Many have cashed in on the increasing popularity of stories about religious cults. It’s an endless row that keeps getting longer and longer, with films like Women Talking, the Netflix documentary Keep Sweet, Prey, and Obey, and FX’s horrific Under the Banner of Heaven, based on the real-life events of Brenda Lafferty.
Shiny Happy People, available on Amazon Prime, is the most recent addition to this genre of terrifying yet engrossing programs. Being on the other side of the planet, I had never heard of 19 Kids and Counting, so perhaps that’s why I was taken aback by Shiny Happy People from the very first scene.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets Documentary Reviews
The show is simple to grasp, especially for someone like me who knows nothing about fundamentalism, and it provides a fascinating look inside the IBLP, or the Institute for Basic Life Principles. From the exterior, it appears to be a show about a family embroiled in controversy and how they overcome it, but when you bite into the show, it’s like a sandwich: you get a big bite in and all the information spills out. It’s difficult to retain all the information presented in the miniseries, which covers a wide range of topics from child abuse and se*ism in the family to homeschooling and its effects on later life.
The accusations against Josh Duggar, the eldest of the 19 Duggar children, for possessing Child Se*ual Abuse Material were like opening a pot of beans. The scandal inquiry sparked a broader curiosity on the institute’s inner workings as a whole, not just those of the implicated family.
The second Duggar child, Jill, is brought back on the big screen by directors Julia Willoughby Nason and Olivia Crist. Jill’s reality TV career continued even after 19 Kids and Counting was canceled in 2015, with the spin-off Jill and Jessa Counting On.
You can tell something is seriously wrong the moment Jill sits down in front of the camera, and as she begins to explain the finer points, more and more members of the IBLP are brought into the mix, building the plot until it finally detonates. The first episode focuses mostly on the Duggar family and its matriarch, Michelle Duggar, as well as patriarch Jim Bob Duggar.
This allows us to peep behind the scenes at some of the tensions brewing at home by drawing back the curtains a crack. They appeared flawless on television screens around the world. We eventually get to the heart of the matter: how and why this family of 19 ended up living the way they do. The reality about the IBLP and Bill Gothard became clear to us at that point. People should use umbrellas while it’s raining. It is not a weapon to be used in the promotion of se*ist ideas in the name of God.
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Episode 2 focuses mostly on Bill Gothard’s teachings and how he established the IBLP empire, positioning himself as a messiah for white conservative Christians in the United States. The power that one man has over so many people is fascinating and terrifying, as it is with any cult leader. However, with the help of the Duggers and the “advancement” of civilization, Bill was able to expand his cult beyond its original geographic confines.
In addition to the expansion of Bill’s IBLP, we get glimpses of the widespread abuse that is typical of the culture that propagates terror and shame among the “good people.” This cult is based on the principle that men should be in charge of all domestic matters.
By the end of the series, it becomes clear how directly beneath our noses this has been going on. The Joshua Generation is revealed to be a new group that has essentially become an online influencer cult. At the end of the day, it’s obvious that all of these leaders want to rule the entire planet.
You may see the official tweet by The Ashley below in which Jinger Vuolo reveals why she declined to participate in ‘Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.
https://twitter.com/TheAshleysRR/status/1666131968311042048
The image of the Duggar family is shattered, yet the floodgates of information aren’t shut completely because of Shiny Happy People. Overall, the show is as riveting as it is informative, making it the ideal docudrama. It’s not a documentary on a real crime, but it provides the same thrill.
Considering that the Duggar family is in the title and most viewers will be sitting down to find out where they are at the moment, the show runs a little long even with the typical 30-45 minute episodes due to the deviation into the IBLP. Documentaries like this one are the hot Cheetos of the documentary world.
