“Do you ever feel like this isn’t actually real?” I asked a friend, as we watched the sun set over the beach. “I experience so many beautiful things digitally that I sometimes don’t feel like the world is real, even when it’s right in front of me.”
Gen Z Take on Ferris Bueller
I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for the first time recently, and I was enamored of director John Hughes' 1986 comedy-drama. Not only are the characters interesting, fun, and funny, and their character arcs wonderfully rewarding, but I began thinking I need to spend time in Ferris' world.
He shows his friends the world through his eyes, and his devil-may-care attitude is somehow what they need to gain independence, self-respect, and confidence. For Ferris, the world is an exciting, sometimes nerve-wracking, but ultimately very inhabitable place.
Faking It, Ferris-Style
Ferris is a creative genius, with what you might call a limited selection of moral qualms. He successfully pulls off not only a faked illness to his parents, but also an airtight alibi to his school principal.
He ropes in his best friend to assist with fake phone calls, and they manage to get his girlfriend excused as well. It’s hysterical and altogether too much work, all for the sake of one thing: a sunny day spent out and about, together.
Doing Chicago, Ferris-Style
They sneak into a snazzy restaurant under the name of the Sausage King of Chicago, see a Cubs game, and explore an art museum. Over the course of the day, they don’t just revel in the simple delights of the city, but also ponder their futures, their relationships, and the ways life is about to change, as high school graduation looms.
One of my favorite parts is the famous parade scene: Ferris disappears, and his friends finally spot him on a parade float, leading the whole city, it seems, in a rousing rendition of “Twist and Shout.” He seems larger than life, but maybe he’s just fully living.
Living Life, Ferris-Style
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is about learning to live, and about adulthood: the joys and responsibilities of learning to make your own choices and engage with the world in an extraordinarily grounded fashion.
Gen Z is missing tangible experiences. We live in a time of great anxiety, often prompted by a feeling of helplessness against the decided realities of the world. But freedom comes when one is willing to get up and live in that terrifying world.
Ferris, at the end of the day, is still a boy who fears the wrath of his parents and must make it home without being caught by the principal. He and his friends still have a lot of growing up to do, and his life isn’t any easier than the rest of ours.
I think he’s just learning to live it, as he famously says: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Also, hang around until after the end credits. It's worth it.
It’s mostly clean, with one skippable objectionable scene about fifteen minutes into the movie. Find it on Amazon Prime, Netflix, or Paramount+.
Image: Shutterstock
Sophia Sariego is a Los Angeles native working in the pro-life movement. She loves Eucharistic Adoration, making music, and hitting the beaches in her spare time.
Recent posts:
4 Questions with ‘Reagan’ Star Dennis Quaid About the Hit Biopic
5 Catholic YouTubers to Influence You Closer to Jesus
Popes on Film: Vatican Intrigue in Movies and TV
Hallmark, UPtv, GAF, Lifetime: The Christmas Movies Are Here!
Keep up with Family Theater Productions on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
