Social Penetration Theory is one that affects us all and you may not even realize it.
Social penetration is defined as, “the process of bonding that moves from superficial to more
intimate,” (West, Turner, 168). Any relationship that you have started with someone has almost
started out a little awkward. When you first meet someone usually people can be shy or may just
give you the rough surface of who they are. They may only say things like where they are from,
what they do, and some interests. But once you really start to get to know someone you start to
truly peel back each layer and figure out more about them. This theory can be related to an
onion in the fact that everyone has layers that can be peeled away. Every relationship you have
there are certain layers peeled back. One would have more layers peeled back with their parents
or with their significant other than they would toward someone they may have only met a few
times. The more layers one peels back, the deeper the relationship is and the more you know
about someone.
John Hughes’ 1985 film, The Breakfast Club is a prime example of the Social Penetration
Theory (SPT). This film has many scenarios in which SPT is depicted. This film shows that
with time and some effort people can peel off the layers of others and get to know them. This
film depicts a group of teenagers from various stereotypical high school groups and shows them
all in Saturday detention for different reasons. The film is a timeline of when they get to
detention till when they leave and the relationships they form during this time spent together.
During this time, the five students: Brian (the brain), John (the criminal), Andy (the athlete),
Claire (the princess), and Allison (the basket case) begin to open up to one another. At first they
are all quiet and sitting there without talking but then as the assistant principal leaves they begin
to talk, antagonize, make fun of, and just stare at one another; which starts to scratch the surface
of each character. They all eventually come to realize that they have a lot more in common with
one another than they thought.
There are many solid examples of how SPT is enacted in The Breakfast Club. One of the
relationships we see unfold is the one between Claire and John. A few scenes which show their
relationship is one where John is sneaking back in the room and he goes under Claire’s seat and
puts his head between her legs. She slaps him and calls him a pig but even something that small
shows what kind of character they both are and what kind of relationship they have. Another
scene is where he makes fun of her for being spoiled while he had nothing at all. Probably the
last crucial scene is when they are in the closet together and they share a kiss. This is toward the
end of the movie and it shows the progression of that relationship. At first Claire thought John
was a pig and was rude, while John thought Claire was spoiled and loved being popular. They
each peeled away layers from one another to reveal information they never would have thought
about the other one.
Self-disclosure is a also a huge aspect to the Social Penetration Theory and is also clearly
seen throughout The Breakfast Club. Self-disclosure is defined as “purposeful process of
revealing information about oneself,” (West, Turner, 171). Usually self-disclosure is when we
reveal more significant information out ourselves. When we are getting more intimate with
someone we tend to reveal more significant and deeper information about ourselves. Selfdisclosure doesn’t always have to be significant information it can just be lesser information. In
The Breakfast Club, each of the characters reveals information they haven’t told anyone. Brian
has contemplated suicide over a bad grade, Claire is a virgin who feels pressure to hold up her
popular status with her friends, Andy can never think for himself because his dad is always
pressuring him, John came from a very troubled household where his dad abuses him and his
mother, and Allison is a very compulsive liar and her parents never pay attention to her. At one
point in the film all of these characters reveal these things to the others because they start to feel
like they can trust one another and can confide in each other.
At the beginning of the movie they all have to write an essay about who they think they
are. At the end of the movie Brian writes one letter telling the assistant principal that he already
has a set reasoning and judgment on who they are so they don’t feel as if they need to describe
who they are to him. From the beginning of the movie until the end one can see many examples
of Social Penetration Theory and how it reflects on the characters relationships with each other.
They all go from knowing nothing about each other to knowing a lot. Some of them form more
than just a friendship but even have a romantic interest in each other. The Breakfast Club is a
movie that shows SPT through and through.