess”.
Regarding John Bender, we can say that he is mostly viewed as a criminal or offender. However, we cannot say that it is due to his malice or bad temper. It can be explained by the fact that he was often abused in his childhood. As we have already mentioned he is unfriendly to another teenager at the very beginning, probably this hostility is a kind of habit for him or some means of protection.
Nevertheless, at the end of the movie, his attitude towards himself changes, through conversation with another teenager, we gain a better understanding of his personality.
Perhaps, it would be better to describe this change using the so-called Lohari window. It should be mentioned that this window or quadrant shows, what the person does now about himself and what he does not. Moreover, such a technique allows us to ascertain what the person prefers to conceal and what he shows to other people. Regarding John this quadrant may look like this:
However, at the end of the movie, his perception of himself changes and he becomes aware of his good qualities. Moreover, other students realize that in the majority of cases, his behavior is just a means of protection, they begin to see that he is not devoid of some good qualities.
This change can also be described using Lohari Window. In this case, we see that his image of himself undergoes certain changes.
Thus, we may see that his perception of himself has changed. Moreover, other students understand that he is not only a criminal but also a deeply sensitive and clever person.