Home Alone 2: Cross-generation Family Film

After considering in which direction my thesis should head, I have come to the conclusion that focusing on the post-1990 Hollywood family film, which can be perceived as a certain means of family therapy, will be the best challenge for me. I am primarily interested in this topic because of its psychological, cultural and social range.
The starting point of my work will be the Hollywood film Home Alone: Lost in New York (1992, Chris Columbus), which is loosely based on one of the most successful family films of all times Home Alone (1990, Chris Columbus), along with the texts of the late twentieth century by Robert C. Allen and Peter Krämer. The story of the little boy Kevin McCallister, who is experiencing an unusual adventure alone in a big world full of good and evil, is perhaps known to everyone either through their children or from their own childhood memories; these types of family films are appealing to all age groups, which is why they may be considered as highly intergenerational. First, I will try to outline the historical aspects which lead to such a large production of family films in Hollywood in the last forty years of the twentieth century, whereupon I will use the above-mentioned film for a more detailed analysis of family relationships in American society in the late nineties which are known as postmodern. After that I will try to suggest a possible use for this film genre which isn't a genre in the traditional sense, but a certain form of therapy for those sitting in front of the screen.

The family film may undoubtedly be considered as one of the largest production trends in the United States in the last quarter of the twentieth century; but what exactly does such a family film present? The film industry revealed that the family film genre cannot be constituted as a genre in the traditional sense, because its range is too wide. This term includes the following areas: a) realistic comedies (Home Alone, 1990) b) adventure fantasies (Hook, 1991) c) animated films (The Lion King, 1994) d) live action/animation hybrids (Jumanji,1995).[1] From the viewer's perspective, family films appeal to all age groups, especially parents and children, based on a combination of unprecedented often fantastical events and highly emotional concern with familial relationships. They provide a cinematographic experience involving both children's absorption and delight, and adults' nostalgia.[2]

Of course, family films haven't become desired for no reason; many aspects of those times led to their proliferation and popularity, which is why it is not a bad idea to outline at least some of these causes.

1. 2. 1. Explosion in live birth

The period in the United States between the years 1946 and 1964 marked the first big explosion in live births, which is known as the "baby boom"; in the year 1965, four out of ten people were under the age of twenty. Despite opposite expectations, the baby boom explosion was followed with an equal if not greater implosion of the birth rate, which started increasing again in the year 1977; it was only in the year 1989 that the number of live births reached the same level as in 1964. This high birth rate, which is known as ‚Echo-boomers‘ or ‚Generation Y‘, was maintained until 1994, when it began to decline. In the year 1998, the highest number of Americans under the age of eighteen was reached, thus breaking the baby boom record. The effect of the echo boom has become the cultural bias of parenthood for the first time since the fifties.[3] [4]

1. 2. 2. New technology: VCR

Just as the baby boom is associated with the boom of television technology, the echo boom has its own technology with which it is closely connected. It is VCR technology, which began to diffuse during the first months of the rise of the echo boom; it found its domestic application in the mid nineties. In late 1997, over 90 percent of homes owned a VCR machine; in comparison with the telephone or cable television, the VCR represented an unexpected and extremely fast boom as well as an integral part of life of society at the time. Based on this, the demand for video rentals and stores grew, and logically therefore the demand for films themselves.[5]

1. 2. 3. Postmodern family

The most frequently cited example of a family film is undoubtedly Home Alone, which earned 285 million dollars in 1990 and sold 10 million copies the very next year. This film has pointed out that children aren't a taboo and opened the door to modern Hollywood intergenerational family films. [6] At the same time, Hollywood has speculated on the question of what family actually represents; American public policy has also been dealing with the issue of family values. It has been declared that the era of the modern family has ended, but at the same time, it wasn't possible to predict what reconfiguration could replace the nuclear family model. The word "postmodern" has defined this unpredictability and instability of the modern family.[7] [8]

2. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

As I have already mentioned, the film Home Alone as well as its sequel may be viewed as a certain form of a postmodern family which lacks a general binding authority and the flattening of hierarchies.[9]

2. 2. 1. Family ties

The McCallister family presents the upper class of American society in the late nineties. The number of members in this family is very high, and one would kind of expect family cohesion. Yet they all come across as very confused; as if each of them was moving on their own axis which doesn't interact with anyone else's. Although Peter and Kate McCallister complement each other, which might make them seem like ideal parents, them not noticing that their youngest son is missing until they land in Florida isn't exactly alright. It is also important to mention the issue of authority, which doesn't really work in the case of Kevin and his mother Kate; he reacts to an admonition with sassy and self-confident behaviour, and on top of that, at nine years of age, he is capable of announcing to his mother that he never wants to see her again. The characters of Uncle Frank and Kevin's brother Buzz are purely negative; the motives of Buzz, an adolescent who likes to be harmful to his younger brother, can still be comprehended. What's worse is the case of pessimistic Frank, who is actually entertained by Kevin's hardships. As is known, however, everything bad is good for something, which applies to this case as well; because of the negative experience, the whole family unites calms down and finds the right path to mutual respect.

2. 2. 2. The acquisition of a new identity

Since the beginning of the film, Kevin's character can be defined as follows; Kevin is the youngest of the five siblings, he is a slightly hyperactive, eternally misunderstood nine-year old boy whose "grown-upness" isn't taken seriously by anyone, even though he demonstrated a great deal of independence and courage on the last Christmas holiday. After he his ridiculed by his older brother Buzz at a Christmas choir performances, he stands against the whole family yet again as it is not his intention to apologize for something which seems morally correct to him. At this moment, Kevin acquires a new identity along with the decision to take matters into his own hands; the first sign of this state of mind is the fact that he keeps an eye on the way to the airport himself and doesn't depend on his parents after past experiences. However, he gets the most control over the situation after he lands in New York and finds out that he boarded the wrong plane. He doesn't even think of finding an adult whom he could tell what happened to him, which any other child in his age would probably do. Instead, he starts to behave as an adult himself, thereby taking all responsibility for his actions:

1. he transports himself to Hotel Plaza 2. he uses the credit card himself, and by lying, persuades the receptionist Mrs. Stone to let him into the hotel suite 3. he himself invites the sad pigeon lady for a cup of hot chocolate while listening to the philharmonic, and he doesn't judge her for her appearances 4. he shops by himself in Duncan's Toy Chest, and based on his decision, he donates his allowance to sick children 5. he confronts Mr. Hector by himself 6. on his own, he decides to save Duncan's Toy Chest from the burglars Harry and Marv, even though he fights them with great fear 7. he alone is worthy of their apprehension It is therefore apparent that in certain respects we can't view Kevin as a little kid anymore, as he has taken over the functions of the father and mother and learned how to be his own parent. Kevin's maturity is primarily demonstrated by the fact that he doesn't tell anyone around him about any of these events (not even his mother Kate), and this transformation thus becomes his own secret.

3. The effect family films have on the viewer

In his text, Peter Krämer admits that he enjoys watching family films and being "reconstructed as a child"; of course, he doesn't consider this feeling to be automatic or unconscious. Childhood memories and the relationship with each parent both play an important role.[10] The problem may lie in the fact that what an adult might view as an imaginative evocation of past experiences, a child might see as a realistic body of everyday feelings.[11]
I personally consider the effect of family films to be positive. My primary reason for this point of view is that thanks to these films, the family finds some time to spend some nice moments together and learn many lessons (many times unconsciously), for which the above-discussed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York may serve. The children then have the opportunity to identify with the movie hero who is close to their age and create a model example for their future behaviour.

In my thesis, I have used the intergenerational family film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and texts from the late twentieth century by Robert C. Allen and Peter Krämer. In the first chapter, I have first defined the term "family film" and described the unusually wide range it covers. Then I dealt with cultural and historical aspects which led to the boom of the family film. The main causes primarily consisted of: a) an increased birth rate in the nineties b) the spread of VCR machines to most American homes c) the end of the modern conception of family and rise of the postmodern family. The second part of the text deals with the actual analysis of postmodern relationships in the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York; here, I have first tried to analyse family ties and the characters of the film's protagonists, after which I focused on the identity development of the main child hero Kevin McCallister. The last part of my thesis, which was primarily based on the perspective of Peter Krämer, was focused on the effect the family film has on the child and adult viewer and the possible perceptions they may have.

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