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Kristin DeMarr's avatar

I loved this so much!! This film came out the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, just when I was making friends and forming groups with the outcasts and carving my own “alternative” identity. This brought so much back to me. It’s been so many years since I’ve seen it, so I will have to give it a rewatch.

I love your rewrite ideas. Seriously, having lived during this time and dated so many boys that were just like Duckie (very purposefully) - they ALL ended up coming out of the closet after high school. There is no way Duckie was ever straight. But, during that time, you just didn’t come out. Such a different time.

This film is so beyond white - as I agree all of Huges’ films are. I have never looked or thought about any of them critically because they were such the anthem of my youth! After the mention of anti-Asian themes, I thought of the humor relief Long Duck Dong’s “stereotypical” character was in Sixteen Candles.

Thank you so much for this!

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lee's avatar

this is such a wonderful, delightful, and insightful essay! i really love the way you point out the way that class plays out in the movie through body language and styles of conflict.

also it's truly impossible for me to see the movie without reading duckie as queer-- the moping around to the smiths, mooning over someone unattainable!

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