Science or History?

John Hughes’ Weird Science can be pictured as a portrayer of early colonial America through Lisa’s creation, Chet’s brotherly figure, and Ian and Max’s sense of seniority. In Hughes’ movie Weird Science, the creation of Lisa is similar to the birth of America. Lisa was an accomplishment that Wyatt and Gary could show off. She freed them from their unpopularity. “Here man is free as he ought to be; nor is this pleasing equality so transitory as many others are” (Crevecoeur 38). Through Crevecoeur’s “What is an American,” Crevecoeur explains the power of a free society. Like Lisa, America was founded upon this value of freedom. Throughout Hughes’ Weird Science, Wyatt’s older brother Chet resembles Benjamin Franklin’s older brother. Franklin’s relationship with his brother was very similar to that of Wyatt and Chet’s. Franklin’s brother primarily pictured Franklin as an acquaintance rather that a family member. It was all about work and no play. Ian and Max’s supremacy over Wyatt and Gary is analogous to England’s early power over colonial America. Like England, Ian and Max have total control over the inferior. Through the movie, Wyatt and Gary slowly build confidence finally overthrowing Ian and Max’s leadership. It was a climactic moment when Wyatt and Gary said no more. Weird Science and early America had similar changes in authority. Although unintentional, there were relationships between Hughes’ characters and early American writing. Because of these relationships, America’s founding values were instilled in Weird Science.