Little Miss Sunshine: Family as Idolatry

This review was published originally in cinekklesia on January 18, 2007.

In an essay published over a decade ago, theologian Stanley Hauerwas recalls how a journalist asked him for his views on "family values." Hauerwas notes that in reply, he said, "since I am a Christian I have, of course, a deep distrust of the family, since for Christians the family is one of the great sources of idolatry. Christians believe our first loyalty is to the God who constitutes us first by making us part of the church rather than of the family."¹ The clear and unambiguous nature of Hauerwas' reply was made all the more stark by its timing, which was right in the midst of the 1992 Republican National Convention, famous for its clarion call to "family values."

Family-values rhetoric is, of course, premised on the notion that without stable home lives, people are more likely to engage in anti-social behavior that threatens us all. Strong families (and, in particular, strong nuclear families) thus help to alleviate the looming specters of crime, violence, and poverty. While there is some truth to this (after all, it's pretty hard to have a well-adjusted perspective on life if one's everyday existence is dysfunctional), family-values rhetoric seems to go beyond mere utilitarianism and towards upholding traditional families as a near-intrinsic good.

Interestingly, the pull of the "family" has become strong across the political spectrum. Leftist activists and politicians like to argue that if their opponents were really concerned about "working families" (whatever that means), then they would support various health and educational programs that supposedly help those families. So, on the right, one has the "Family Research Council," and on the left, one can find "Families USA." The names of both organizations try to induce a rhetorical effect — i.e., "we're the ones who really care about families."

What's fascinating is how this (idolatrous) message seeps into Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' Little Miss Sunshine (2006), a dark comedy that ultimately has a conservative view of family life. "Little Miss Sunshine" is actually the name of a national beauty pageant for young girls, and Olive (Abigail Breslin) inadvertently qualifies after another competitor had to forfeit her place. Olive's attendance at Little Miss Sunshine is highly unusual since she is overweight and conventionally unattractive (mean observations, perhaps, but nevertheless true).

Traveling with Olive in a yellow VW van from her Albuquerque home to the pageant's California location is her misfit family:

1. Richard (Greg Kinnear) - her father, an aspiring (yet ultimately pathetic) motivational speaker, who is trying to land a book deal


2. Sheryl (Toni Collette) - her mother, desperately trying to keep her wits about her as the family slides into bankruptcy


3. Frank (Steve Carell) - her uncle, a former scholar of—actually, an authority on—Marcel Proust, who was thrown out of his university job and is now suicidal


4. Dwayne (Paul Dano) - her brother, a teenage Nietzschean who has taken a vow of silence until he gets into flight school


5. Grandpa (Alan Arkin) - a dirty old man who was thrown out of his retirement community (and who also happens to be Olive's dance coach for the pageant)

Of course, lots of hilarity ensues during the trip (how could it not with this bunch?), but I was a bit surprised at the darkness of the humor (some scenes were downright depressing). My wife noted that every character in the movie has to deal with a profound loss, and this tone of despair pervades even the most absurdly comical moments. Dayton and Faris seem to find creative energy in marrying the extremes of comedy and tragedy into one seamless narrative; as such, Little Miss Sunshine mirrors Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), an even darker comedy.

I won't reveal what specifically happens to each of the characters—and you'll have to watch the movie yourself, if you want to see the bizarre (and funny) ending—but suffice it to say that the theme of family plays a progressively prominent role in the story. Of course, Olive's is not a conventional family—by most accounts, we would label it dysfunctional—but they nevertheless learn from each other and grow closer by the closing credits. In other words, when all else fails—when we lose hope in life ever being good again—we still can rely on family.

Thus, "family" as a category of near-intrinsic worth has traveled from the Religious Right to left-wing activists to Hollywood. Hollywood! The pop-culture center that conservatives love to bash is promoting family values! Sure, Little Miss Sunshine doesn't present us with a psychologically "normal" family, but its members nevertheless form a cohesive unit, remaining loyal to each other.

As such, if you found Little Miss Sunshine problematic (I didn't; I thought it was pretty funny) and if you consider yourself a "family values" kind of person, then you might want to reconsider your stance. Upholding "family" as a near-intrinsic good leaves one open to supporting all kinds of interpersonal dynamics that may or may not be healthy. Besides, as Stanley Hauerwas reminds us, the "family values" position is mere idolatry, and you don't want to be an idol worshiper, do you?

Reference

1. Stanley Hauerwas, "Communitarians and Medical Ethicists: Or, 'Why I Am None of the Above" in Dispatches from the Front: Theological Engagements with the Secular (Durham: Duke University Press, 1994), 158.