The Sun Isn't Always Brighter

Welcome back to the blog!  First off, I thought I would update y'all on what we have been up to in SUPA Writing 105.  We are coming off the heels of our final big project of the year, which was an argumentative essay. I am the genius that forgot to put a title on his essay and lost ten points. Next up, was watching and analyzing this movie by the title of "Little Miss Sunshine"!

    "Little Miss Sunshine" , starring Steve Carrel, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, and Toni Collette was. released in 2006 and explores the hectic weekend of a dysfunctional family, as they travel from their home in  Albuquerque, New Mexico to Redondo Beach, California to compete in a beauty pageant. The twisted and funny movie dives into the troubles and insecurities that each member of the family deals with, and in the long run, how they cope to eventually overcome them. The films directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, craft this film in aspirations to uncover toxic social norms that were present in 2006, when the film was released, and are still present today.  They do this through the approach of chaos and light comedy, while still finding a way to your heart. 

    

    Throughout the film, many norms are tested, but one that really stuck out to me was the negative stigma around the issue of mental health.  Frank Ginsburg, played by Steve Carrel, is a new addition to the household, being taken in by his sister after attempting to take his own life.  Throughout the film, negativity associated with Frank is extremely apparent, as he cannot be left alone in fear of another attempt.  At the dinner table in the beginning of the movie, Frank is very open about both his homosexuality and his recent experiences.  Instead of being listened to, he is shushed multiple times by Richard, with the excuse of the conversation not being for children's ears or polite for the dinner table.  It truly seemed to be that the only person uncomfortable about the subject was Richard himself. That is the biggest problem.  It is almost as if it isn't okay to talk about mental illness. 

    Another norm that is exploited in the film is what society views that women "should" look like.  The first major occurrence of this takes place as the family is eating their first meal on the road at a diner. Olive, the daughter and beauty pageant contestant, orders waffles alamode. Her father, Richard (he's a jerk), explains how she shouldn't eat ice cream because it will make her fat, and says that fat people aren't winners.  All part of his lame gimmick that he calls a career. Anyways, in support and rebellion, the rest of the family digs into the ice cream with Olive. This norm is distorted on an even higher level once the family attends the beauty pageant and it is made awkwardly apparent that Olive doesn't belong due to her lack of makeup and hair extensions.  Her family even attempts to convince her not to compete in fear of her embarrassment. There is no written rule that says you need to be skinny and pretty to be beautiful. Or handsome, for that matter. Personally, physical appearance and weight is something that I have been very self conscious about my entire life, so this social issue hit home for me and while strides have been made since 2006, we still are not where we need to be as a society. 

    All in all, this was a good movie that I would recommend to others.  While it can be very funny at times, there are significant deeper messages throughout that I think everybody can empathize with in some capacity or another. Check out the full film on YouTube at this this link!  Enjoy!