''Surviving America's Most Hated Family'' is a 2019

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

presented and written by

Louis Theroux Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British and American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. After graduati ...

. The programme follows as Theroux revisits the family at the core of the

Westboro Baptist Church The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American unaffiliated Primitive Baptists, Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. It is widely considered a hate group and a cult, and is known for Prot ...

and observes how its members have changed since the 2014 death of the church's founder,

Fred Phelps Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American Minister (Christianity), minister and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, worked as a civil rights attorney, ...

. The documentary first aired on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2019, and is the third in a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

of documentaries Theroux has made about the church. It was preceded by 2007's ''

The Most Hated Family in America ''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 organization was led by Fred Phelps and located in Topeka, Kansas. Westbo ...

'', and 2011's ''

America's Most Hated Family in Crisis ''America's Most Hated Family in Crisis'' (also known as ''The Return of America's Most Hated Family'' in some markets) is a 2011 BBC documentary film presented and written by Louis Theroux, who revisits the family at the core of the Westboro Bap ...

''. While the first two documentaries focused on the controversial doctrine, cult-like atmosphere and extensive protest activities of the church, the third documentary concerns itself primarily with the lives of former members. It also covers the impact of the death of lead Pastor Fred Phelps on the church, as well as his rumored death-bed

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

for softening his anti-homosexual rhetoric. Megan Phelps's defection from the church, from devoted follower to critic, as well as her attempts to stay in contact with her family (in particular with her mother

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American biographical film about Shirley Jackson * ''Shirley'' ( ...

) is covered in detail.

Reception

''Surviving America's Most Hated Family'' garnered a mixed reception from critics. Gerard O'Donovan of ''The Telegraph'' gave it two out of five stars, deeming it "a rare misstep from this normally pin-sharp documentarian." Brian Donaldson of ''The List'' gave the special three out of five stars, calling it "a road to nowhere." Lucy Mangan of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' rated it four out of five stars, while admitting it was "a deeply uncomfortable watch." Both O'Donovan and Mangan accused the documentary of veering into exploitation. O'Donovan wrote, "Theroux went wrong, withholding some potentially distressing news from (

Megan Phelps-Roper Megan Phelps-Roper (born January 31, 1986) is an American political activist who is formerly a member of, and spokesperson for, the Westboro Baptist Church, a Hyper-Calvinist Christian sect, widely regarded as a hate group. Her mother is Shir ...

) until a moment of maximum emotional impact, and lingering long on her shocked and tearful reaction." Mangan agreed, saying "It is profoundly uncomfortable to watch and, for me, errs firmly on the side of exploitation – which is not, generally, Theroux's stock-in-trade." Phelps-Roper personally defended Theroux's decision to reveal this information in this manner, stating in a Twitter post that she knows her family will watch the documentary and will see how devastated she was.

References

External links

* * {{Louis Theroux Louis Theroux's BBC Two specials 2019 television films 2019 films BBC television documentaries Westboro Baptist Church Documentary films about Christianity in the United States Documentary films about families Television episodes set in Kansas BBC travel television series 2019 documentary films 2010s British films