Duggar’s Dark Secrets: From Fame to Infamy

Read Time:3 Minute, 34 Second

TV MINI-SERIES REVIEW
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets
16+

Genre: Documentary
Year Released: 2023
Runtime: 4 x 45m episodes
Director(s): Julia Willoughby Nason, Olivia Crist
Where To Watch: coming to Prime Video On June 2, 2023

RAVING REVIEW: Jump into this rabbit hole with SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE: DUGGAR FAMILY SECRETS! This Amazon Prime docuseries breaks the surface of the pristine lake that was the Duggar family’s image, revealing the not-so-shiny secrets entangled with the infamous Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). You may have heard some of the sickening stories of one of the members of the Duggar family, but that’s just the beginning of this story.

Ditching the rose-colored glasses, the series starkly contrasts the Duggar family's previous public persona. Jill Duggar Dillard, among others who escaped the clutches of the IBLP “cult,” breaks her silence to unveil their terrifying experiences. These accounts, which could easily be mistaken for a suspense thriller plot, emerge from the close circle of friends and family members who've experienced firsthand the Duggars' behind-the-scenes secrets.

As the docuseries creeps through the shadowy labyrinth of religious fundamentalism, it zones in on the Duggar family's eerie affiliation with the IBLP. The lens of scrutiny focuses on the figurehead of the IBLP, Bill Gothard, and his tight-knit, patriarchal regime. This includes the head of the Duggar household Jim Bob Duggar.

As you wade deeper into the series, SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE: DUGGAR FAMILY SECRETS presents a chilling picture of the mental and physical abuses – a veritable house of horrors – endured by the victims of IBLP's teachings. The narrative escalates like a suspense film, cranking up the tension with startling disclosures. Ultimately the series plays out more of a dive into the IBLP and their cult-like activities with the Duggars as the window into their systematic brainwashing.

The Duggar family's ride to fame via the reality shows 19 KIDS & COUNTING takes a sharp nosedive with the scandalous exposé of Josh Duggar's sexual misconduct. His subsequent arrest for child pornography led to the abrupt cancelation of their hit TV show and its sequel, COUNTING ON, sparking a public uproar and a dramatic shift in their fandom.

While the Duggars take center stage in SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE: DUGGAR FAMILY SECRETS, the narrative extends beyond them to shed light on other victims entrapped by IBLP's iron-fisted doctrines. The series pulls back the curtain on the despotic techniques of power brokers within such organizations, featuring testimonies from some of the Duggar children, their friends, and former IBLP members. We also get a healthy dose of archival footage mixed perfectly in line with the “truth” in the series, seeing how dark this facade was just below its surface. Seamless editing enhanced the visual storytelling, juxtaposing Gothard's teachings against the victims' dreadful realities. The series pulls no punches in its critique of the systemic blunders that allowed these atrocities to continue unabated. It draws attention to the collective blame shared by the IBLP, Gothard, Jim Bob, and even the networks the series aired on.

SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE: DUGGAR FAMILY SECRETS promises a revealing look into the unseen world of the Duggar family. Stripping back the veneer of their TV appearances in the past, the series presents a grim reality of their upbringing and what it took to escape the clutches of their mental captors.

SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE: DUGGAR FAMILY SECRETS serves as a mirror reflecting societal anomalies. It exposes the unchecked power and religious extremism hidden under the surface, providing viewers with a grim reminder of the severe implications of unregulated authority and extreme religious ideology. It's no light watch but an unsettling expedition into the darker corridors of religious fervor.

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[photo courtesy of PRIME VIDEO]