Filmmaker John Hughes was a clear-eyed student of Generation X as it came of age in the 1980s, a suburban archaeologist who flipped over disregarded rocks to reveal the universal issues that were squirming out of sight.

His most memorable reports, typically blended with witty banter and an irresistible soundtrack, included “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “The Breakfast Club,” the latter celebrating its 40th anniversary with screenings across the country beginning on Sunday.

“The Breakfast Club” followed five suburban Chicago high school students at Saturday morning detention, examining their shared struggles and latent humanity, obscured by self-imposed stereotypes as “a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess and a criminal.”

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