Ferris Bueller is a film about suicide prevention. Cameron is the real point of the story and Ferris's ambition is to give his depressed friend some self-worth and an ability to live in the present rather than worry about his perceived meaninglessness of college and adulthood.

Ferris is a symbol of self-realisation for all the characters. His 'day off' releases Cameron from his depression/father's dominance, Jeanie from her sibling rivalry and inability to focus on herself, and Ed Rooney is reduced from his principal status into the petty man he is.

Ferris is not actually as selfish as people say. He is willing to take all the heat for Cameron after Cameron pushes his dad's Ferrari out of the window, and arguably only pushes Cameron as a counterweight to his strict lifeless unseen dad. It is a teen self-help movie. .

I will shut up now. Tweets move pretty fast and I need to take a look around.