by Serena Sigillito
Along the way, Sisarich interviews a host of top scholars and writers from a wide range of disciplines, including Roger Scruton, Helen Alvaré, Ashley McGuire, Jonathan Last, Anne Moir, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Eric Metaxas, and Linda Malone-Colon. The documentary, and the small group curriculum called The Family Project that builds on the questions it raises, present an articulate and accessible compilation of the best analysis from traditionally minded scholars studying the family, its impact on society, and the factors contributing to its decay. As the film progresses, it becomes more theological, sending an empowering message of Christian hope and redemption.
What’s Wrong with the Family?
The first section of the film is divided into five parts, each examining a key element accelerating the breakdown of the traditional family: Sexuality, Marriage, Parenthood, Children, and Fathers. The film logically walks through the sections, connecting the dots from the hook-up culture to no-fault divorce, from extreme feminism to sex-selective abortion. “When you devalue sex, you devalue marriage,” summarizes Sisarich. “When you devalue marriage, you devalue the role of being a parent. And when you devalue being a parent, you devalue children.” Driven by his personal experiences, Sisarich concludes with an extended look at fatherhood, saying the absence of supportive fathers in the home is at “the very root of the problems our society faces today.”
The film is at its best when it connects philosophical, sociological, and psychological analysis with Sisarich’s story on a personal level. In the section on sexuality, for example, Sisarich interviews Joanna Hyatt and Elizabeth Marquardt, who share their research on the rise of the hook-up culture and its emotional effects. Sisarich takes in this information and processes it, quite plainly, as a father.
Hyatt: “You’ve got kids who are engaging in sexual activity, you’ve got kids who are experimenting, you know, they’re hooking up in college . . . But then when these kids are asked, in the privacy of research, “What does this actually make you feel? Do you enjoy this? Are you happy?” Time and again, the answer is “No.” And that, I think, is what surprises me—that these kids are dissatisfied, and yet they continue to do it, which tells me the pressure is huge . . .”
Sisarich: “This whole thing makes me a bit scared . . . I think about my little girl. Is there any hope for me, as a parent, to keep them from this hookup?”
Marquardt: “One of the things that we can see more clearly than ever, is how vital having the love of your father—the daily, present love of your father in your life is just priceless for a little girl. In terms of understanding that she has value, that she is worth being treated well—that love and that trust and that presence, it helps her grow into being able to do that, someday, when she’s ready, with the next big man in her life."
Hyatt: “As a dad, the way you treat her is going to set the bar for how she will expect other men to treat her. Research backs me up on this, that the father-daughter relationship has so many ramifications for other relationships down the road. So I think the way you treat her, in terms of just showing her respect, and loving her in a way that is appropriate, and demonstrating what tenderness looks like, you know, all of those things—your example is going to be huge.”
I couldn’t help but think of my own dad during this scene. His unconditional love for me, and the respectful way he treats my mom as his equal partner, gave me the confidence and sense of self-worth that enable me to build a strong relationship with my husband today.
I’m getting personal here, I know. But that’s exactly what this film does so well: it compels the viewer to connect the social science, theology, and philosophical anthropology that the film presents so articulately with the concrete realities of one’s own family life.
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