Youth Incorporated Magazine

Classics are a fun way to revisit different eras and cultures across stories. Educating yourself on different values, cultures, beliefs, and time periods with maximum drama can be a great way to spend your quarantine and isolation. Here are some of the most iconic classics from decades ago for you to escape into after a long day. Just sit back and enjoy watching the classics with some comfort food of your choice to take a trip down memory lane.

1. Dead Poets Society: (1987)

Set in an elite prep school, an unconventional English teacher Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams) inspires his students through the beauty of poetry. The movie depicts the student’s individual lives and the transformation they undergo with life lessons from Keating. The movie also poignantly questions the conventional form of education and urges us to change our perspective often and live life to the fullest. This must-watch for all literature enthusiasts will leave you wishing to join a poetic society.

2. Forrest Gump: (1994)

The story of a simpleton, Forrest Gump runs to pursue his dreams despite the hardships in his life. Having lived all his life with the constant guidance and support from his mother, he is quite the star, be it on the college football field, fighting the Vietnam War or sailing a ship. His childlike innocence is an inspiration to those around him. The film shows him trying to win the heart of the one person he truly cares about, his childhood friend Jenny who constantly runs away from him. 

3. Jerry Maguire: (1996)

A bigshot sports agent, living the best of his life has a sudden calling to transform his life to do good. Being fired for his changing moral values, Jerry finds himself struggling to start over in the sports business and make it big. His attempts to rebuild himself while trying to fix his personal life all along with just the one client who believes in him is an iconic story of one man’s journey to success and love.

4. The Breakfast Club: (1985)

A coming-of-age teen drama where five students spend detention together to form unlikely friendships while exploring their individual lives and adolescence. The movie also portrays the typical high school cliques ranging from the jocks, nerds, athletes, popular girls and rebels and also highlights the true people they are behind these labels. The movie describes the bittersweet journey of teenagers with the joys and confusions that life brings. 

5. Home Alone: (1990)

A popular Christmas family movie of all times narrating the story of Kevin, a young boy who is accidentally left alone at home while his entire family leaves to the airport for a vacation. Kevin is ecstatic at his new-found freedom and believes his wish to have come true. He wards off burglars from his house who have targeted his house believing it to be vacant. Kevin eventually misses his family and is reconciled with them on Christmas day.

6. Clueless: (1995)

Based on Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’, Clueless is a modern adaptation narrating the story of consumerist, privileged teens of Los Angeles. Cher Horowitz spends her day intervening in the lives and relationships of those around her, fantasizing what could be for everyone else. She befriends a new student and attempts to give her a makeover and trying to help her fit in with society’s standard of perfection. Cher eventually changes after she is made to realize her own flaws and superficial outlook. 

7. Legally Blonde: (2001)

Elle Woods (played by Reese Witherspoon) has it easy. When her abilities to get into Harvard Law are questioned, she works hard to prove her worth and works hard to get into school. She steps out of her comfort zone and gives up her easy days to make it as a lawyer. She also maintains her individuality while embracing the new challenges she faces head first. A reminder to love yourself whilst not losing out on your self-esteem and achieving your goals is an iconic movie that is Legally Blonde. 

8. Good Will Hunting: (1997)

Will is a brilliant, high IQ young man who works as a janitor at MIT. His talents are discovered by a professor who wants to help him away from his misguided path and embrace his true potential. But with his frequent run-ins with the law, he is arrested and the professor asks him to seek therapy in exchange for leniency in punishment. Through therapy, Will confronts his past and thinks about his future.

These classics are sure to rid you of the long day’s exhaustion and ensure you fall in bed with a calm mind.  Let us know which one you enjoyed watching the most.