1.
Louis Theroux was the main man when it came to questioning the Phelps family and producing 'The Most Hated Family In America.' As an interactive filmmaker, Theroux spends most of the film informally interviewing members of the church, often individually.
2.
The main subjects of the documentary are the church members that shock people the most. Like Shirley Rebekah and Fred Phelps, and Steve Drain.
Theroux spends most of his time with Shirley, and she also has most screen time. She is very supportive of her views, and although she finds Theroux's questions and picking quite irritable, she doesn't lash out or react as such. Asides inflicting her views on her children, she seems quite a good mother. Fred Phelps, or as he is commonly referred to as, 'Gramps' keeps himself to himself. He is the leader of the church. However, he is seen constantly shunning Theroux, and goes out of his way to purposely ignore Theroux's questions. This can be quite challenging as a documentary maker.
3.
Theroux questions the reasoning behind Westboro's actions throughout the film, often touching on the themes of Religion, Homosexuality, Family, and Interpretation. Their off-shoot of Christianity that they follow is the core of their controversial lifestyle. The church as a whole seem very faithful to their religion, and have a very in-depth knowledge of it. Rebekah and Shirley Phelps are seen constantly defending themselves from Theroux and his questions, reasoning with him and justifying their actions.
The Westboro Baptist church have been known to protest and mock homosexuality, as the church is built around an anti-homosexual theology. One of the most common things we see on the picketing signs in the film are 'God Hates Fags.' This is also the name of the church website. Their hatred of US soldiers is also expressed in a way that depicts soldiers having gay sex.
Another theme seem in the clip is the idea of family. Towards the end of the film we see one of Shirley's children get hit by a projectile thrown from a passing car whilst picketing. It's an example of what happens when you cause offence like this. However, we see that Shirley does care about her children. It makes the audience feel bad for the children, as they are likely to live a life of being social outcasts. Theroux points out that this may bring the family closer together, as they only really have each other.
4 + 6.
From watching the whole film, we can deduce that Louis Theroux's film crew are of a reasonable size. Perhaps 10-20 people on set, and 3 or 4 men on cameras. We can see this by the type of shots we see. Most scenes are filmed on handheld cameras. The shots are up close, right up in the subject's faces. This form of cinematography is used so that we can see their responses to Theroux's questions, and how they feel when they talk about their beliefs.
Like the cameras, Louis is very much in the subject's faces. He is very direct, and quite pushy, but only when he needs to be. We see him use this interview technique with the defensive characters like Fred and Steve, as so he can force an answer, or some form of response. (Mostly Anger) On the flip-side, characters like Shirley and Rebekah are more open, and they discuss their religion in a less tense manner - we don't see Theroux fishing for answers as much.
5.
'The Most Hated Family in America' is a Participatory documentary. Theroux questions the family's beliefs and, to an extent, participates with their day-to-day activities. However, the film does start pushing slightly towards being a reflective film too. Some parts are made to make the audience feel bad for the children, as they are born into a family of outcasts. Certain scenes will have Louis talking to Rebekah Phelps about her love life. She tells him that she doesn't need (or want) anyone. It is also implied that she doesn't have parental approval, and that it is unlikely someone will be accepting of her religion. It's kind of saddening in a way.
7 + 8.
The main goal with ''The Most Hated Family in America' was to expose the church, and provoke a reaction from these people. The way that they explain themselves and their reasoning for this is supposed to shock people. The controversy surrounding the church and it's homophobic beliefs continues to cause controversy. Some parts of the film are there to remind us that the Phelps family are human. Behind the appalling beliefs, we see that they care for each other, and that they might not be 100% vile. especially the children. And this is where the reflexive part comes in. We are supposed to feel empathy for these people. Most of us will not, but this can spark a debate perhaps. Either way, Louis Theroux finds a good un-bias balance of showing us what sort of people are part of the Westboro Baptist Church.
9.
The subjects of this film are highly controversial. 'The Most Hated Family in America' was produced with this in mind. It makes good TV. It provokes a response, all whilst educating the audience, and giving them a well-rounded inside look of the subjects.
Louis Theroux was the main man when it came to questioning the Phelps family and producing 'The Most Hated Family In America.' As an interactive filmmaker, Theroux spends most of the film informally interviewing members of the church, often individually.
2.
The main subjects of the documentary are the church members that shock people the most. Like Shirley Rebekah and Fred Phelps, and Steve Drain.
Theroux spends most of his time with Shirley, and she also has most screen time. She is very supportive of her views, and although she finds Theroux's questions and picking quite irritable, she doesn't lash out or react as such. Asides inflicting her views on her children, she seems quite a good mother. Fred Phelps, or as he is commonly referred to as, 'Gramps' keeps himself to himself. He is the leader of the church. However, he is seen constantly shunning Theroux, and goes out of his way to purposely ignore Theroux's questions. This can be quite challenging as a documentary maker.
3.
Theroux questions the reasoning behind Westboro's actions throughout the film, often touching on the themes of Religion, Homosexuality, Family, and Interpretation. Their off-shoot of Christianity that they follow is the core of their controversial lifestyle. The church as a whole seem very faithful to their religion, and have a very in-depth knowledge of it. Rebekah and Shirley Phelps are seen constantly defending themselves from Theroux and his questions, reasoning with him and justifying their actions.
The Westboro Baptist church have been known to protest and mock homosexuality, as the church is built around an anti-homosexual theology. One of the most common things we see on the picketing signs in the film are 'God Hates Fags.' This is also the name of the church website. Their hatred of US soldiers is also expressed in a way that depicts soldiers having gay sex.
Another theme seem in the clip is the idea of family. Towards the end of the film we see one of Shirley's children get hit by a projectile thrown from a passing car whilst picketing. It's an example of what happens when you cause offence like this. However, we see that Shirley does care about her children. It makes the audience feel bad for the children, as they are likely to live a life of being social outcasts. Theroux points out that this may bring the family closer together, as they only really have each other.
4 + 6.
From watching the whole film, we can deduce that Louis Theroux's film crew are of a reasonable size. Perhaps 10-20 people on set, and 3 or 4 men on cameras. We can see this by the type of shots we see. Most scenes are filmed on handheld cameras. The shots are up close, right up in the subject's faces. This form of cinematography is used so that we can see their responses to Theroux's questions, and how they feel when they talk about their beliefs.
Like the cameras, Louis is very much in the subject's faces. He is very direct, and quite pushy, but only when he needs to be. We see him use this interview technique with the defensive characters like Fred and Steve, as so he can force an answer, or some form of response. (Mostly Anger) On the flip-side, characters like Shirley and Rebekah are more open, and they discuss their religion in a less tense manner - we don't see Theroux fishing for answers as much.
5.
'The Most Hated Family in America' is a Participatory documentary. Theroux questions the family's beliefs and, to an extent, participates with their day-to-day activities. However, the film does start pushing slightly towards being a reflective film too. Some parts are made to make the audience feel bad for the children, as they are born into a family of outcasts. Certain scenes will have Louis talking to Rebekah Phelps about her love life. She tells him that she doesn't need (or want) anyone. It is also implied that she doesn't have parental approval, and that it is unlikely someone will be accepting of her religion. It's kind of saddening in a way.
7 + 8.
The main goal with ''The Most Hated Family in America' was to expose the church, and provoke a reaction from these people. The way that they explain themselves and their reasoning for this is supposed to shock people. The controversy surrounding the church and it's homophobic beliefs continues to cause controversy. Some parts of the film are there to remind us that the Phelps family are human. Behind the appalling beliefs, we see that they care for each other, and that they might not be 100% vile. especially the children. And this is where the reflexive part comes in. We are supposed to feel empathy for these people. Most of us will not, but this can spark a debate perhaps. Either way, Louis Theroux finds a good un-bias balance of showing us what sort of people are part of the Westboro Baptist Church.
9.
The subjects of this film are highly controversial. 'The Most Hated Family in America' was produced with this in mind. It makes good TV. It provokes a response, all whilst educating the audience, and giving them a well-rounded inside look of the subjects.
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