"America's Traditional Family"

          

      Every family has their ups and downs, however, it would seem that the Hoovers have the worst luck of them all. Showcased in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), written by Michael Arndt and directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Fairs, the Hoovers are your traditional American family, with a few quirks. With a brother who refuses to speak, a grandfather that doesn’t want to be there, and an uncle that just attempted suicide, amongst other things, the Hoovers seem to carry a little more baggage than a traditional family, but do they really? Although Little Miss Sunshine may appear to be about a family trying to make it to their daughter’s pageant on time on the surface, it also discusses and challenges many norms. 

Instead of showing a perfect nuclear family, which the media tends to do, Little Miss Sunshine, starts off the film by displaying some of the major problems the family seems to be facing. Between Frank just getting out of the hospital after his attempt and Edwin doing cocaine in the bathroom, it’s clear from the beginning that this family has its problems, however, doesn’t every family? Sure, this film is dramatized for entertainment and comedic effect, however, it’s still showing the troubles a traditional family may face realistically. In some ways, Little Miss Sunshine breaks the “traditional American family with no problems” norm, making it known that families have and will face troubles in their lifetime.

Little Miss Sunshine also calls attention to the “pretty girls are skinny and don’t eat junk food” stereotype. Although Richard Hoover enforces this stereotype at first, telling his daughter that skinny people don’t eat ice cream and only skinny people win pageants, this norm is quickly dismantled by the rest of the Hoovers when they all say yes to eating ice cream. Later in the movie, this stereotype is further challenged when Olive asks Miss California, someone who is known to be beautiful, if she likes ice cream, to which she answers yes. Through small moments like this different societal norms and stereotypes are broken down and challenged throughout the movie.

            Little Miss Sunshine, written by Michael Arndt, a first-time writer at the time of this film’s debut, but better known now for writing the screenplays for popular movies such as Toy Story 3 and WALL-E, follows the Hoovers as they make a trip to California for Olive’s pageant, while they also battle other obstacles and troubles. Arndt is able to show a real, normal family, while using small scenes to break societal norms, creating an engrossing film that shows just how “dysfunctional” every family can be underneath the surface.