Issues Raised In Captain Fantastic

One issue raised in Captain Fantastic is parenting and it is displayed through the moral argument of Ben's method of parenting questioned by Jack and, through elements of film form, so does the audience. This is achieved with the performance of Jack. More specifically, Jack speaks in a calm, direct manner, he doesn't shout at Ben and shows genuine concern for the children, shown when he talks about the son's bruises and how they aren't in school. This is a clear contrast earlier on in the film when Jack is being depicted as antagonistic (e.g. when he says he doesn't want Ben at the funeral), however this belief is transgressed when its revealed he just wants whats best for the kids. This encourages the audience to side with Jack and turn against Ben because his chaotic lifestyle is putting his children in danger. Also Jack in this scene is displayed like he is in denial that his methods are wrong and are perfectly justified. For example, when Jack is confronting about the son's injuries, instead of denying it, Ben corrects Jack, highlighting his disconnect from his morality, that he doesn't understand that what he's doing is wrong. This is only apparent to him in the shot where Jack says that its "child abuse". The shot is a close up on Ben's face displaying him as shocked but also with worry, almost as if he is starting to agree with Jack, just like the audience. Furthermore, their difference in ideology is shown through their costume. For example, Jack is wearing formal, dark clothing, whilst Jack is wearing casual, vibrant clothing. More specifically, this is a metaphor of their different lifestyles and beliefs. Jack's formal clothing symbolises his seriousness and structured life, which is trying to obtain for the children. On the other hand Jack's colourful clothing symbolises his chaotic and nontraditional life that he wants for the children.

The issue of parenting is also shown in the scene where the Rellian and Bo are arguing about Ben's parenting. First of all, the scene's background is dark, which is symbolic of the dark subject matter the son's are talking about, that being their Mother's mental problems and their Dad's unsafe methods of parenting. However, their bright lighting on the son's faces, putting focus on them and their issues but this also maybe symbolic of their innocence in the situation. This scene gives context to Rellian and Ben's animosity, which had been seen in this film until this point. When the audience aswell and Bo finds out the extent of the Mother's illness and she was said to be smashing her head on the boulders. This depicts Ben as a more antagonistic character and the audience start to question whether or not they should trust him with the children. It also explains why Rellian pulled a knife on Ben in the scene where he tells the children that the Mother is dead, because he blamed Ben for her madness and is angry that he never told them the extent of it. When he tells Bo that Ben is dangerous, the shot of Bo scoffs at the remark, almost as if he is in denial aswell as Ben about the chaotic nature of their loves. This is subverted when Rellian shouts at him about how their lives are not perfect. Their is close up of Rellian, emphasising his anger and sadness through physical expression and the lighting on his face putting his emotions at the center of attention. This quickly cuts back to Bo where his facial expression, which is turns in shock, sadness and realisation, that his life is has been controlled by Ben and his ideology.