I have a theory. Bender is Vernon's younger self. Both versions conflicted. One about the system, the other against the system. The actual character lies in the middle.
The world needs more Vernons. Back then there were no safe spaces or snowflakes. I knew as a young man that some teachers were only a few eye witnesses of tanning my hide if I acted up, so as a result, I stayed on the straight & narrow. Poor Bender my foot…
I understand the principals tough love here but he should see that Bender comes from an abusive home instead of treating Bender likes some spoiled brat.
Well someone abusing their position of "authority" he knows what that is like he wanted to push his luck and play basketball so now he's locked in the closet the redhead has sympathy for him though even gives him a diamond earring not sure how good a boyfriend he will be though he heard his Dad degrade his Mom so maybe thinks that's how women ought be treated or they like it because some tolerate it.
I'm gonna go against the grain and say Bender asked for it. He wanted to act hard in front of audience, but when he was face to face with the beast he antagonized he pussed out. Keep that same energy or stfu. Its just like all the keyboard warriors,....don't say anything to somebody in a safe place that you wouldn't in a dark alley. You never know when the dog is gonna get loose.
i had a 4th grade teacher that made vernon seem like mother theresa. He would lock us in his supply closet, for an hour or so at a time. He only did it to the boys though, the girls to my knowledge were never bothered or hit. he tortured this deaf kid in my class relentlessly. this was in the 80's, back then deaf kids had a normal hearing aid, but they had this microphone thing that you would lay on the teachers desk , and i guess it picked up the teachers voice, and transmitted it to the hearing aid. the teacher would give one of us the microphone, and tell us to take it down in to the bathroom, and piss while holding it. or hed tell us to hide it, and if you didnt want to do it, he'd make your day miserable. i dont have regrets about that teacher, it made me who i am, i think by coddling modern kids , and protecting them from even criticism, it only serves to create little babies who are more lost than ever. for what its worth, that deaf kid was a total prick, every parent i remember hated that kid, he was just an awful person, but the teacher was still a prick
Calls him a gutless turd.. bruh you are a grown ass man in his 40s trying to square up against some teenage kid lol. Yeah you a real bad mfer huh? Carl told him to his face he ain't shit and is a hypocrite and the wimp didn't say shit
If anyone notices. This is exposing poor leadership. Youngsters are going thru the toughest part of their lives at this stage. And when they need an understanding, positive, guiding mentor. This. Was not it.
Village woods middle school was way worse than this. others and I were treated as a prisoner. We were placed in an 8 by 8 room with 12 desks, room was locked for 7 and half hours, and no windows. I spilled milk on myself by accident and was not allowed to go clean-up for 15 minutes. The vice principle was always mad, but the principle was respectable and kind. This room was called ISS (In school suspension) and it made me feel worthless. To understand what it felt like sit in an empty room with an analog clock ticking slowly for 7 and half hours. We could not do our homework it was not allowed. One day I talked out loud to the speaker in the room and directed my anger towards the vice principle. He came in and slammed a thick dictionary book on the desk and told me to write out the definitions. I started to do as he said and then I slammed it to the floor. No students should be treated in this manner. This took place during 7th and 8th grade back in the 1987-1988. He pushed me over the edge, and I made myself his worst nightmare.
Hey, there’s Melissa Carter, too. Unlike her, Vernon wasn’t paddling anyone in the movie. If he got a job as a college dean, it might reverse his whole perspective on students and give him a more pleasant disposition. Just a thought.
I actually find Mr. Vernon more relatable than I do Jackie Miller the bus driver. Let me explain why. I think that story about the asthma and the perfume is crap. They say she was 68. Why on earth would a doctor approve of a patient who is 68 and asthmatic, staying in a stressful job like driving a school bus? Because an attack can be induced by stress alone. And don’t people start getting their social security at 65? She may have needed money to solve some kind of retirement problem, and I’m not saying I don’t think it was obtained ethically, because I don’t know, but I think at most she was just pissed off because two students were probably bickering with each other, which is just a normal part of life. Either that or everyone agreed to stage the video, and maybe people, knowing it was fake, paid anyway because they liked their performance. Or perhaps nothing bad at all happened, and this “viral video” is just another dose of internet bullshit, but the parts about retiring and the fund were still true. But most likely she was either younger than 68, (a compliment, by the way) or she didn’t really have asthma. One other possibility, she just wasn’t the type to take a doctor’s orders too seriously, in which case most people’s sympathy levels would decrease. But let me tell you what I think is horseshit in any case, the perfume spraying part. And just like Vernon, Jackie did not have to stay in the job for as long as she did. And for the record, like I said, this isn’t real life, it’s acting, it’s much older, and more entertaining. (I may be slightly biased due to having OCD.)
I think Bender and Vernon were both all talk. I think Bender had to act tough because he lived with an abusive father and an indifferent mother. I think Vernon, working as the principal, had a “poisoned” view of the students in general because most of the ones he’d see were the badly behaved ones. I don’t know if school principals usually have Saturdays off, but if so, this couldn’t have been a cakewalk for him either. In other words, he probably would have rather just stayed home as much as the detained students would have. I think his threats of violence were pretty empty, just a frustration release, but that doesn’t make it okay. If the job was too much to deal with he should have just looked for a different job. You know, it’s a lot like when he was talking with Carl, I think he cared too much what they thought of him.
Richard Vernon: That's the last time, Bender. That the last time you ever make me look bad in front of those kids, you hear me? I make $31,000 a year and I have a home and I'm not about to throw it all away on some punk like you. But someday when you're outta here and you've forgotten all about this place and they've forgotten all about you, and you're wrapped up in your own pathetic life, I'm gonna be there. That's right. And I'm gonna kick the living shit out of you. I'm gonna knock your dick in the dirt. Bender: You threatening me? Richard Vernon: What are you gonna do about it? You think anyone's gonna believe you? You think anyone is gonna take your word over mine? I'm a man of respect around here. They love me around here. I'm a swell guy. You're a lying sack of shit and everybody knows it. Oh, you're a tough guy. Hey c'mon. Get on your feet pal. Let's find out how tough you are. I wanna know right now how tough you are. [offers Bender his chin] Richard Vernon: Just take the first shot. I'm begging you, take a shot. Just one hit. Come on, that's all I need, just one swing... [Bender pauses, staring] Richard Vernon: That's what I thought. You're a gutless turd.
2:37 right here is when Bender started hearing his father here. 😢😢😢😢. When he “are you threatening me” really hurt my heart. I can’t imagine what rough childhood he went through.
controversial opinion: i liked Vernon in this scene... i feel like he is bluffing to scare Bender. he seems to try to make the point that reputation matters, and if Bender rejects everything and everyone... nobody will ever be on his side to support him. He also makes the point that there are always bigger fish and one day, with his brash attitude, he might come upon someone who wont take his shit. Bender acts cool and strong and rebellious, but still hides behind a moral code (e.g. i can ignore and treat others with disrespect, but nobody who can do actual harm to me like a teacher or a parent will do anything serious). TLDR, Vernon showed Bender the meaning of "fuck around and find out"
No. He's just a typical coward boomer. Notice when Carl told him to his face he ain't shit.. he is a hypocrite. That he didn't say a damn thing? Yet vs a teenager he is a badass? Lol he's a coward
People have already pointed out in the comments of Bender’s expression of fear and vulnerability, but I also think there’s another aspect to it. Vernon is supposed to be a good example of a leader, someone children should look up to for help in a sense, but instead, like many people in real life, they abuse their power for their own ego, and in this case, I think Bender is also thrown off and even confused at how far Vernon is going because he’s suppose to help kids, not talk down on them, and it’s a scary thought as a teenager to know these are the people that run the world.
One of the many amazing movies from the brilliant mind of John Hughes 💪💪💪💪💪 all of his movies are absolutely brilliant and flawless, if only today's movies could be made like John Hughes's, sadly that's not the case anymore
Vernon makes $31,000 a year. $90,000 in today’s dollars. Not rich, but totally comfortable if you’re in a small town in the south or Midwest. And he’s not the principal!
tyler literally knew that cherry bomb was gunna be that super neptunes influenced album before he even knew he was gunna make the thing. just goes to show he has had all of the sh mapped out perfectly.. or maybe not maybe he just went with it BUT regardless i always loved the fact that cherry bomb was the album to kinda shift tyler into pure seriousness when it came to his product and presentation. fine wine ladies and gentlemen.
If you notice when Bender is distracting Vernon he sings cadences which hints that his dad may be former special forces enlisted. In other words, not only is his dad abusive, he's also a trained killer. Bender would have had it ingrained by now that trying to fight back physically would be useless which is why Vernon shook him so badly. He probably had once tried fighting back with his dad and it ended very badly.
I retired a couple of years ago from my IT job, and decided, as a part time job to start driving a school bus. I was assigned the route NOBODY else in the department wanted. The so called "dregs" the "hood" the "worst kids in the district" (their words, not mine) Wear Kevlar and you might last a month, which will set a record for that route. (they all said) 2 years later, and I haven't had a single issue, after getting through the first couple of weeks. You want to know how? I decided not to be another old, white guy, that yells, screams, and re-enforces what they think of ALL old white guys. Put a boombox on the bus, let them listen to their music (without saying crap like, "you call this music?") Every other bus driver on the lot loses their sh*t if kids eat on the bus. I BRING food for them to eat on the bus (maybe that's the only breakfast they get that day) I greet every single one of them, everyday, with a genuine smile, and a handshake. I call them "Mr. Thompson" or "Miss Crutchfield" to convey respect. I learned all of their birthdays in the first week, and always remember to make a big deal out of it. The last day of school, some of toughest "hoods" in the district, teared up and gave me a hug goodbye. IOW - The opposite of this principal. Bad kids my ass. the administration and other drivers say, "You just let them do what they want." And I say, "I have just a few rules, and they follow them." "You don't have to treat them like dirt, and live up to their expectations." "It's called mutual respect, you should try it."
