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Insights:
Robin Williams stars in the new
comedy, RV, which appears at first glance to be just
another "dysfunctional family takes a road trip and lives
happily ever after" film. However, underneath the
crude humor and silly theatrics, RV explores three
profound messages in a subtle and thought provoking way.
First
Message: The Father and Family Harmony
One of the early scenes
captures the Munro family in their rented RV setting out
on their family vacation. Mother, daughter, and
son are all plugged into their own electronic devices
and singing their own songs, while father Bob grimaces
and tries to shut out all the discordant noise. He
is not singing, and that is the point. The father,
who is supposed to be the leader, the head of the family
to direct it and bring harmony within it, has abandoned
the family for his work. Left without a head and
direction from that head, each member has gone their own
way singing their own song. It is no wonder
alienation and discord exists amount them.
By the end of the movie, the
Munro's are singing together, yet with unique parts.
Why? The answer is that the father's restoration
to the family has brought unity and harmony within the
family.
Second
Message: The Contrast of Two Families
Early in their journey, the
Munro family meets another RV family, the Gornickes.
This family is stereotyped as corny hillbillies,
red-necked do-gooders, and miracle believing Christians.
If it were left at that, it would be the usual Hollywood
insult. Instead, the Gornickes are contrasted with
the dysfunctional Munros. The first thing this
family demonstrates is how well they can sing ---
together.
The contrast extends from the
family itself to their respective RV's. The Munros are
driving a rented commercial covered, rundown vehicle filled
with other people's excrement, which by the end of the
journey is covered in slime. The Gornickes own their
shiny, sleek, red and white RV, and it is as custom as you can
get. The not so subtle question that is being asked is,
"Which vehicle would you rather travel through life in, the
world's or the Christians?".
And last, but not least, the Munros find out that the weird, ignorant family they tried so
hard to avoid is really very special. They are
intelligent and self-sacrificing people who go out of their
way to help strangers and get them to where they really need
to be.
Third
Message: The Hierarchy and the Tribe
Just as animals have a
grouping in which they are designed to live1,
human beings are designed by their Creator to live in
tribes (Genesis
49:28,
James 1:1). Unfortunately, most do not. What
has replaced the tribe is the hierarchy of
"civilization". Since this thought is foreign to
most civilized" people, definitions of both are given
below. What is profound about RV is that it
clearly demonstrates how one man, Bob Munro, leaves the
hierarchy of his job and boss (Egypt/Pharaoh), passes
through the wilderness, and finds real life in a tribal
community. The movie ends not with one family
singing its song, but with a tribe singing their song.
Tribes: A tribe is a
coalition of people working together as equals to make a
living. Tribes have leaders, even strong leaders,
but they get no special benefits that are denied other
members.2
Hierarchy: (Egyptian Model)
A social organization where in the ruling caste, headed
by a living deity in the shape of a pharaoh or divine
monarch is supported by a priestly bureaucracy that
regulates and supervises the labor force conscripted for
(among other things) the construction of palace and
ceremonial complexes, temples, and pyramids.2
Notes:
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For
example: schools, herds, packs,
coveys, pods, flocks, etc.
-
These
definitions are taken from the
book, Beyond Civilization, by Daniel Quinn.
This is a secular book written from a humanistic
evolutionary perspective. It does have very keen
observations on tribes and hierarchies.
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