The Most Hated Family in America
Encyclopedia
The Most Hated Family in America is a 2007 BBC
documentary film
written and presented by Louis Theroux
about the family at the core of the Westboro Baptist Church
. The organisation is led by Fred Phelps
and located in Topeka, Kansas
. Westboro Baptist Church members believe that the United States
government is immoral due to its tolerance of homosexuality
, and they protest at funerals of U.S. military killed in action
with signs that display text such as "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers". With a BBC
film crew, Theroux traveled to Kansas
to spend time with members of the church and interview its leadership. In the documentary, church members are shown protesting at funerals of U.S. soldiers. Theroux interviews church leadership including Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper
.
The documentary first aired on BBC Two
in the United Kingdom
in April 2007. The documentary was a ratings success in its initial airing, beating simultaneous programming for BBC One
for the 9pm hour. It was broadcast again on BBC Two later that month, and Seven Network
purchased the programme for airing in Australia
in August 2007 and again in April 2008. It aired in May 2008 on TV3
and Seven Network, and multiple times in June 2008 on the television channel Dave. It aired again on BBC Two in December 2008 and in February 2010 in Ireland
on 3e
. A DVD
-box-set including the documentary and other Theroux programs was released in January 2009; The Independent
placed the DVD release as number eight among its list of "The 50 Best DVD boxsets".
The Most Hated Family in America received a positive reception, with four-star ratings from publications The Daily Record
and The Mail on Sunday
. It was recommended in reviews as a critic's choice by The Daily Mail, The Independent
, The Times
, Financial Times
, The Age
, and the Herald Sun
. A review in the Leicester Mercury
noted of Theroux's interview techniques, "His subtle interviewing style was perfect for showing off the crazy views of the members." The documentary was highlighted in The Sydney Morning Herald
among "The week's best", and characterised as, "Disturbing, perplexing and very entertaining."
A follow-up documentary by Theroux, America's Most Hated Family in Crisis
, was first broadcast on BBC Two on 3 April 2011.
and based in Topeka, Kansas
. Born in 1929 in Meridian, Mississippi
, Phelps conducts himself under the belief that he is a prophet
chosen by God
"to preach his message of hate". Phelps was ordained
a Southern Baptist in 1947. The Westboro Baptist Church was started by Phelps in 1955. Members of the church meet in Phelps's residence; the majority of the group's adherents are his family. Phelps received an associate's degree
from John Muir Junior College
in 1951, a bachelor's degree
in 1962 and a degree in law in 1964 from Washburn University
. He formed a "crusade for righteousness", attempting to abolish Jim Crow laws
in Topeka.
In 1991 when a local park started to serve as a meeting place for homosexual men, Phelps began to protest against homosexuality. Phelps subsequently enlarged the scope of his activities and formed protests in areas where civil rights were being debated for LGBT people. Phelps received criticism in 1998 when he repeatedly exclaimed "Matt is in hell" during the funeral of Matthew Shepard
, a man murdered for being homosexual.
Westboro Baptist Church bases its work around the belief that "God Hates Fags", and expresses the opinion, based on its Biblical interpretation, that nearly every tragedy in the world is God's punishment for homosexuality
– specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of gay
, lesbian
, and bisexual
people. It maintains that God hates homosexuals above all other kinds of "sinners" and that homosexuality should be a capital crime
. The church runs the website GodHatesFags.com, and GodHatesAmerica.com, and websites expressing condemnation of LGBT people, Roman Catholics, Muslims, Jews
, Sweden
, Ireland
, Canada
, the Netherlands
, and the United States
. The organisation is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League
and is classified as a hate group
by the Southern Poverty Law Center
. The group has achieved notoriety because of its picketing of funeral processions of U.S. soldiers killed in combat in Iraq
and Afghanistan
.
Controversial acts of Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church resulted in litigation and the formation of groups which counter-protest
against its efforts. President George W. Bush
signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act
into law in on Memorial Day
in May 2006. An organisation, FreeRepublic.com, formed demonstrations against pickets by the church. Groups of American Legion
members formed motorcycle
honor guard
s with the intention of safeguarding funerals of U.S. military from the church protesters.
and LGBT
people. Westboro Baptist Church members believe that these deaths are caused by God
as retribution for the immorality of the U.S.; stating the soldiers were "struck down by God for fighting for a depraved nation".
They attend the funeral of a soldier Kevin Zeigler who died at the age of 31 while attempting to disable a bomb in Iraq
. Referring to improvised explosive device
s, Westboro Baptist Church hold signs reading, "Thank God for IEDs". Protest signs carried by members of the organisation at the funeral, including six-year-old children, state: "Thank God For Dead Soldiers", "Don't Worship The Dead" and "Fag Marines". Another placard criticises Princess Diana for her friendship with the LGBT community, stating, "Royal Whore In Hell". Princess Diana is criticised by the organisation as a "fag enabler". Additional signs read "God hates fags", "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", "God is America's Terrorist", and, "Fag Troops". The Westboro Baptist Church members reveled in the September 11 attacks and stated they were punishment for the country's "fornication and lust". The group also protests outside the local synagogue
and holds signs which state that, "Jews worship the rectum".
Theroux interviews members of the Phelps family including Fred Phelps
(called "Gramps" by members of the organisation) and Shirley Phelps-Roper
. Theroux asks Fred Phelps, "Isn't it an act of presumption, when you don't have all the information about all the other churches, to assume you have privileged access to Grace?"; Phelps responds, "Oh, I know all there is to know about 'em." When Theroux asks him how he knows this, Phelps answers, "I'm not going to keep on talking to you. I know what you are. – you're an evil. – I don't even wanna go there. Good luck to ya!"
, United States to meet with members of the Westboro Baptist Church. Theroux and a BBC film crew spent three weeks in Topeka, Kansas
, gathering information on the 71 members of the organisation. In an article for The Guardian
, Theroux noted, "It was fascinating to see the power of a family to create its own bizarre ideology and pass it down through the generations." In a statement in The Age
, Theroux posited, "Maybe, through my enthusiasm, people reveal more of themselves than they may have intended. The show is laughing at me, adrift in their world, as much as at them." The Western Mail quoted Theroux on how he selects subject matter which interests him, "The subjects I'm interested in are quite extreme. They're so far beyond the pale of normal human interaction that you're never going to get a reality show on that territory."
In an interview with BBC News
, Theroux stated that the Phelpses are the most extreme people he has ever met. Theroux gave his opinion on the teachings of Fred Phelps. Theroux stated, "I think that the pastor is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps."
Apart from their protests, Theroux found them to be quite kind, and commented, "It shows you what strange avenues the religious impulse can take you down. I think another part of the answer is that parts of the Christian Bible are pretty weird. There's a lot of weird stuff in there and when you take that and you add this angry, domineering kind of a father figure, which is Gramps, and you add that he has sort of separated them off from other people, other families and driven them to achieve a lot, and he was kind of a charismatic guy, and still is up to a point. He was a very verbal, very persuasive, an extremely compelling speaker. All these things added together combined to make a powerful influence."
reported, "In the last hours of the last days, she explained, Jesus said his chosen will be 'hated by all men.
on 1 April 2007. The Guardian
characterised its performance as "a ratings hit". The film received 19 percent of viewership between the 9pm to 10pm hour, and beat programming for BBC One
for the same time period. The documentary received 4.3 million viewers while the program which aired at the same time on BBC One only drew 1.8 million viewers. The Most Hated Family in America was again aired on BBC Two on 4 April 2007.
In August 2007, Seven Network
of Australia
purchased a package of programmes from the BBC
including The Most Hated Family in America and two other specials by Theroux: Under the Knife
and Gambling in Las Vegas
. In April 2008, Seven Network purchased The Most Hated Family in America and the same two other programs from the BBC, with an additional two documentaries by Theroux added: Behind Bars
and African Hunting Holiday. In May 2008, the documentary aired on TV3
. The documentary aired in Australia on Seven Network in May 2008. It aired again in the UK on 21 and 26 June 2008 on the television channel Dave. The documentary aired again on BBC Two
on 18 December 2008.
In January 2009, The Most Hated Family in America was released as part of a DVD
boxed set in PAL region 2 format, along with African Hunting Holiday, Under The Knife, Behind Bars, and Gambling In Las Vegas. Titled, Louis Theroux: The Strange and The Dangerous, the DVD set received a four-out-of-four-star recommendation from The Daily Record
. In February 2009, The Independent
placed the DVD release as number eight among its list of "The 50 Best DVD boxsets", and characterised The Most Hated Family in America as the "strangest episode of the set, and by far the most disturbing". The documentary aired in Ireland
on 10 February 2010 on 3e
and was given a four-out-of-four star recommendation by The Mail on Sunday
.
, journalist
David Chater highlighted The Most Hated Family in America among selections for "Chater's Choice". Chater commented, "Louis Theroux undertakes his ugliest assignment to date." Chater concluded, "Theroux deploys all his logic and charm to find the humanity beneath the rhetoric, but ultimately fails. It is difficult to reason with people who think that holding up a placard proclaiming 'Jews worship the rectum' is 'a courteous and loving' thing to do." The film was highlighted in the Liverpool Echo
as "Sunday's: Pick of the day". Peter Grant of the Liverpool Echo commented, "Louis Theroux took a trip to Kansas for his documentary, The Most Hated Family in America. His profile of Westboro Baptist Church, the home of America's most fanatical Christian fundamentalists, was astonishing." Karl French of Financial Times
selected the film as his "Critic's Choice". French wrote positively of the documentary, "After painting himself into an oddball- documentary corner a few years back, Theroux wisely took a long break, and he's come back refreshed, as confirmed by this film. In the way it reveals the comic horror inherent in all forms of zealotry, it is every bit as compelling as Theroux's recent Vegas documentary." The Mail on Sunday
critic Tom Cox rated the documentary as four out of four stars. Cox wrote of Theroux, "His attempts to challenge the beliefs of the Phelps clan – a 71-strong congregation who picket military funerals with 'America Is Doomed' signs – and fuddle them with good nature and erudition were impressive, but ultimately as futile as an attempt to teach a cat algebra."
Writing for The Scotsman
, Andrea Mullaney articulated, "Theroux really had found the ultimate in weirdness for his latest documentary – they're so beyond the point of reason, into a self-perpetuating psychosis, that no matter how he tried, he couldn't challenge their beamingly-delivered pronouncements, or trip them up. But he did manage to show them as human beings (more than the courtesy they extend to us sinners)." Hilary Fannin of The Irish Times
commented that the airing of the documentary, "saw Louis Theroux, in The Most Hated Family in America, shatter another redneck American target, the Westboro Baptist Church". In a review of the documentary for The Sunday Times
, Roland White discussed Theroux's stylistic technique, "Theroux's usual technique – the friendly ingenue – made absolutely no impact on these people. It was like watching a youngster from a village cricket team trying to bowl out Geoff Boycott, and I began to wonder what Theroux was hoping to achieve. It is impossible to out–argue the religious bigot. They have impeccable logic on their side: the word of God is the righteous truth; only they understand the true word of the Lord; therefore, they are right and everybody else is wrong." Liverpool Daily Post
recommended the film in its column, "Sunday: What to Watch". Writing for the Birmingham Mail
, Graham Young observed, "The Most Hated Family in America is the best documentary from Louis since long before his Michael Jackson fiasco." John Dugdale of The Sunday Times
highlighted the film as his "Pick of the day". Dugdale wrote favorably of the film, "There are echoes of Theroux's film about a woman raising her daughters as neo-Nazis as he watches Phelps' daughter, Shirley, handing out placards to kids as young as seven. While tangling with her and her dad is pointless, the family's younger women are less inflexible, and his encounters with them are more rewarding." A review in the Leicester Mercury
noted of Theroux's interview techniques, "His subtle interviewing style was perfect for showing off the crazy views of the members."
Writing in The Independent
, Cathy Pryor declared, "Louis Theroux is out-oddballed this week by the subject of his latest documentary ... Astonishingly, Theroux makes you feel some sympathy for them and the price they pay for being the way they are." Thomas Sutcliffe of The Independent
posited that viewers were "...[left] wondering, after an hour, whether the Phelps hadn't got a bit more out of it than Louis. They aren't representative of anything but themselves, after all, and they rejoice in the world's detestation. So they had nothing to lose by being held up to ridicule, and gained exactly what they want – a bigger audience for their insane rantings." Writing for The Daily Record
, Paul English wrote favorably, "The journalist in me marvels at yet more great work from Theroux. But the human in me mourns that we gave this appalling family exactly what they want. The shiny badge of notoriety..." A review in the Irish Independent
was critical of giving any coverage to the group, "Theroux tried to get the teenage daughters to deviate from the standard family line but they weren't budging an inch. The end result was that a group of loathsome people who spend every second of their lives trying to attract free publicity for themselves got a whole hour of it courtesy of the BBC. Ah, the joys of public service television." Writing for The Observer
, Kathryn Flett was critical of the choice of title for the documentary, commenting, "The Most Hated Family in America? Says who? Louis Theroux? BBC2? Ooh, I don't like a sweeping statement of a documentary title. Not that the family who comprise the majority of the 71 congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, aren't appalling, but the title definitely infers that they are the family most hated by most Americans, when I doubt most Americans have the faintest idea who they are." Mike Bradley of The Observer
commented about the film, "A shock doc, but an easy target for Theroux."
In a review for the Melbourne
, Australia
newspaper, The Age
, Larry Schwartz selected the documentary as "Critic's Choice". Schwartz was critical of Theroux's lack of detachment from his subject matter, "He repeatedly distances himself from the church, expressing his disapproval of their views. But so concerned is he, he seems almost evangelical in his determination to show them the error of their ways." The documentary was highlighted in The Sydney Morning Herald
among "The week's best", and critic Greg Hassall characterised it as, "Disturbing, perplexing and very entertaining." The Australia newspaper MX
highlighted the documentary favorably, in its column, "Best in show". Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun
selected The Most Hated Family in America as his "Top Choice" recommendation. Adams wrote, "A truly disturbing, disgusting and sad documentary. The repellent Shirley Phelps is the outspoken nutbag who got publicity by calling Heath Ledger a 'fag enabler' after his death. This jaw-dropping doco infiltrates Phelps' only-in-America church where her 11 spooky kids regularly picket funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq – they believe God killed them to show his hatred of how 'depraved' America now is."
. The US Supreme Court case of Snyder v. Phelps
, heard following the suing of Westboro Baptist Church for distress caused by the picketing of the funeral a US Marine killed in Iraq, formed the background to the new film. Theroux was interested in the ambivalent attitude of church members towards his first film, and stated that "the new documentary feels quite different than the original – though still funny, a little darker and stranger".
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
written and presented by Louis Theroux
Louis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...
about the family at the core of the Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
. The organisation is led by Fred Phelps
Fred Phelps
Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church , an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas...
and located in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
. Westboro Baptist Church members believe that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government is immoral due to its tolerance of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, and they protest at funerals of U.S. military killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
with signs that display text such as "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers". With a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
film crew, Theroux traveled to Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to spend time with members of the church and interview its leadership. In the documentary, church members are shown protesting at funerals of U.S. soldiers. Theroux interviews church leadership including Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper is an American lawyer and political activist. She is best known as the spokesperson of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, an organization known for its highly publicized public protests conducted under the slogan "God Hates...
.
The documentary first aired on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in April 2007. The documentary was a ratings success in its initial airing, beating simultaneous programming for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
for the 9pm hour. It was broadcast again on BBC Two later that month, and Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
purchased the programme for airing in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in August 2007 and again in April 2008. It aired in May 2008 on TV3
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and Seven Network, and multiple times in June 2008 on the television channel Dave. It aired again on BBC Two in December 2008 and in February 2010 in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on 3e
3E
3E or 3-E may refer to:*3e, general entertainment channel operated in Ireland*3rd meridian east*Third edition in the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons*NY 3E, alternate name for New York State Route 104*OK-3E, abbreviation for Oklahoma State Highway 3...
. A DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
-box-set including the documentary and other Theroux programs was released in January 2009; The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
placed the DVD release as number eight among its list of "The 50 Best DVD boxsets".
The Most Hated Family in America received a positive reception, with four-star ratings from publications The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
and The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
. It was recommended in reviews as a critic's choice by The Daily Mail, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, and the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
. A review in the Leicester Mercury
Leicester Mercury
The Leicester Mercury is a British regional newspaper, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, for the city of Leicester and the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland...
noted of Theroux's interview techniques, "His subtle interviewing style was perfect for showing off the crazy views of the members." The documentary was highlighted in The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
among "The week's best", and characterised as, "Disturbing, perplexing and very entertaining."
A follow-up documentary by Theroux, America's Most Hated Family in Crisis
America's Most Hated Family in Crisis
America's Most Hated Family in Crisis is a 2011 BBC documentary film presented and written by Louis Theroux, who revisits the family at the core of the Westboro Baptist Church. It is a follow up to 2007's The Most Hated Family in America, also written and presented by Theroux.The documentary first...
, was first broadcast on BBC Two on 3 April 2011.
Background
The documentary focuses on the Westboro Baptist Church, headed by Fred PhelpsFred Phelps
Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church , an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas...
and based in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
. Born in 1929 in Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
, Phelps conducts himself under the belief that he is a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
chosen by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
"to preach his message of hate". Phelps was ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
a Southern Baptist in 1947. The Westboro Baptist Church was started by Phelps in 1955. Members of the church meet in Phelps's residence; the majority of the group's adherents are his family. Phelps received an associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
from John Muir Junior College
John Muir High School (Pasadena, California)
John Muir High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in Pasadena, California, United States and is a part of the Pasadena Unified School District. The school is named after preservationist John Muir.-History:...
in 1951, a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1962 and a degree in law in 1964 from Washburn University
Washburn University
Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and...
. He formed a "crusade for righteousness", attempting to abolish Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
in Topeka.
In 1991 when a local park started to serve as a meeting place for homosexual men, Phelps began to protest against homosexuality. Phelps subsequently enlarged the scope of his activities and formed protests in areas where civil rights were being debated for LGBT people. Phelps received criticism in 1998 when he repeatedly exclaimed "Matt is in hell" during the funeral of Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
, a man murdered for being homosexual.
Westboro Baptist Church bases its work around the belief that "God Hates Fags", and expresses the opinion, based on its Biblical interpretation, that nearly every tragedy in the world is God's punishment for homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
– specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, and bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
people. It maintains that God hates homosexuals above all other kinds of "sinners" and that homosexuality should be a capital crime
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. The church runs the website GodHatesFags.com, and GodHatesAmerica.com, and websites expressing condemnation of LGBT people, Roman Catholics, Muslims, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The organisation is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
and is classified as a hate group
Hate group
A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society...
by the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
. The group has achieved notoriety because of its picketing of funeral processions of U.S. soldiers killed in combat in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Controversial acts of Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church resulted in litigation and the formation of groups which counter-protest
Counter-protest
A counter-protest is a protest action which takes place within the proximity of another protest to which the counter-protest is in ideological opposition...
against its efforts. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act
Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act
The Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act is an Act of Congress that prohibits protests within 300 feet of the entrance of any cemetery under control of the National Cemetery Administration from 60 minutes before to 60 minutes after a funeral...
into law in on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
in May 2006. An organisation, FreeRepublic.com, formed demonstrations against pickets by the church. Groups of American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
members formed motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
honor guard
Honor guard
An honor guard, or ceremonial guard, is a ceremonial unit, usually military in nature and composed of volunteers who are carefully screened for their physical ability and dexterity...
s with the intention of safeguarding funerals of U.S. military from the church protesters.
Content
The Most Hated Family in America includes footage of members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketing at funerals of United States soldiers. The organisation members hold signs blaming deaths of U.S. soldiers on the country's tolerance towards homosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people. Westboro Baptist Church members believe that these deaths are caused by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
as retribution for the immorality of the U.S.; stating the soldiers were "struck down by God for fighting for a depraved nation".
They attend the funeral of a soldier Kevin Zeigler who died at the age of 31 while attempting to disable a bomb in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Referring to improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
s, Westboro Baptist Church hold signs reading, "Thank God for IEDs". Protest signs carried by members of the organisation at the funeral, including six-year-old children, state: "Thank God For Dead Soldiers", "Don't Worship The Dead" and "Fag Marines". Another placard criticises Princess Diana for her friendship with the LGBT community, stating, "Royal Whore In Hell". Princess Diana is criticised by the organisation as a "fag enabler". Additional signs read "God hates fags", "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", "God is America's Terrorist", and, "Fag Troops". The Westboro Baptist Church members reveled in the September 11 attacks and stated they were punishment for the country's "fornication and lust". The group also protests outside the local synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and holds signs which state that, "Jews worship the rectum".
Theroux interviews members of the Phelps family including Fred Phelps
Fred Phelps
Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church , an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas...
(called "Gramps" by members of the organisation) and Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper is an American lawyer and political activist. She is best known as the spokesperson of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, an organization known for its highly publicized public protests conducted under the slogan "God Hates...
. Theroux asks Fred Phelps, "Isn't it an act of presumption, when you don't have all the information about all the other churches, to assume you have privileged access to Grace?"; Phelps responds, "Oh, I know all there is to know about 'em." When Theroux asks him how he knows this, Phelps answers, "I'm not going to keep on talking to you. I know what you are. – you're an evil. – I don't even wanna go there. Good luck to ya!"
Filmmaker
Theroux traveled from the United Kingdom to KansasKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States to meet with members of the Westboro Baptist Church. Theroux and a BBC film crew spent three weeks in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, gathering information on the 71 members of the organisation. In an article for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Theroux noted, "It was fascinating to see the power of a family to create its own bizarre ideology and pass it down through the generations." In a statement in The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, Theroux posited, "Maybe, through my enthusiasm, people reveal more of themselves than they may have intended. The show is laughing at me, adrift in their world, as much as at them." The Western Mail quoted Theroux on how he selects subject matter which interests him, "The subjects I'm interested in are quite extreme. They're so far beyond the pale of normal human interaction that you're never going to get a reality show on that territory."
In an interview with BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, Theroux stated that the Phelpses are the most extreme people he has ever met. Theroux gave his opinion on the teachings of Fred Phelps. Theroux stated, "I think that the pastor is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps."
Apart from their protests, Theroux found them to be quite kind, and commented, "It shows you what strange avenues the religious impulse can take you down. I think another part of the answer is that parts of the Christian Bible are pretty weird. There's a lot of weird stuff in there and when you take that and you add this angry, domineering kind of a father figure, which is Gramps, and you add that he has sort of separated them off from other people, other families and driven them to achieve a lot, and he was kind of a charismatic guy, and still is up to a point. He was a very verbal, very persuasive, an extremely compelling speaker. All these things added together combined to make a powerful influence."
Response from organization
The Westboro Baptist Church appreciated the attention its organization received from the documentary, and added a citation to the film on its website. Shirley Phelps-Roper stated she had one regret about the documentary: "If he had just called it, 'The Most Hated Family in the World. The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported, "In the last hours of the last days, she explained, Jesus said his chosen will be 'hated by all men.
Release and ratings
The Most Hated Family in America aired on BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 1 April 2007. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
characterised its performance as "a ratings hit". The film received 19 percent of viewership between the 9pm to 10pm hour, and beat programming for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
for the same time period. The documentary received 4.3 million viewers while the program which aired at the same time on BBC One only drew 1.8 million viewers. The Most Hated Family in America was again aired on BBC Two on 4 April 2007.
In August 2007, Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
purchased a package of programmes from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
including The Most Hated Family in America and two other specials by Theroux: Under the Knife
Louis Theroux: Under the Knife
Louis Theroux: Under the Knife is a TV documentary written and presented by Louis Theroux about the people and doctors involved in plastic surgery operations. Filmed mostly in the USA, in the programme, Louis himself ends up getting liposuction....
and Gambling in Las Vegas
Louis Theroux: Gambling in Las Vegas
Louis Theroux: Gambling in Las Vegas is a TV documentary written and presented by Louis Theroux. He heads to Las Vegas, to reveal the world behind the myths of casino culture. It was first broadcast on 4 February 2007 on BBC Two.-Reception:...
. In April 2008, Seven Network purchased The Most Hated Family in America and the same two other programs from the BBC, with an additional two documentaries by Theroux added: Behind Bars
Louis Behind Bars
Louis Theroux: Behind Bars is a television documentary written and presented by Louis Theroux about one of America's most notorious prisons, San Quentin. There, he meets and speaks to serial murderers, gang members, at risk inmates and guards...
and African Hunting Holiday. In May 2008, the documentary aired on TV3
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. The documentary aired in Australia on Seven Network in May 2008. It aired again in the UK on 21 and 26 June 2008 on the television channel Dave. The documentary aired again on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 18 December 2008.
In January 2009, The Most Hated Family in America was released as part of a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
boxed set in PAL region 2 format, along with African Hunting Holiday, Under The Knife, Behind Bars, and Gambling In Las Vegas. Titled, Louis Theroux: The Strange and The Dangerous, the DVD set received a four-out-of-four-star recommendation from The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
. In February 2009, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
placed the DVD release as number eight among its list of "The 50 Best DVD boxsets", and characterised The Most Hated Family in America as the "strangest episode of the set, and by far the most disturbing". The documentary aired in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on 10 February 2010 on 3e
3E
3E or 3-E may refer to:*3e, general entertainment channel operated in Ireland*3rd meridian east*Third edition in the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons*NY 3E, alternate name for New York State Route 104*OK-3E, abbreviation for Oklahoma State Highway 3...
and was given a four-out-of-four star recommendation by The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
.
Critical reception
Writing for The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
David Chater highlighted The Most Hated Family in America among selections for "Chater's Choice". Chater commented, "Louis Theroux undertakes his ugliest assignment to date." Chater concluded, "Theroux deploys all his logic and charm to find the humanity beneath the rhetoric, but ultimately fails. It is difficult to reason with people who think that holding up a placard proclaiming 'Jews worship the rectum' is 'a courteous and loving' thing to do." The film was highlighted in the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
as "Sunday's: Pick of the day". Peter Grant of the Liverpool Echo commented, "Louis Theroux took a trip to Kansas for his documentary, The Most Hated Family in America. His profile of Westboro Baptist Church, the home of America's most fanatical Christian fundamentalists, was astonishing." Karl French of Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
selected the film as his "Critic's Choice". French wrote positively of the documentary, "After painting himself into an oddball- documentary corner a few years back, Theroux wisely took a long break, and he's come back refreshed, as confirmed by this film. In the way it reveals the comic horror inherent in all forms of zealotry, it is every bit as compelling as Theroux's recent Vegas documentary." The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
critic Tom Cox rated the documentary as four out of four stars. Cox wrote of Theroux, "His attempts to challenge the beliefs of the Phelps clan – a 71-strong congregation who picket military funerals with 'America Is Doomed' signs – and fuddle them with good nature and erudition were impressive, but ultimately as futile as an attempt to teach a cat algebra."
Writing for The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
, Andrea Mullaney articulated, "Theroux really had found the ultimate in weirdness for his latest documentary – they're so beyond the point of reason, into a self-perpetuating psychosis, that no matter how he tried, he couldn't challenge their beamingly-delivered pronouncements, or trip them up. But he did manage to show them as human beings (more than the courtesy they extend to us sinners)." Hilary Fannin of The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
commented that the airing of the documentary, "saw Louis Theroux, in The Most Hated Family in America, shatter another redneck American target, the Westboro Baptist Church". In a review of the documentary for The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, Roland White discussed Theroux's stylistic technique, "Theroux's usual technique – the friendly ingenue – made absolutely no impact on these people. It was like watching a youngster from a village cricket team trying to bowl out Geoff Boycott, and I began to wonder what Theroux was hoping to achieve. It is impossible to out–argue the religious bigot. They have impeccable logic on their side: the word of God is the righteous truth; only they understand the true word of the Lord; therefore, they are right and everybody else is wrong." Liverpool Daily Post
Liverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
recommended the film in its column, "Sunday: What to Watch". Writing for the Birmingham Mail
Birmingham Mail
The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
, Graham Young observed, "The Most Hated Family in America is the best documentary from Louis since long before his Michael Jackson fiasco." John Dugdale of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
highlighted the film as his "Pick of the day". Dugdale wrote favorably of the film, "There are echoes of Theroux's film about a woman raising her daughters as neo-Nazis as he watches Phelps' daughter, Shirley, handing out placards to kids as young as seven. While tangling with her and her dad is pointless, the family's younger women are less inflexible, and his encounters with them are more rewarding." A review in the Leicester Mercury
Leicester Mercury
The Leicester Mercury is a British regional newspaper, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, for the city of Leicester and the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland...
noted of Theroux's interview techniques, "His subtle interviewing style was perfect for showing off the crazy views of the members."
Writing in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Cathy Pryor declared, "Louis Theroux is out-oddballed this week by the subject of his latest documentary ... Astonishingly, Theroux makes you feel some sympathy for them and the price they pay for being the way they are." Thomas Sutcliffe of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
posited that viewers were "...[left] wondering, after an hour, whether the Phelps hadn't got a bit more out of it than Louis. They aren't representative of anything but themselves, after all, and they rejoice in the world's detestation. So they had nothing to lose by being held up to ridicule, and gained exactly what they want – a bigger audience for their insane rantings." Writing for The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
, Paul English wrote favorably, "The journalist in me marvels at yet more great work from Theroux. But the human in me mourns that we gave this appalling family exactly what they want. The shiny badge of notoriety..." A review in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
was critical of giving any coverage to the group, "Theroux tried to get the teenage daughters to deviate from the standard family line but they weren't budging an inch. The end result was that a group of loathsome people who spend every second of their lives trying to attract free publicity for themselves got a whole hour of it courtesy of the BBC. Ah, the joys of public service television." Writing for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Kathryn Flett was critical of the choice of title for the documentary, commenting, "The Most Hated Family in America? Says who? Louis Theroux? BBC2? Ooh, I don't like a sweeping statement of a documentary title. Not that the family who comprise the majority of the 71 congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, aren't appalling, but the title definitely infers that they are the family most hated by most Americans, when I doubt most Americans have the faintest idea who they are." Mike Bradley of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
commented about the film, "A shock doc, but an easy target for Theroux."
In a review for the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
newspaper, The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, Larry Schwartz selected the documentary as "Critic's Choice". Schwartz was critical of Theroux's lack of detachment from his subject matter, "He repeatedly distances himself from the church, expressing his disapproval of their views. But so concerned is he, he seems almost evangelical in his determination to show them the error of their ways." The documentary was highlighted in The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
among "The week's best", and critic Greg Hassall characterised it as, "Disturbing, perplexing and very entertaining." The Australia newspaper MX
MX (newspaper)
mX is an Australian free afternoon daily newspaper in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, owned and produced by News Limited. Targeted at commuters, its main channels of distribution are inner-city railway stations, tram and bus stops, and major CBD intersections.-Beginnings:The first mX...
highlighted the documentary favorably, in its column, "Best in show". Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
selected The Most Hated Family in America as his "Top Choice" recommendation. Adams wrote, "A truly disturbing, disgusting and sad documentary. The repellent Shirley Phelps is the outspoken nutbag who got publicity by calling Heath Ledger a 'fag enabler' after his death. This jaw-dropping doco infiltrates Phelps' only-in-America church where her 11 spooky kids regularly picket funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq – they believe God killed them to show his hatred of how 'depraved' America now is."
Follow-up
Theroux returned to Westboro Baptist Church for a follow-up documentary four years after making The Most Hated Family in America, to investigate the departure of several members of the Phelps family since his last visit. The film, America's Most Hated Family in Crisis, was first broadcast on BBC Two on 3 April 2011. Theroux's return was prompted by an email he received from a young member of the church he had interviewed previously, who had since left and been disfellowshippedShunning
Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or mental rejection. Social rejection is when a person or group deliberately avoids association with, and habitually keeps away from an individual or group. This can be a formal decision by a group, or a less formal group action which will spread to all...
. The US Supreme Court case of Snyder v. Phelps
Snyder v. Phelps
Snyder v. Phelps was a case heard by Supreme Court of the United States on whether the First Amendment protected protests of public protestors at a funeral against tort liability. It involved a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress made by Albert Snyder, the father of Matthew...
, heard following the suing of Westboro Baptist Church for distress caused by the picketing of the funeral a US Marine killed in Iraq, formed the background to the new film. Theroux was interested in the ambivalent attitude of church members towards his first film, and stated that "the new documentary feels quite different than the original – though still funny, a little darker and stranger".
See also
- Antisemitism
- Faggot (slang)
- Gay bashingGay bashingGay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...
- Hate SpeechHate speechHate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
- HomophobiaHomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
- LGBT rights oppositionLGBT rights oppositionLGBT rights opposition refers to active opposition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights. Organizations influential in LGBT rights opposition frequently challenge judicial rulings, and legislative initiatives, and dispute findings that sexual orientation is an immutable...
- Patriot Guard Riders
- Societal attitudes toward homosexuality
External links
- The Most Hated Family In America at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...