University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2015 Feel-Good Giving: The Mythic Construction of Generosity in Millions Grace Y. Chiou University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Mass Communication Commons, and the Other Religion Commons Recommended Citation Chiou, Grace Y., "Feel-Good Giving: The Mythic Construction of Generosity in Millions" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1396. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1396 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. FEEL-GOOD GIVING: THE MYTHIC CONSTRUCTION OF GENEROSITY IN MILLIONS __________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology Joint PhD Program University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Grace Y. Chiou June 2015 Advisor: Lynn Schofield Clark ©Copyright by Grace Y. Chiou 2015 All Rights Reserved Author: Grace Y. Chiou Title: FEEL-GOOD GIVING: THE MYTHIC CONSTRUCTION OF GENEROSITY IN MILLIONS Advisor: Lynn Schofield Clark Degree Date: June 2015 ABSTRACT The question of what generosity is and how it is practiced in relation to the neoliberal contexts of late capitalism has emerged as a subject of interest across a variety of fields. Instead of placing emphasis on the recipient and the cause or structural inequalities contributing to the need for generosity, new practices of giving have appeared on a variety of media platforms and have been performed by a host of celebrities, sports figures, and politicians that emphasize the giver’s moral goodness. By using a critical cultural studies approach, this dissertation demonstrates that in the visual culture of humanitarianism representations of generosity in popular films articulate current neoliberal constraints on human dignity and presumed goodwill. These visions of generosity enforce a neoliberized idea of givers and takers. The dissertation argues that the film Millions (2004) proposes an intriguing counter-narrative to prevailing notions of neoliberal feel-good generosity by using Catholic and Marxian discourses. In its focus on two young boys who find and consider what to do with a bag of stolen money, it imagines generosity as relational, less calculated for personal gain and excessive in its indulgence. The movie identifies the need for collective giving and relational generosity rather than blaming the poor for their conditions. This dissertation therefore considers the film, Millions (2004) as a cultural forum (Newcomb and Hirsch 1983/1994) through which viewers are encouraged to analyze “naturalized” understandings of generosity by reflecting on calamities and conditions of ii inequality that challenge “feel good giving” and “project of the self” approaches to generosity. Millions explores the gap of disconnect between us and others and how money can mediate the desire for connection. This film therefore provides the cultural space for considering the unconscious lived relations regarding what a child learns about money and giving and how what he learns is taught and reproduced. I conclude that as films and cultural artifacts like Millions draw upon explicit religious themes and imagery, they further provide a contextual space for critical religio- political reflection, where viewers may uphold, maintain, or transform their understanding of how to be independently or collectively generous in relation to their religious traditions and larger system of beliefs. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my advisor, mentor and committee chair Professor Lynn Schofield Clark. Her generosity and insights have been instrumental in my academic, professional, and personal development. I am so thankful for her guidance and advice on this dissertation. It has been a pleasure researching, writing, learning, and working at South High School with you. I would like to recognize my committee members: Professor Rod Buxton for his attention to detail and guidance on film analysis and writing as well as Professor Jeffrey Mahan, generously provided me opportunities to publish and research and gave suggestions on careful religious scholarship. In addition, my sincere appreciation to Joshua Hanan for introducing me to biopolitics and assisted me with professional development. I am so blessed that Greg Grobmeir assisted me with my proposal and thought process. Your friendship and philosophical insights have been invaluable to me. I am also appreciative of my writing partner, Leslie Rossman who offered helpful feedback and connected me with Professor Hanan. I am also grateful for Elizabeth Coody who offered many revisions and encouragement. I would also like to thank the University of Denver and the Joint PhD program for the doctoral fellowship grant support. Thank you to my parents for their provision and unending support. My sincere gratitude for Levi Nelson and his steadfast love. I am fortunate to have wonderful roommates, Natalie Grillo, Sarah Weber and Kristin Maxwell, who have given me their friendship and prayers. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction………………………………………………………………………………. 1 Framework ............................................................................................................... 2 Synopsis ................................................................................................................... 8 Method of analysis ................................................................................................ 13 Chapter One: The Neoliberal Norm .................................................................................. 15 Neoliberalism, Ideology and Ideological Reproduction ........................................ 19 Neoliberal Waters .................................................................................................. 24 Givers, Takers, and Workfare: Re-conceptualizing Generosity in Politics ........... 32 Giving and Taking in Popular Culture .................................................................. 38 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 51 Chapter Two: The Cultural Production of Millions .......................................................... 53 Framework ............................................................................................................. 56 Millions and the Neoliberal Structure of Feeling ...................................... 58 Sites of Meaning .................................................................................................... 61 Text: ........................................................................................................... 62 The Production of Millions .................................................................................... 69 Testing Boundaries: The Intentions of the Writer and Producer Team ................. 73 Danny Boyle’s interest in money .............................................................. 73 Catholic Influence ..................................................................................... 76 Catholicism and Depicting Generosity in Millions ................................... 80 Critical Response: Viewer Interpretations ............................................................. 82 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 96 Chapter Three: Providing a “Decent” Home: Need, Greed, and Altruism ........................ 99 Chapter Four: Uninhibited Generosity ............................................................................ 139 Magical Realities and Risky Business ................................................................. 141 Greed is Good ...................................................................................................... 149 Irreducible Otherness in Distant Suffering .......................................................... 152 Pennies from Heaven ........................................................................................... 153 Between Heaven and Earth: ................................................................................ 155 Chapter Five: Money Talks: The Ties Between Private Lives and Public Choices ........ 173 Individual Ownership and Social Solidarity ........................................................ 178 Charity Starts at Home ........................................................................................ 190 Conclusion: Altogether and All at Once ......................................................................... 204 References ....................................................................................................................... 216 v FIGURES 1 Margaret Thatcher personally congratulates the Patterson family 110 2 Working-class Cunningham neighborhood. 117 3 Cunningham suburban home 118 4 Anthony with toy snake 149 5 Start of title sequence 155 6 End of title sequence 155 7 Layered introduction of St. Clare 158 8 Walking to Pizza Hut 161 vi INTRODUCTION Every Super Bowl, the winning team receives shirts, hats and sweatshirts identifying themselves