Captain Fantasic Questions

What is the director trying to tell us about American/western culture

and values?

I feel that the director of Captain Fantastic ,Matt Ross, is trying to

highlight and expose the flaws of capitalism that is entrenched in
American/ western culture. It is interesting to note that Captain
Fantastic was released in 2016, at the time of Presidential elections,
when American politics/ society was freefalling out of control and
people were widely questioning capitalism amongst other things.
It is fair to say that the director is making a response to the impact of
capitalism and uncontrollable consumerism.
The director’s focus is on a family where the parents, Ben and Leslie
Cash were left-wing activists that chose to retreat away from the society
they have become totally disallusioned with. Immediately, the viewer is
confronted with the idea that capitalist society of modern times should
be questioned.
The setting of the film, in the wilderness of Washington State, highlights
the contrast between capitalist society and the ‘idyllic’ alternative right
from the start. Throughout the film there are references to the evils of
capitalism and government e.g., the lengthy discussions on The Bill of
Rights by Zaja and the rest of the family.
The viewer is challenged by the director through the film, to explore the
values of American/ western culture and not to accept being
‘brainwashed’ by the capitalist society they live in.

We are presented with two different approaches to parenting: Ben’s

and Jack’s. Whose do you most identify with and why do you think this
is?

In the film two different parenting approaches are demonstrated.

Firstly, Ben’s approach is to remove his children away from the capitalist
society and raise them with an alternative upbringing and values. The
children endure intense physical training e.g., climbing/ running up
mountains. They are taught to hunt for their food and in the beginning
scene, Bo has to eat the heart of the animal he hunts, this is an
extremely unorthodox way of parenting. Ben gives his children a very
regimented upbringing where he has strict authority over them and as
their‘teacher’ he instills in them good literary skills and indepth political
knowledge. He is raising them to be bright and respectful people
however, the education they receive is about ideals and does not equip
them for the ever changing capitalist world outside.
Jack ,on the other hand, offers the contemporary, consumer culture
alternative; he offers a modern life style and the lure of a materialistic
upbringing. The children will be given a ‘normal’ upbringing in modern
society with governmental ruling rather than from their Father’s ideals.
When considering which parenting approach I identify with it would
have to be Jack’s, because I have been brought up in capatilist society
rather than an anti capatilist way of life. Despite this, my upbringing
does share elements of Ben’s approach as I have been encouraged to
respect others and to treat others and the world I live in well. I have also
been taught to appreciate what I have and not to chase after
materialistic possessions.

How does the director get us to question both those approaches? Refer
to specific scenes.

There are many incidents throughout the film which cause the viewer to
question the differing parenting approaches.
Firstly, when examining Ben’s parenting, right from the outset the scene
of the hunting of the deer causes the viewer to question the value of
such parenting. The killing of the deer and then eating of the heart by
Bo, sets the tone of shocking the viewer. It is a catalyst for the viewer’s
questioning on the killing of healthy and defenceless animals and if
there are benefits for children growing up with this lifestyle.
Another example where Matt Ross sparks questions in the viewer on
Ben’s parenting, is that the children lack an ability to communicate in
the outside world. This can be illustrated in the scene where Ben and Bo
visit a shop and Bo is incapable of talking to a group of girls. In another
scene Bo proposes to a girl after the first kiss. This reveals to the viewer
how Ben’s parenting has totally unprepared his children to enter society
and develop normal relationships outside of their tightknit family.
The parenting approach that Jack represents also causes the viewer to
evaluate some aspects of it. The scene where the family visit their Aunt
Harper’s home, which represents a conventional, capitalistic family
upbringing, highlights the deficiencies in the knowledge of her children
in literature and politics compared to the Cash children who recite the
Bill of Rights with ease. Harper’s children were shown to be
unknowledgeable and almost uneducated compared to the Cash
children. This causes the viewer to query whether a conventional
education may not be as valuable as portrayed.

The film got a lot of positive reviews but one of the few negatives was
from The Guardian, a left-wing, Liberal British newspaper. Why do you
think this was?

Peter Bradshaw, writing in the Guardian in September 2016, wrote one

of a very few negative reviews of Captain Fantastic. He stated that it
contained, ‘a meaty whiff of phoney-baloney ‘ and that it was a ‘fatuous
and tiresome’ movie with an ‘ excruciatingly unearned, sentimental
ending’.
The reason behind Bradshaw’s negative review might be that he felt that
the movie was a false representation of left-wing ideals and too radical.
He is therefore very dissmissive and critical of the film which he feels
portrays a too extreme few of left-wing views.
On the other hand it might be that Bradshaw does not hold left-wing
views and is therefore reviewing the film negatively because he doesn’t
agree with anti capatilist views.
It is interesting that other reviews in September 2016 in the Guardian,
by Brian Moylan and John Patterson, are positive and supportive of the
left-wing ideals portrayed in the film. They seem to be more at ease with
the more extreme left-wing stance of Captain Fantastic.
The film is unusual in that there is little focus on female characters.
Viggo Mortensen is also often associated with the “female gaze” – but
not here. What difference do you think that has made to the film?

The term “female gaze” refers to a film having a female perspective

rather than a largely male view. In Captain Fantastic the female gaze is
absent on the whole. It contains female characters but their
roles/opinions are seemingly muted. The result of this is that the film
contains a very macho stance. The main character ,Ben Cash, is an
authoritarian, patriarch and the film revolves around him and other
male characters e.g., Jack and Bo. As Ben, the Father brings the children
up there is little female lifestyle input and largely concentrates on male
dominated pusuits e.g., hunting. In my opinion the film is very one sided
and doesn’t include a feminine perspective.