Tribute to John Hughes: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
August 22, 2009 at 1:08pm
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Favorite Tirade: “I do have a test today, that wasn't bullshit. It's on European socialism. I mean, really, what's the point? I'm not European. I don't plan on being European. So who gives a crap if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, it still doesn't change the fact that I don't own a car. Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.”
Character I Most Identify With: Cameron (“When Cameron was in Egypt’s land, let my Cameron go.”)
When is the last time you took a day off? Not HAD a day off, but TOOK a day off? And not took a day off because you had an appointment or to chip away at your to-do list, but took a day off and behaved like a tourist in your own city? It’s been a while since I’ve done it. I know that sounds a little snotty after being home for ten weeks, but it’s different when you don’t have to work. There’s something extra satisfying about doing something fun when you should be somewhere else. Like when they’re at the baseball game and Ferris says to Cameron, “Do you realize if we played by the rules we’d be in gym right now?” Then they giggle. That’s what makes this movie so great, because everybody can relate to the feeling of euphoria when you get away with something fun when you should be doing something else.
I do that in my classroom sometimes. It’s usually spontaneous and it’s usually in the spring. I look at my class and I say, “I don’t feel like it today.” And, of course, they say, “We don’t either,” and then we play a game instead of the lesson that was planned for the day. It’s way more fun than if I plan a game day. We all feel like we’re getting away with something together.
The truth is most of us are a lot more like Cameron than we are like Ferris. We are wound up tight and play by the rules for fear we’ll get in trouble. Sometimes we can’t even enjoy taking a day off because we feel guilty that we should be doing something else or we worry that we’ll get caught. This movie is really about Cameron. Through the course of his day off, he learns to be a little more like Ferris. We know at the end of the movie, that even though he’s just totaled his father’s Ferrari and is in more trouble than he has ever been in his whole life, he is more okay now that when he woke up in the morning.
So, here’s a challenge to all you Camerons out there: sometime in the next year, take a Ferris Bueller Day Off. Don’t plan it. One morning, you will wake up and think, “I don’t feel like it today.” Call in sick. Maybe call a friend or two and peer pressure them into joining you. Then go check out your own city with new eyes. Go somewhere nice for lunch. Join a parade. Don’t do anything productive. I think you will be better off. I really do.
On a final note: I started listening to the band, Save Ferris, simply because they named themselves after this movie. They do a great cover of Dexy Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen.”
Favorite Tirade: “I do have a test today, that wasn't bullshit. It's on European socialism. I mean, really, what's the point? I'm not European. I don't plan on being European. So who gives a crap if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, it still doesn't change the fact that I don't own a car. Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.”
Character I Most Identify With: Cameron (“When Cameron was in Egypt’s land, let my Cameron go.”)
When is the last time you took a day off? Not HAD a day off, but TOOK a day off? And not took a day off because you had an appointment or to chip away at your to-do list, but took a day off and behaved like a tourist in your own city? It’s been a while since I’ve done it. I know that sounds a little snotty after being home for ten weeks, but it’s different when you don’t have to work. There’s something extra satisfying about doing something fun when you should be somewhere else. Like when they’re at the baseball game and Ferris says to Cameron, “Do you realize if we played by the rules we’d be in gym right now?” Then they giggle. That’s what makes this movie so great, because everybody can relate to the feeling of euphoria when you get away with something fun when you should be doing something else.
I do that in my classroom sometimes. It’s usually spontaneous and it’s usually in the spring. I look at my class and I say, “I don’t feel like it today.” And, of course, they say, “We don’t either,” and then we play a game instead of the lesson that was planned for the day. It’s way more fun than if I plan a game day. We all feel like we’re getting away with something together.
The truth is most of us are a lot more like Cameron than we are like Ferris. We are wound up tight and play by the rules for fear we’ll get in trouble. Sometimes we can’t even enjoy taking a day off because we feel guilty that we should be doing something else or we worry that we’ll get caught. This movie is really about Cameron. Through the course of his day off, he learns to be a little more like Ferris. We know at the end of the movie, that even though he’s just totaled his father’s Ferrari and is in more trouble than he has ever been in his whole life, he is more okay now that when he woke up in the morning.
So, here’s a challenge to all you Camerons out there: sometime in the next year, take a Ferris Bueller Day Off. Don’t plan it. One morning, you will wake up and think, “I don’t feel like it today.” Call in sick. Maybe call a friend or two and peer pressure them into joining you. Then go check out your own city with new eyes. Go somewhere nice for lunch. Join a parade. Don’t do anything productive. I think you will be better off. I really do.
On a final note: I started listening to the band, Save Ferris, simply because they named themselves after this movie. They do a great cover of Dexy Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen.”
No comments:
Post a Comment