Modern Family Structure and Its Repercussions on Children in Where the Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze’s film adaption of Where The Wild Things Are, originally a children’s book written by Maurice Sendak, takes on the challenge of having an intricate 8-year-old boy named Max as its main protagonist. The former isn’t stereotypically good and obedient.

One may assume that the author of the book targets children as his readers but in an interview with Stephen Colbert, Maurice Sendak states “I don’t write for children, I write, and somebody says that’s for children.” It is clear that Sendak doesn’t set out to make children happy or make life better or easier for them.

Therefore, Where The Wild Things Are should be a movie addressed for the adult population and not children. Thus, explaining the number of complex and subtle themes that are implicitly mentioned throughout the film. We will be focusing particularly on the looming weight on the structure of the modern family and its repercussions on children by discussing three major elements: the father’s absence and its effect on Max, the status of the mother as a single-mom who is the breadwinner and finally the female influences in Max’s life.

This work of art alters the idealistic family structure. You do not have your typical nuclear family where both parents are present and the children are happy and carefree. The picture perfect family portrait is missing. The main protagonist’s parents are divorced and the father is absent throughout the movie. Spike Jonze incorporates a part of himself in the movie by emphasizing the parent’s divorce, having been raised by a single-mother himself. The New York Times article, “Bring Where The Wild Things Are to the screen”, states that “Sendak had instructed Jonze to make the movie personal, so Jonze gave Max a single mom."

The father is mentioned once: when Max looks at a globe the former gifted him with the inscription “To Max, the owner of the world”. A look of sadness washes over the little boy’s face as he contemplates the only tangible object that connects him with his father. What worth does being “the owner of the world” have if you can’t share your success with your family and specially your father, who tends to be a boy’s role model. To some extent, one may assume that Max’s need for control and power stems from the fact that it is what his father sought him out to be and that would be a way for the child to establish a link with his absent dad.

Max’s mother’s struggle as a single-mom raising two children in the movie is more evident and central than the book. It is shown that life isn’t handed to her on a silver plate. Her difficulties are apparent at several occasions.

On the one hand, it is clear that she is having troubles at work. However, the fact that she is the main source of income and the breadwinner disables her from speaking up and defending herself when her boss demeans