Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets Review: This is a 4-part documentary series directed by Olivia Crist and Julia Willoughby Nason, focusing on the Duggar family, their fundamental religious upbringing and beliefs, as well as the horrible abuse and manipulation that they took part in, along with a dose of patriarchy and sexism to boot. Each episode has a runtime of around 45-60 minutes.
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Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets Review
Ah, religious fundamentalism – such a whirlwind to watch and get to know about. Apart from the Duggars and their insanity, we also learn about IBLP (Institute of Basic Life Principles) in this docuseries, basically a cult that teaches how to be Christian without having a personality and pushes extreme patriarchy. The series, which is primarily about the Duggars but not really, takes an interesting detour into religious fundamentalism in general and Bill Gothard in particular. The breakdown of these topics makes this docuseries shine because it brings forth some of the scariest things that you’d probably had no idea about before this.
As an audience, the docuseries will boil your blood and will also make you extremely uncomfortable. Shiny Happy Family: Duggar Family Secrets gets its beats right – it’s a series wherein the interviewees have been victims of their religion and have lived to tell the tale. There are humorous quips that are there in some instances because let’s face it – the situations mentioned are just so disturbing that a little bit of humour is probably necessary. However, it swiftly shifts back to the seriousness of the situation and the horrible abuse people went through, some without even knowing.
It’s just so much and such a wide variety of abuse from such a young age that you will be left disturbed and in need of a breather. The second episode, especially, details some horrible physical, mental and sexual abuse perpetrated by IBLP as well as the book written by Michael and Debi Pearl titled To Train Up a Child. The way they speak about children is just so disheartening to watch, and the horrible abuse that they find to be absolutely normal is also similarly heartbreaking. The series just gets worse from there, so just hold on tight.
It is especially uncomfortable to watch victims of these horrible practices speak for themselves against them and how these things have given them lifelong trauma that they are still struggling to leave behind. The series expertly weaves in and out of its different materials, from Gothard’s sermons to the victims’ juxtaposing thoughts and how Gothard’s claims were completely false and fraudulent. The editing is done well, so much so that you won’t be able to stop watching, considering the insane facts that come up in the course of the series.
OK, so IBLP isn’t the only villain in the Duggars’ lives – TLC, The Learning Channel, also has one of its paws in this mess. I am not going to get too deep into it since it’s a sordid tale that the victims should be allowed to say, but man, you’d expect a network which has the word ‘learning’ in it to be a better job than be predatory. But then again, with 90 Day Fiance and MILF Manor on their roster, I am not surprised.
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In the end, the docuseries highlights how predatory people, especially men, can be when they are given an ounce of power. The disgusting way children are taken advantage of and the harrowing recollections might get very difficult for some to listen to. There are, however, some very interesting and common indicators of how abuse works – how those in power try to cut off communication with the outside world in order to skewer your idea of the world and isolate you in order to start the cycle of abuse slowly. It’s a tactic that is used to break your spirit, and the series highlights it scarily well.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets isn’t just about the Duggars. It’s about everyone who has been taken advantage of horribly by narcissistic and patriarchal men who goad over their ability to torture those underneath them in their eyes. It’s also just a sad tale about brainwashing, to be honest. It’s just incredibly heartbreaking watching young kids be subjected to these horrible teachings from when they were young and pushed to their limits, wherein their wills break.
Now, let’s get into the Duggars – the family is quite well-known for having 19 children and for teaching their way of life to the world, showcasing their lives as perfect, along with perfectly behaved kids. But, during the course of the show, we see how and why what we see on TV or social media is absolutely false (more so if you’re watching it on TLC, of all places). Sure, on camera, the Duggars were perfect, but when everything starts to come out slowly, it simply makes you want to throw up. The series meshes these beats wonderfully. You don’t constantly watch them, but you still get an understanding of the Duggars’ psyche and why they were what they were.
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Basically, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is just a disturbing show about real, disgusting people doing unspeakable things against those they promised to protect. It’s a story of survival against unspeakable harassment when the victims didn’t even know about the harassment. It’s also a well-made docuseries that stitches stories of abuse surrounding the Duggars and the IBLP so that maybe if anyone watching is in a similar situation, they can make plans to get out.
Final Thoughts
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is a great series. It’s really informative, and I’m glad that they didn’t just focus on the Duggars, instead using them as a jumping-off point to talk to several others in the IBLP cult. It’s a very interesting and disturbing watch, but one that will hopefully help people open their eyes to any abusive situations that they might find themselves in.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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