I had no idea where to post this query but I really must know the answer. I was watching the movie “The Breakfast Club” which I assume most everyone has seen umpteen times.
In several scenes the library in which they are serving their detention sports a Confederate flag. This is most visible in the ridiculous Emilio Estevez dancing scene.
Just what the heck is the stars and bars doing in a Chicago suburban high school and is there any significance to it? Anyone else notice this?
Great! That means I will have to watch the movie AGAIN! 
I love it so.
Was it the “Stars and Bars”, or was it the more commonly-known battle flag (looks like a blue “X” on a red field)?
An excellent point - it was not the stars and bars. Twas the battle flag.
I remember thinking when I saw it that it was probably one of the state flags (like Georgia’s former one) that incorporated the battle flag. Maybe the library had a display of state flags?
I think D Marie is right. It is probably the Georgia or Mississippi state flag you are seeing.
But here’s another question: Why does the Tennessee state flag make an appearance in Animal House? Is Faber College supposed to be in Tennessee? Was the movie filmed there?
There’s also a rebel flag scene in Animal House. It’s on the wall in one of the dorm rooms.
“Just what the heck is the stars and bars doing in a Chicago suburban high school…?”
Ridgewood High School of Norridge, Illinois calls its sports teams the “Rebels”. Ridgewood is in the near northern suburbs, oddly enough. 
http://www.ridgenet.org/fall99web/index.htm
On the other hand, the movie was filmed in one of the Maine Township (a nearby northwest suburban area) high schools, IIRC.
IIRC, Animal House was filmed at a school in Washington State. But I could be wrong on that.
Hmmmm … Don’t think its a collection of state flags. I’m pretty certain the scene showed three flags with the US flag slightly higher in the middle with another clearly state flag to the left and the Confederate flag to the right.
I also looked closely and the only markings I could see was the classic X of the battle flag. No additional markings that are typical of the few states which incorporate the battle flag.
I might be looking at a different flag than the one you’re talking about, but right when Emilio Estevez comes out of the language lab or whatever it is and starts dancing, I saw a flag that looked an awful lot like this one:
Is there another scene where the flag is visible?
Possible reasons for the battle flag to be on display in a school library.
It is part of a display on the Civil War, which would would include books and maps and discussions.
It is an “authentic” flag captured during the Civil War by Illinois troops and donated to the school. Displaying such as a piece of history would be appropriate.
<insert greetings to felines>
The high school is actually in Georgia/Alabama/South Carolina or other state where a sizable portion of the community doesn’t comprehend why veneration of the battle flag is offensive and demeaning to another portion of the population.
On the other hand, the director may have added it to the background for reasons which may defy logic.
The Breakfast Club was on TV this past weekend and I noticed what seemed to be the CSA flag, too. I tried to get a better look at each time it appeared but saw nothing that would have made me connect it to a display. John Bredin’s idea of school flag or sport’s flag doesn’t sound too bad.
Jois
Suppose it could be part of a display. Definitely not the Union Jack or the Georgia flag. Everytime I saw it I felt like I was watch the Bizarro version of the B-Club
Perhaps John Hughes threw it into the background as an emblem of rebellion.
spoke- **Perhaps John Hughes threw it into the background as an emblem of rebellion. **
That sounds pretty good. Lots of stuff is tossed into movies for worse reasons. It certainly took my eyes off the dancer and into the “What’s that?” mode for a few seconds.
Distracting enough that Keeper0’s ** "On the other hand, the director may have added it to the background for reasons which may defy logic. ** seems right, too; it was a distraction, it didn’t remain “background color” but remained in the movie anyway.
Jois
Close … it was filmed at the University of Oregon in Eugene. They ended up there because the campus looked very “east coast”. The movie itself was based on the writer’s (can’t remember his name) experiences at Dartmouth College in New England.
The movie was filmed 15 years ago, and you have to realize that attitudes about the Confederate flag have shifted a bit in that time. The Confederate flag was a pretty common sight in the 70’s and into the 80’s in a context that suggests that it was understood to stand for rebellion in general. Showed up in lots of decals. Look in the old decal ads from the 70’s. You’ll find the Confederate flag right there next to the “ecology flag” and the Jolly Roger. The flag got waved around at rock concerts. It showed up in movies (see that Animal House scene referenced above). It was plastered on motorcycle helmets.
In recent years, folks have become more sensitive to the fact that black Americans find the flag offensive. So now, when the flag pops up in an old movie, it’s jarring to our modified sensibilities.
According to the Neo-Maxi-Zoomdweebie website, The Breakfast Club was filmed almost entirely at Maine North High School in Des Plaines, IL, which at the time had been closed for a few years. It’s now a police station. Some exterior shots were filmed at John Hughes’ alma mater Glenbrook North High School, which is located on Shermer Road in Northbrook, IL - hence Shermer High School.
Also from this site, the “library” was actually a set built inside the gymnasium of Maine North High. Of course, none of this answers the question as to why a Confederate flag appears in the movie. Instead, it only confirms that, since it was a set, the flag was indeed deliberately placed in the scene. The significance of the flag, however, remains elusive.
John Hughes put alot of weird stuff in the back of his movies. There is a scene in “Sixteen Candles” where Jake and his buddy are doing what appears to be pull ups and talking about women and stuff and in the back is this huge guy wrestling with a very small guy. Cracks me up every time.