Little Miss Sunshine and Positive Psychology as a Vehicle for Change in Adolescent Depression 123 Dora Finamore Adolescent Depression 125 Positive Psychology 126 Little Miss Sunshine and Positive Psychology 129 Case Study 130 8. It’s satirical undertones carry a heavier message for the awareness of mental illness and distress. Richard's father (Alan Arkin) also lives with the family after being caught snorting heroin in his retirement home. This real life statistic stems from the stark amount of anxiety associated with being inherently rejected by society and the stress linked to finding a suitable partner. More importantly, I think the film did a great job in showing that depression can be treated, and those suffering can get better with time and help. Richard truly deviates from the family in his selfish endeavors and ideas, he causes distress and annoyance every time he attempts to demonstrate his intelligence or power and he may have even caused permanent dysfunction for not only himself but also his daughter. The deep depression he suffers from is perhaps lightened by the support he is able to give to those around him. Messed up the quote. Even though he starts the movie out on a severely negative experience and mindset, it could be argued that throughout the film he is perhaps a direct representation of the audience. After it ended, I immediately watched it again without the annoyance of commercial interruptions or censorship. Despair stage of Erikson. Why might family therapy help depression? What is the place of psychological horror and thriller in a world gone ‘mad’? Inception: Anticlimactic or Satisfyingly Open-Ended? The Artifice is an online magazine that covers a wide spectrum of art forms. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. How Time Loop Movies Have Avoided Their Own Groundhog Day, Feminism in the Postmodern Era: A Study of Jenny Holzer’s Selected Works, How Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is able to Preserve and Build upon its Original. Although not really seen in too much depth by the viewers, Frank’s depression seemed to be heavily caused by his partner’s abandonment, and the ensuing crippling of his life that soon followed. Depression, Perfectionism, Nihilism, Family Dynamics . Prove you are human, type cats in singular form below: The Artifice is a long-form writing platform that covers a wide spectrum of art forms. This film displayed the process in which the little girls had to go through to fulfil the image of a beauty pageant queen. Although not a large scale theme in the film, depression is brought up … Her family wants her dream to come true, but they are so burdened with their own quirks, neuroses, and problems that they can barely make it through a day without some disaster befalling them. As more and more troubling events unfold, Frank is quick to attribute other’s behavior to their situation and not their essence of character. A suicidal Frank is denied further care because the hospital has tapped … He inherently reverts back to his own self-centered ideology during the family’s journey. As a homosexual, this character is five times more likely than any given heterosexual to take his own life. I just realized that three of my favorite films ever (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Broken Flowers and this one) come from a three-year period. and very realistic representations of human emotions. I really went into this movie thinking it was gonna suck, but i was more than pleasantly surprised. He is an unemployed Proust scholar. However, the reality is that no family, no matter how they look, are perfect. I liked this movie not only because of the plot which I found really great but also for the messages that we can take from this movie. He denies any use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Sometimes, a painful breakup triggers a full blown depressive episode that is at once consuming, paralyzing and terrifying. Both characters are considered “losers” and have experienced suffering. What a loser, eh? His expressions and attitudes all reflect some deeper inkling of curiosity and empathy for most of the other characters in the movie. Richard Hoover, played by Greg Kinnear, is a great example of a narcissist. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. “He is in bed all day watching television, what a loser.” Context. In Little Miss Sunshine, nearly all of the members of the family seem to struggle with some form of depression. You would think 2004/2006 was a golden period in the history of movies -yet I feel there was a whole lot of crap too, these three were just jewels in the mud. Now, due to logistical and financial issues, he’s being forced to accompany them on a 700-mile road trip so his niece Olive can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant. The effects of his suicide attempt, heavily bandaged wrists, are seen consistently throughout the film. This could potentially also prove his depression causes his anxiety to heighten because the others around him are unable to comprehend him as he comprehends them. If you are in a deep state of depression like Frank, you probably won’t feel like talking. Frank’s initial inability to successfully communicate with those around him supports the prognosis that he may feel abnormally isolated and therefore depressed. Protagonist's Objective: Getting Olive to the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty contest. A strong relationship in the film Little Miss Sunshine directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris is the relationship between Frank and Richard. Mental illness has little to do with the message of this movie. He is seriously depressed because his disability prevents him from working in his profession. Depression did appear to be portrayed in a very real light in the film. The ending is somewhat bittersweet; the dysfunction of the family is what bring ultimately brings them together. He struggles with this inability to cope and furthermore is unable to accept what life means without a his quasi-successful career. ( Log Out / Vice versa, if you have severe social anxiety that is holding you back in life, it may make you feel depressed. Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s Oscar winning 2006 indie film Little Miss Sunshine follows the eclectic Hoover family as they embark on a cross-country trip in their dilapidated VW van to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in which nine-year-old Olive will be competing. Then we will open for questions, comments, discussion . Predicament Obstacle #1: Richard has used up all their "seed" money on his 9 Steps Program, so they can't afford to fly, and Grandpa insists to going since he is Olive's coach, but they can't leave Frank … Visual and verbal features which included costume, character placement and use of voice helped the viewers understand their relationship. It is the disasters that show the characters/audience of the film how unrealistic it is to compartmentalize life as being a loser or winner. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Maybe I have Kurt Vonnegut on the brain, since he just died on April 11, so it goes. Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 film about a family and their atypical road trip from New Mexico to California, in hopes of having their daughter Olive win a children’s beauty pageant. “Side Effects” Different from the other movies about depression on our list, “Side Effects” is a story … [Dwayne fetches Frank for dinner and, with sign language, instructs him to come] Share on Twitter. Life is full of unanticipated nightmares and events. Frank : [after Dwayne reads an eye test pamphlet and finds he may be colourblind, destroying his life goal of enlisting in … This makes him some sort of cinematic sage and and by the end of the film becomes an example of a real friend. Not to mention the potential eating disorder / body dysmorphia that can be attributed to being a not-so-skinny, unaverage girl in a beauty pageant! The dynamic of this family is truly something to behold. Want to write about Film or other art forms? I Depression. In this silly, cinematic adventure of Little Miss Sunshine, many of the main characters are experiencing an array of psychological disorder. Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are partners both … Olive's father Richard is a flop as a motivational speaker, and is barely on speaking terms with her mother. This film plays on the emotions of the audience and forces one to look at the dysfunction they may be currently suffering. My mother had been raving about this movie for the longest time. Share via Email. His narcissism and need for attention overshadows his ability to empathize and offers little productive support for the rest of his family. He simply adds fuel to the fire of a young girl’s self destructive tendency, not exactly a loving, fatherly vibe. Both characters are considered “losers” and have experienced suffering. It is clear that Richard sways from both a mindset of severe emotional regret and an overly inflated sense of satisfaction from what has recently transpired in his life. So true, felt like I’d end up writing a book if I dove into EVERY characters’ issues. This could also support the conclusion he suffers from Erikson’s Ego Integrity vs. No other movie has ever been able to make me laugh so much or cry so hard in such a short amount of time. “Life is one big f****n beauty contest”. The most funny scene is when a police stopped them and they had a dead body in their trunk, hilarious. In this day and age, Olive is already predisposed by the media to develop a mild form of body dysmorphia and this could statistically contribute to an eating disorder in the long run. This is a very strongly written, superbly executed comedy! Frank’s moods went from a complete melancholy and morose state in the beginning, to being upbeat and fixated on helping Olive in her quest to win the pageant. Richard, her father, is an unsuccessful motivational speaker and businessman and this effects his perception of himself. Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the directorial debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt.The film stars Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, and was produced by Big Beach Films on a budget of US$8 million. Is it inherent mental illness or the disasters that produce “mental dysfunction” in the characters? Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Little Miss Sunshine. “Little Miss Sunshine” is a great movie from which we can gain many things and we can think many of those after we watch it. He goes back to this not only as if no one else’s point of view matters but as if no one else’s point of view exists in the rational world. Typical. It depicted the journey a dysfunctional family makes rather well. Although a comedy, one could argue the darkly humorous film addresses various mental illnesses within the disaster-filled road trip of the Hoover family. This particular character tells a tragic tale of love and life and this is what led him to make an attempt on his own life before the movie’s start. It’s satirical undertones carry a heavier message for the awareness of mental illness and distress. Desire. I stumbled upon this one day on Comedy Central and instantly fell in love. Frank’s suicide attempt occurred two days prior to the adventure, and because he could not be left alone, he makes the trip with the family. Little Miss. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Frank was self-committed at hospital due to major depression and suicidal attempts, history of mutilation as evidenced by bilateral wrist cutting. Although slightly redeeming in the end, Richard spends most of the movie as that one character the audience just can’t stand. we annoy each other, fight, have our internal and external problems but in the end its still family. Print this page. Olive is a little girl with a dream: winning the Little Miss Sunshine contest. downgrading the severity of Frank’s depression, this film gave a substantially factual look at Little Miss Sunshine Videos. It somehow exerts so much light with, simultaneously, a lot of darkness. A most representative example of that is when he tries to guilt young Olive into not eating ice cream because “skinny beauty queens don’t eat ice cream”. Both this movie and “The Way Way Back”, made by the same producers, deal with strong themes of mental health in suburban American families. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Another character, Dwayne, loses his sense of identity when he realises he is colour blind. Such a breakup is depicted in the award-winning 2006 film, Little Miss Sunshine. I can’t say I liked the movie, but I can sure support the messages it was conveying. Though they might have erred in. This is significant because Proust is known for Remembrance of Things Past, recollecting the days of his childhood from present items. After this, Olive becomes self conscious of her weight as just a young, seven year old girl. Dysfunctional Family Stars in Dark Comedy 'Little Miss Sunshine' October 31, 2009 01:14 PM Share on Facebook. Olive wants to go to the pageant in California and Sheryl wants to get her there. The outcome of the movie made me happy, because I didn’t think the Hoovers were a close family, but the ending proved me wrong! In order for his character to actually have a narcissistic disorder it must be deviant, distressful and dysfunctional. ( Log Out / Really interesting take on a classic indy flick. The one thing that Frank continues to reference when identifying himself is that he is the “foremost authority on Proust” (Little Miss Sunshine). “Life is one f*****n beauty contest after another”. He deviates from others, it therefore causes him distress and it creates dysfunction not just for him but also for the relationships in his life. Little Miss Sunshine, although not necessarily ‘happy go lucky’, is a helpful and entertaining reminder that life’s problems can often manifest themselves in our relationships and in our personalities. Snorting heroin in his retirement home magazine that covers a wide spectrum of art forms Richard shows! And businessman and this effects his perception of himself won ’ t feel like.! Is to compartmentalize life as being a loser or winner make you feel depressed it may you!, you probably won ’ t really get what this movie thinking it was a bittersweet family movie with heart! 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