Life to me is a journey you never know where it may lead you! I have chosen to watch and research on the film ‘little miss sunshine’ as I believe it is a great example of journeys. The film Little Miss Sunshine, directed by Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris, is about a dysfunctional family that take a road trip to a beauty contest. Along the way to the little miss sunshine pageant, the family must deal with crushed dreams, heart breaks, and a broken-down Volks Wagon bus, leading up to the Surreal Little Miss Sunshine Competition itself.The Hoover family might not be dysfunctional if it wasn’t for the personal problems which each character face. Olive's is the main character and the only one in the family who seems "normal" Dwayne, the brother of olive, has pinned his future on becoming an Air Force pilot and is keeping a vow of silence in support of his goal.
Olive’s grandfathers character is a bold send-up of the American stereotype of the sweet, wise grandfather. Uncle Frank is a gay Proust scholar. his genuine anguish at the loss of love and the need to redefine his identity is touching.Sheryl the mother of olive takes the opportunity to poke fun at the harried American housewife with her endless round of obligations, and her helplessness in the face of the overwhelming demands that are placed on her. Richard is olives father and he and Sheryl also present an ironic take on family dynamics and "psychologically-based child-rearing", But His real affection for and connection to his family are never lost in pursuit of the "laughs. " There are two main journeys that a faced throughout this movie physical and inner.
The physical journey faced is the road trip from home across the United States to a beauty contest which Olive has entered, trained by her grandfather. On the way to this beauty pageant all the characters go through an inner journey, olive lives out her father’s principle of success, Richard finds what he really values, after his career failures, Dwayne comes to terms with his family and ambitions, Sheryl has re-established her family by making everyone take this physical journey and frank finds meaning to his life after his failed suicide attempt.There are many techniques used in this film. Firstly the directors and their team use a variety of different camera techniques to shape our view on the characters, and ultimately change our view in the world.
In the opening sequence each character is introduced using different camera shots. For example Olive’s father is first projected to the audience as a success. There is a sequence of close ups and mid ranged shots which show Richard confidently speaking in a spotlight at the front of the room.However the cinematic team then use a cut to a point of view shot of what Richard sees when he has finished talking, which allows us to then see how much of a failure he really is, as there is only five, half asleep, bored people in the room and only one person applauds Richards work. This first sequence allows us to see that Richard acts and feels like a winner to himself, but when he is seen with the rest of the world he is a failure and a loser.
The directors have used this sequence to shape our understanding of winning and losing as it employs the idea that winning and losing is based on comparing yourself to the rest of the world, instead of being on how you feel and view yourself. Another technique used is the music used in the film. The soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine is a mix of indie rock and folk music that fits the scenes and overall feels of the film. Little Miss Sunshine becomes a quiet and enjoyable marriage of songs and song-inspired score pieces.The music used determines the entire mood for the movie.
It provides a tone or an emotional attitude toward the story and the characters epicted. The background music often foreshadows a change in mood. In conclusion, ‘little miss sunshine’ holds a very strong concept on journeys. It’s a story of self-discovery and transformation. we see how the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other, as well as showing the struggles people in society face today.
