Little Miss Sunshine
Key aspect:
Representation
Learning Intentions
To learn that filmmakers target certain
audiences through their ideological
representations.
 To learn more about modern theories of
audience.
 To learn more about how to integrate
analysis of the key aspects.

Ideology

An ideology is a set of ideas or values
which produce a partial and selective view
of the world.
Analysing Ideology
As well as cultural assumptions made by
audiences and producers, representations
also reflect ideologies that commonly
circulate in society.
 Representations may uphold or challenge
a particular cultural assumption or
ideology.

Watch the following clip and take notes on
the way women and men are represented.
What is the preferred reading of the
ideological viewpoint about gender here?
It is a woman’s role to stay at home, raise
a family, do the housework and look after
her husband’s needs.
 It is a man’s role to work and provide
money for the family and to have all his
needs taken care of.
 The ideological viewpoint is considered to
be traditional or even old fashioned.

An opposing viewpoint on gender
Another ideological viewpoint on gender is
that men and women are equal, that both
are entitled to pursue careers.
 They should share equal responsibility for
housework, cooking and children (should
they choose to have them).

Can you think of any films or tv shows that
present this representation of gender as a
preferred reading.
Representation of Ideas
What ideological representations are there
in “Little Miss Sunshine”
 Ideology of beauty
 Ideology of family
 Ideology of winners and losers (success)

Ideology of Beauty
We will start by looking at this
representation.
 You will watch the following documentary
about teenage beauty queens then
discuss in groups the positive and
negative aspects of the practice.
 You will also give your own views.

Ideology of Beauty
“Little Miss Sunshine” challenges the
conventional notions of beauty in several
ways.
 In what ways does the film do this?

Ideology of Beauty
Through satirising the beauty pageant and
showing what a vacuous, pointless
superficial and cruel world it is.
 Through the characters of Olive and
Dwayne and the choice of actors to play
the parts.

Little Miss Sunshine –Ideology of
Beauty



"If
there's one thing in this world I hate, it's losers. I
despise them." (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
"And I thought there's something so wrong with that
attitude ... I wanted to ... attack that idea that in life you're
going up or you're going down ... So to a degree a child
beauty pageant is the epitome of the ultimate stupid
meaningless competition people put themselves
through." (Michael Arndt)
"As far as the pageant goes, it was very important to us
that the film not be about pageants. It's about being out
of place, it's about not knowing where you're going to
end up..." (Jonathan Dayton)
“The epitome of the ultimate stupid
meaningless competition”
You know what? Flip beauty contests. Life is
one flipping beauty contest after another.
School, then college, then work... Flip that.
Ideology of Beauty in Little Miss
Sunshine - Beauty Pageants
1.
pre-pubescent girls wearing adult make-up, dressed in
frilly frocks and acting well beyond their years. Children
who are unable to enjoy their childhood, being presented
as weird mini-adults.
2. The focus is on beauty—but not that of a natural type– a
beauty that is manufactured by fake tan, American Tan
tights and curled and back-combed hair placing success
in life firmly on physical attributes.
3. Beauty pageant parents and organisers are
stereotypically represented as pushy, show-biz types
who are insensitive to what children need and attempting
to live vicariously through their offspring. They are
denying the children innocence by sexualising them.
Ideology of Family

“But we wanted to make a film not about
family values, but about the value of
family.” (Valerie Faris)
Ideology of success (Winners and
Losers)