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Considering Societal, Psychological, and 
Geographical Borders in Dayton & 
Faris’s 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine

Eden Fowler, University of  Sheffield

When considering borders and When considering borders and 
boundaries, our initial interpretation boundaries, our initial interpretation 
often responds with a recognition of often responds with a recognition of 
the geographical borders which divide the geographical borders which divide 
and organize our world. However, and organize our world. However, 
often overlooked are the psychological often overlooked are the psychological 
and societal borders experienced by and societal borders experienced by 
individuals and the ways in which individuals and the ways in which 
these kinds of boundaries define our these kinds of boundaries define our 
lives. Borders and boundaries of all lives. Borders and boundaries of all 
forms are encountered in the 2006 forms are encountered in the 2006 
road movie road movie Little Miss SunshineLittle Miss Sunshine, directed , directed 
by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. 
As Ann Brigham notes, “Road stories As Ann Brigham notes, “Road stories 
themselves are plotted around unsettling themselves are plotted around unsettling 
processes: the crossing of borders, the processes: the crossing of borders, the 
courting and conquering of distance, the courting and conquering of distance, the 
reinvention of identity, and the access, reinvention of identity, and the access, 
negotiation, and disruption of spaces” negotiation, and disruption of spaces” 
(8). This essay will consider the complex (8). This essay will consider the complex 
borders navigated by the Hoover family borders navigated by the Hoover family 
as they journey from Albuquerque, New as they journey from Albuquerque, New 
Mexico to Redondo Bay, California Mexico to Redondo Bay, California 

in search of the in search of the Little Miss SunshineLittle Miss Sunshine  
beauty pageant. As a road narrative, beauty pageant. As a road narrative, 
the film covers extensive geographical the film covers extensive geographical 
distance, emblemized by the yellow VW distance, emblemized by the yellow VW 
campervan the Hoover family travels in. campervan the Hoover family travels in. 
But the Hoovers are a family of misfits, But the Hoovers are a family of misfits, 
all experiencing their own psychological all experiencing their own psychological 
barriers and suffering under the societal barriers and suffering under the societal 
boundaries of social class hierarchy and boundaries of social class hierarchy and 
patriarchy. Thus, as a film embedded patriarchy. Thus, as a film embedded 
in mobility, this essay will also consider in mobility, this essay will also consider 
the ways in which boundaries are the ways in which boundaries are 
transgressed as well as responding to the transgressed as well as responding to the 
resilience exhibited by individuals when resilience exhibited by individuals when 
faced with challenging circumstances.faced with challenging circumstances.

There is little doubt of  the vital and 
complex significance of  borders in the 
21st century. In a time of  political unrest, 
national intolerance and suspicion, and 
increasing migration, the contradictory 
existence of  geographical boundaries is 
emphasized. As Marc Silberman and his 
fellow authors explain, “The contradictory 
yet simultaneous functions of  walls, 



borders and boundaries – to divide and connect, to exclude and include, to shield and 
constrain – are fundamental to all cultures” (1). These kinds of  barriers exist simultaneously 
with other borders, like the mental and social boundaries which establish our perceptions 
of  the world and the relationships we construct. Our lives are determined by borders and 
boundaries, and yet perhaps less salient in our minds are the societal and psychological 
borders sub-consciously defining the choices we make and the opportunities with which we 
are presented.
 In Dayton and Faris’s 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, the characters from the 
Hoover family encounter borders on many levels, from the borders created by social class 
hierarchies, to the psychological boundaries that are perpetuated from within the family 
dynamic. Thus, when the Hoover family take to the road in quest of  seven-year-old Olive 
Hoover’s Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant, the characters cross both geographical and 
metaphorical borders, and overcome the many boundaries placed before them. These 
border crossings become imperative in the personal development of  these characters, as 
by the end of  the film, each family member is reaffirmed of  their purpose and place in the 
world. Simultaneously, the collective impact of  these border crossings is demonstrated in 
the strengthened familial unity of  the Hoover family. The crossings this essay will analyze 
designate Little Miss Sunshine as a film about defiance, growth, and overcoming adversity. 
 As a road narrative, Little Miss Sunshine is, by proxy, a film about the traversing of  
borders and boundaries. From the outset, the journey even in theory poses numerous 
challenges about who will participate in the trip, what vehicle will be used, and the resources 
needed for this kind of  travel. In a tense scene at the beginning of  the film, the family 
debate how to navigate and overcome the various borders placed before them. The financial 
requirements of  flying from Albuquerque to California ensure that road travel is the 
necessary mode of  transport. However, it is the requirement that the entire family of  six 
participate in the journey – Grandpa Edwin helped Olive rehearse, Frank is on suicide watch, 
Dwayne is too young to be left home alone, and Sheryl “can’t drive a shift” – which ensures 
that the iconic yellow VW campervan is the vehicle of  choice (Dayton and Faris). Once 
on the road, the hurdles the Hoover family encounter on their journey only multiply. From 
very early on in the film, the old campervan is a source of  precarity with its engine, horn, 
and door breaking at various periods and thus preventing Olive from reaching the beauty 
pageant. Even as the family reaches California, the location presented in Little Miss Sunshine 
deeply contrasts traditional interpretations of  the state as one of  freedom and opportunity. 
Dayton and Farris present an environment polluted with freeway network links as concrete 
bridges cut across the open sky. This overwhelming man-made infrastructure encourages a 
return to Silberman et al’s ideas of  the contradictory nature of  borders. These highways are 

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intended for travel and connection and yet appear intimidating and hostile.

California Freeway Network.

 
Richard drives through the barrier to the beauty pageant hotel car park.

 Further, when the Hoovers near their destination of  Redondo Beach, the beauty 
pageant hotel is illustrated again as a site of  hostility. The difficulty of  finding the hotel, 
leading to Richard driving the van along footpaths, through chain barriers, and even 
breaking through the car park entrance barriers again symbolizes the both mental and 
physical borders crossed in order to reach the pageant. However, it is the traversing of  these 
boundaries which in many ways breaks down the borders the family members have created 
between one another and creates a sense of  family unity absent at the beginning of  the film. 
The family’s solution to the broken van – to push start the vehicle and then run and jump in 
while the van moves – actually acts as a distinctly positive, bonding experience for the family. 

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Dayton and Faris illustrate this in Frank’s elated reaction to the successful operation:
“No one gets left behind! Outstanding soldier, outstanding!”

Family joy after successfully push-starting the bus. (See full scene here.)

 Here we observe Frank’s first experience of  joy in the film, an emotional state far 
from his own struggle with depression and a consequential suicide attempt. Little Miss 
Sunshine thus indicates the distinct sense of  achievement when borders are crossed and 
boundaries are ruptured. The push-starting of  the car throughout the film then forms a 
cinematic motif  of  bonding and connection between the family, but also of  the physical 
struggle between individuals and the limitations placed on them seemingly by fate. 
 These borders also illustrate that the family are in many ways resigned to 
circumstances beyond their control, but also that as a family of  misfits, they are predisposed 
to facing additional boundaries in life. These are characters struggling to find their place in 
the world, to be valued and to be respected. As Jill Dolan articulates, “Olive intuitively feels 
her own confusion and incipient despair at the choices that land in our laps, whether or not 
we want them there, at the vagaries of  life over which we have so little control, biologically 
or politically” (1).Thus, the following will focus on the borders encountered by three out of  
six main characters in the film: Dwayne, Frank, and Olive.

Dwayne
 Dwayne Hoover, a mute-by-choice teenager, is Sheryl’s son from a previous marriage. 
As a character, he is socially awkward and extremely isolated, perhaps as a result of  the 
fragile genetic bond he shares with his family. He is detached from his step-father Richard 
and step-grandfather Edwin, and, to an extent, from his half-sister, Olive. Interestingly, he 

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https://youtu.be/Ij9HVhBfdxQ


experiences an almost instant connection with Uncle Frank, a family member who perhaps 
feels more stable and central within a traditional family to Dwayne. 

Dwayne’s notepad.

 Dwayne undeniably constructs a border between himself  and others. His adolescence 
ensures he pushes away his family and his refusal to maintain relationships with others, as 
he states “All I ask is that you leave me alone” (Dayton and Faris). As Finamore illustrates, 
“Dwayne seems to typify the plight of  the contemporary angst-ridden adolescent” (124). But 
it is the non-verbal border created by Dwayne which ensures his isolation from the world. 
He takes a vow of  silence to prove his discipline until he achieves his dream of  becoming 
a fighter pilot. His refusal to verbally communicate ensures a boundary between himself  
and others. Dwayne instead relies on the non-conventional method of  communication: 
writing short responses on a notepad. This method is thus inherently restrictive and ensures 
that Dwayne’s ability to convey language and emotion is limited. Dwayne is a victim of  the 
borders of  his own creation.
 Dwayne’s vow of  silence is essential in ensuring the audience’s recognition of  how 
critical his dream of  flying jets is to his character. Thus, there is a sudden, devastating 
moment of  realization when it is revealed that Dwayne will not be able to fly. In the scene, 
Frank, Olive, and Dwayne read a pamphlet with vision tests, one of  which is a color 
blindness test. It soon becomes clear that Dwayne is color blind, and Frank instantly realizes 
“You can’t fly jets if  you’re color blind.” Dayton and Faris employ a hand-held camera in 
the scene, mimicking the shaking, nauseating motion of  the bus. Additionally, the scene 
takes place shortly after the van’s horn has broken, ensuring that the infuriating, whining 

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horn sound illustrates hysteria. Dwayne experiences a psychological breakdown in the van, 
banging against the doors and ceiling in an attempt to escape the confines of  the bus. Color-
blindness becomes a completely unpreventable border between Dwayne and his dreams. 

 

Dwayne’s breakdown scene. (See full scene here.)

 But Little Miss Sunshine is a film about navigating boundaries and the refusal to be 
confined by the borders placed in our paths. After his breakdown, Dwayne becomes more 
open, mostly as a result of  increased articulation, thus creating a stronger connection with 
his family and deeper understanding of  the great lengths individuals will go to for the ones 
they love. In turn, he becomes less isolated and actively includes himself  in the family. In 
fact, it is in the scene following Dwayne’s emotional breakdown that we witness the first 

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https://youtu.be/zcLlq4Lml7A


instance in which he experiences physical contact with another character, when Olive hugs 
him. The emotional and physical border he experiences between himself  and the coldness of  
the world is fractured by the warm touch of  his little sister. 

   

Olive comforts Dwayne.

Frank
 Like Dwayne, Frank Ginsburg is also a character who experiences isolation and 
constructs barriers between himself  and others. Frank, a disgraced and heartbroken 
academic, joins the Hoover family to enable his sister, Sheryl, to take care of  him after his 
suicide attempt. Frank is thus restrained by the psychological borders of  mental illness, but 
is also stigmatized due to his sexuality, and, in a way, due to his academic status which at 
first impedes him in relating to others. But, as someone who has attempted suicide, Frank 
loses consent over the boundaries around him. When he enters the Hoover household, he 
is not allowed to be left alone and has to share a bedroom with Dwayne. As Sheryl reminds 
him, “Leave the door open, that’s important” (Dayton and Faris). The physical boundary of  
the door is ruptured, and Frank loses access to his dignity and any agency over his privacy. 
This is only heightened when the family endeavors on their road trip, where it seems every 
waking minute is spent in the close vicinity of  Richard, Edwin, Sheryl, Dwayne and Olive on 
the bus. The close proximity of  others to Frank forces the boundaries he has built between 
himself  and others to ebb away. Frank quickly gains a new lease on life, like in the euphoric 
moments when the van is hurtling down the highway and the family all manage to jump 
in on time. Further, it is in the final parts of  the film, when the Hoovers finally reach the 
pageant, that we see Frank as the first of  the family to jump out of  the van (with the door 
comically falling off  in his hand) and run into the pageant hotel for Olive. Here, we witness 

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Frank’s sense of  purpose and the determination he possesses to reach the goal of  the road 
trip. As a character, Frank has undergone a significant development on the road journey and 
crossed the internalized borders of  heartbreak and self-deprecation.

Frank races to the pageant.

Olive
 One character provides the motivation behind all the miles, all the motels, and the 
many borders crossed on the Hoover’s road journey: Olive Hoover. Olive, the adored 
daughter, granddaughter, sister, and niece is the centring, collective point of  the family. 
However, Olive also faces borders in her attempts to achieve her dream of  becoming a 
beauty pageant winner. Aside from the narrative borders experienced on the road, Olive is 
also restrained by the borders of  girlhood, with issues of  self-image and bodily insecurity 
heightened to extremes within the beauty pageant environment. These societal borders 
which prevent Olive from establishing and maintaining a strong sense of  self  and self-
image are only consolidated by her father Richard’s damaging words of  advice relating to his 
daughter’s body. When the Hoovers stop at a diner for breakfast, Olive orders waffles and 
ice cream. Richard responds: 

“Olive, can I tell you a little something about ice cream? Well, ice cream is made from 
cream, which comes from cow’s milk, and cream has a lot of  fat in it...Well, when you 
eat ice cream the fat in the ice cream becomes fat in your body...So, if  you eat a lot of  
ice cream, you might become fat, and if  you don’t, you’re going to stay nice and skinny 
sweetie.” (Dayton and Faris)

Richard employs damaging rhetoric on an impressionable and vulnerable seven-year-old girl, 

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ensuring lifelong questioning of  her relationship with food and her body. As Alison Happel 
and Jennifer Esposito explain, “It appears Richard is trying to help discipline Olive’s body 
so that she performs a femininity that is sanctioned by the dominant culture” (6). She will 
constantly be confined by her father’s words and come to view her body and appetite as 
a barrier between her and success and love. Thankfully, the rest of  the family are quick to 
deconstruct this harmful rhetoric, as Sheryl states “It’s ok to be skinny, and it’s ok to be fat if  
that’s what you want to be. Whatever you want, it’s ok.” (Dayton and Faris)
 
  

 

Olive orders waffles and ice cream at the diner. (See full scene here.)

 At the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, we see Olive struggling to place herself  within this 
uncharted territory. She struggles to maintain the sense of  self  she previously possessed 
when viewing the other child contestants, whose physical figures sit in a liminal space 
between children, glamour models, and Barbie dolls. Olive begins to perceive her body 
within the beauty pageant gaze which, attuned to the male gaze, perpetuates a view that the 
female body should be regulated to a certain standard, which Olive’s pre-pubescent body 
obviously does not. 

Olive judges her figure in the mirror at the beauty pageant.

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https://youtu.be/jOO1lDYU4qI


 Furthermore, when Olive dances, she becomes again confined by the profoundly 
complex and ludicrous boundaries of  beauty pageantry, where young girls are sexualized 
within the realm of  objectification but rejected when they are seen to take agency over their 
own bodily expression. As Dolan notes, “Olive dances with enthusiasm and joy, unaware that 
her moves borrow from a sexual vocabulary that signifies the sexual commodification and 
availability of  women, particularly, for a male gaze” (1).
 Despite their best efforts, Olive also faces borders as a result of  her family dynamic. 
Regardless of  the extreme lengths they go to in order to help Olive reach the Little Miss 
Sunshine pageant, there is no denying that the Hoovers could never fully cross over into the 
bizarre and ostentatious world of  pageantry. Olive is both restrained and encouraged by 
the overbearing advice of  her father, but even Richard realizes his overly simplified advice 
that “there’s two kinds of  people in this world, there’s winners and there’s losers. Okay, you 
know what the difference is? Winners don’t give up,” is helpless within the ‘strictly codified’ 
world of  the pageants (Robinson and Davies 353). Even the quite minimal class barriers 
Olive faces – in a diner she asks Sheryl “How much can we spend?” – are heightened when 
contrasted with the excess of  the pageantry world. Olive’s simple leotard costume and 
ponytail looks pitiful next to the ostentatious outfits of  the other girls. Ultimately, Olive 
crosses borders and overcomes the boundaries placed before her through the deep-rooted 
support and encouragement of  her family. Not only do they help her get to California, but 
they encourage her to the very end, even joining her on stage in a final mark of  defiance 
against the harsh and ceaseless world which grants the Hoovers no favors. 

    

Olive at the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. (See full scene here.)

 Little Miss Sunshine is finalized as a film about the borders we face as individuals and 
the great depths we go to to cross them in the penultimate scene of  the film. For the first 
time, we witness Olive’s performance. It is a dance routine she has been rehearsing with 
her grandfather, the content of  which is yet unknown to her family. Olive’s performance 
turns out to be a scandalous burlesque dance routine taught to her by Edwin. Despite 

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https://youtu.be/WYMRLleE9Qo


the obvious sexualization of  the other contestants, it is perhaps the agency which Olive 
unknowingly obtains over her sexual expression which transgresses the deeply codified 
beauty queen world. The dance routine is thus met with dismay and Olive is heckled, but in 
a wholesome and poignant finale, the family join Olive on stage. The characters themselves 
become borders between Olive and the “mainstream world of  success and efficacy, warped, 
ambitious, spiteful and lonely” (Beck 30).

Olive’s final performance at the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. (See full scene here.)

 
 As this essay has illustrated, Little Miss Sunshine exhibits the crossing of  borders at an 
individual level. But it is the conditions in which these borders are crossed that illustrates 
the significance of  the family dynamic in this film, as the personal journeys the characters 
undertake are supported by the presence of  the unconditional love of  their family. Personal 
development is facilitated by the family, and thus, each border crossing, geographical, 

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https://youtu.be/ECfvSmDe_-0


psychological or societal, consolidates the emotional ties that hold the family together. Olive 
is empowered by the realization that the most important judgement comes from those 
who love her. Dwayne is reintroduced to the familial love he previously rejected. Frank is 
reawakened to the unchallengeable love of  his family after the pain of  romantic heartbreak. 
In Little Miss Sunshine, the resilience each character shows is essential for the crossing of  
borders of  all forms. As Eppler and Hutchings define, “Resilience is the process of  coping 
with and overcoming adversity, finding purpose in the face of  suffering, and preparing for 
the future with a focus on interconnections and personal strengths” (1463). As the Hoover 
family start the 700-mile drive back to Albuquerque, the yellow VW campervan provides the 
powerful symbol of  this resilience, of  the traversing of  boundaries and the refusal to accept 
the adversities placed before them.

The Hoovers travel back to Albuquerque in their VW Van..

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Works Cited

Brigham, Ann. American Road Narratives: Reimagining Mobility in Literature and Film. 
University of  Virginia Press, 2015.

Dayton, Jonathan, and Valerie Faris, directors. Little Miss Sunshine. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 
2006.

Dolan, Jill. “Summer Movie Wrap Up: The Descent, Little Miss Sunshine, V for Vendetta.” 
Feminist Spectator, September 5 2006. https://feministspectator.princeton.
edu/2006/09/05/summer-movie-wrap-up-the-descent-little-miss-sunshine-v-for-
vendetta/.

Eppler, Christie and Jen Hutchings. “The Use of  Cinematherapy to Illustrate Systemic 
Resilience.” Journal of  Clinical Psychology, vol.76, no.8, 2020, pp.1463-1471. https://doi.
org/10.1002/jclp.22998.

Finamore, Dora. “Little Miss Sunshine and Positive Psychology as a Vehicle for Change in 
Ddolescent Depression” Popular Culture in Counselling, Psychotherapy and Play-Based 
Interventions, edited by Lawrence C. Rubin. Springer Publishing Company, 2008, 
pp.123-130.

Happel, Alison and Jennifer Esposito. “Pageant Trouble: An Exploration of  Gender 
Transgression in Little Miss Sunshine.” Gender Forum, no. 46, 2013, pp. 1-12. ProQuest, 
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/pageant-trouble-exploration-gender-
transgression/docview/1501552411/se-2.

“Little Miss Sunshine - Dwayne’s Meltdown.” YouTube, uploaded by starpaw7, 5 July 2011, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcLlq4Lml7A.

“Little Miss Sunshine | The Car Breaks Down | HD Clip.” YouTube, uploaded by Filmincom, 
16 June 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij9HVhBfdxQ.

“Little Miss Sunshine. Ice Cream Clip.” YouTube, uploaded by Chelle Hacker, 18 March 2020, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOO1lDYU4qI.

“Little Miss Sunshine (5/5) Movie CLIP - A Family Affair (2006) HD.” YouTube, uploaded by 
Movieclips, 29 July 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECfvSmDe_-0.

Robinson, Kerry H and Cristyn Davies. “She’s Kickin’ Ass, That’s What She’s 
Doing! Deconstructing Childhood “Innocence” in Media Representations.” 
Australian Feminist Studies, vol.23, no.57, 2008, pp.343-353. https://doi.
org/10.1080/08164640802233294. 

Silberman, Marc, et al. Walls, Borders, Boundaries: Spatial and Cultural Practices in Europe. 
Berghahn Books Incorporated, 2012.

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https://feministspectator.princeton.edu/2006/09/05/summer-movie-wrap-up-the-descent-little-miss-suns
https://feministspectator.princeton.edu/2006/09/05/summer-movie-wrap-up-the-descent-little-miss-suns
https://feministspectator.princeton.edu/2006/09/05/summer-movie-wrap-up-the-descent-little-miss-suns
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/pageant-trouble-exploration-gender-transgression/docview
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/pageant-trouble-exploration-gender-transgression/docview
https://doi.org/10.1080/08164640802233294
https://doi.org/10.1080/08164640802233294

