21 Jump Street Analysis

The fool plays a pivotal role in comedies. These characters tend to lack the normal qualities that may be present in other characters, but they bring depth to the story through their unique viewpoints. They often work against the protagonist by offering detrimental insight or inadvertently steering the story in an unexpected path. Alan represents the fool in Hangover, a movie which focuses on the story of four men who go to Vegas for an unforgettably forgotten bachelor party. He brings a drug to the party and sends the story into its conflict. Janko represents the fool in 21 Jump Street, a story of two buddy-cops who must infiltrate a high school in order to stop drug dealers. He mistakenly forgets to read the Miranda Rights to his arrestee,

In their respective stories, Alan and Jenko seemingly steer the story away from the resolution through their foolish action. However, their actions ultimately lead to the resolution. In the Hangover, Alan helps rescue Doug, who helps the characters find their missing friend. In 21 Jump Street, Jenko connects with the chemistry students, who help him discover the identity of the drug dealer. They both express foolish qualities throughout the stories, but underneath their foolishness is a hidden wisdom, which resolve the conflict of the story. Both Alan’s and Jenko’s actions appear ambiguous, sometimes more detrimental than helpful. While their foolishness never seems to assist anyone in the story, their actions actually become the vehicle for which their stories can move forward. In Alan’s case, he accesses one of his major flaws was cheating in gambling. This garner negative attitudes from the other characters during the beginning of the story, but his flaw becomes a necessary component for obtaining the money to free Doug. In Jenko’s case, he resorts to studying chemistry because he struggles to find any clues leading to the drug dealer. His practice of chemistry teaches him the foundation of the drug and how it can be created. This valuable information pinpoints the gym couch as the drug dealer. In both cases, Alan and Jenko deviate from the norms and express foolish qualities. In the article “The

Throughout the Hangover, Alan acts differently from a typical person, because he has an inclination to unusual actions. He reveals early in the story that he is a “lone wolf,” who does not have many friends. He represents the type natural fool, because he inherently acts the way he does. Many of the characters bounce around the idea that Alan may have a mental disability. This can be seen through the recurring use of “retard” or “retarded.” Janko differs from Alan, because he is an artificial fool. While he is never seen as intelligent throughout the story, he is still capable of growth as he changes from a failing student to a passing student. He struggles with memorization and tests, but he still has the capability of doing well in both of those things. The highlight of the story is when Janko finally remembers the Miranda Rights and reads it to his arrestee, because he could not remember these rights in the beginning of the story. Janko differs from Alan, because Alan never shows any form of growth in the story. His character remains the same throughout the story. He is prone to the same, unusual behavior in the beginning of the story as he does at the end of the story. Their differences in their identities does not eliminate the importance of their actions as fools. They are both the fools in the story, and both representations of the natural and artificial fool draw out an equally deeper understanding of the story