I was thinking about…

The Gen X classic film and theme song St. Elmo’s Fire

By Andy Lee

Rewatching this ensemble drama whips me back to 1985 alongside recent grads facing life after college. Beyond mere nostalgia, it reveals striking parallels to my own uncertain independence phase when ideals collided with reality.

The film tracks seven Georgetown friends chasing dreams while compromising initial aspirations as conformity calls. At first each clings to denial – that the bonds nurturing ambition inside ivied walls endure unchanged outside them. But creeping complications expose the fantasy that fiery passions now drain where offset realities reside.

There’s immature sax player Billy (Rob Lowe) resisting adult demands by reverting to past fratboy tropes. His delayed development reveals fear of providing as a flaky family breadwinner.

Brooding writer Kevin (Andrew McCarthy) grinds creative wheels paralyzed without output as student subsidies dry up. His stalled art sees him leaching roommate loyalty to maintain integrity while pursuing the taken wild child.

Demi Moore plays her type – an excessive materialist drunk on debt fueled by unaddressed demons.

The fracture striking closest follows Alec (Judd Nelson) and girlfriend Leslie (Ally Sheedy) as shifting goals expose post-grad compatibility limits. Nelson’s controlling politico can’t stomach Sheedy’s rising creative architect star power so he clamps down. But the motives revealing his jealousy fracture their bond beyond reconciliation.

This resignation echoed through my Gen X demographic suspended between hunger and exhaustion. For us wanderers questioning how to spark past determination without losing self, the film’s characters equally clinging to personal vision despite derailed dreams rang all too relatable.

That desire blasts forth through John Parr’s soaring yet melancholic theme song “St Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)”. The anthem crystallizes how school sky fantasies fall to earth when tested by worldly realities. When Parr soulfully laments “You broke the boy in me but you won’t break the man,” truth lands – radical reinvention waits in the wings for stubborn dreamers still nurturing callings beyond the conventional. However time tries tethering ambitions to practicality, liberty endures through unrelenting souls nurturing higher purpose than comfort condones. Destiny chases those awakening destinations beyond dictated dead ends suddenly visible where once stood certainty’s façade now fallen.

Stay carefree, keep playing. 🎸

Stay curious, keep exploring!