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Winners And Losers In Little Miss Sunshine

Decent Essays

The 2006 film, Little miss sunshine, is about a dysfunctional family that struggles to overcome numerous setbacks on an 800-mile road trip from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Redondo Beach, CA in their yellow VW Microbus to get their seven-year-old daughter to the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. The directors Valerie fairs and Jonathan Dayton use characters and various situations to satirize aspects of American society. This essay will look at how the film explores and makes comedy out of the concept of winners and losers through the characters of Richard, olive and the pageant scene at the end of the film.
Richard Hoover dedicates his entire career into the ‘Nine Steps programme he created. He thinks this is everything to do with success and failure. Richard believes that this is the only key to success. For example, when the film introduces the character Richard in the dinner scene, he judges Frank on his failed suicide mission, saying Frank ‘gave up on himself and that is something that winners never do’. This attack is made bluntly and carelessly, revealing aspects on Richard’s nature and attitude. The look on Richards face alerts the rest of the family, that are aware that life does not revolve around Richards nine steps programme.
Olive is a typical 7 year old American girl who’s dream is to win …show more content…

Ever since its national appearance little girls are coiffed, heavily made-up, sprayed with tanning lotion, lathered in sequins and poured into showgirl outfits. They prance about the stage, with music telling them to “Work it, own it”. The film exposes how cruel and unreasonable the process actually is. Prepubescent girls are trained to compete as sex dolls. Who knows how will this affect these children in the long run and what does it say about the society that invents and promotes such psychologically damaging

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