Miss Firecracker
During the summer of 2020—when the pandemic raged and there were no protective vaccinations—my neighbor began to host occasional Movie Nights in the Neighborhood. It helps that we live on a dead-end street and that our neighbors are affable and, truly, quite lovely. Everyone sits in lawn chairs (socially distanced), and we often bring snacks to share (Italian ice, Dilly Bars, homemade cookies, chips, jello shots). One neighbor even wheels out a microwave on a stand, and we make popcorn. It is (and was, during the height of the pandemic) a great way to spend summer evenings.
The “tradition” continued with this year’s Independence Day Movie Night featuring Miss Firecracker with Holly Hunter, Tim Robbins, Mary Steenburgen, Scott Glenn, and Alfre Woodard. Released in 1989 and set in Yazoo City, Mississippi, the film is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Beth Henley’s play The Miss Firecracker Contest.
On the surface, Miss Firecracker is about a dysfunctional family—the beautiful, self-absorbed sister (Elain/Mary Steenburgen)...the sociopath brother (Delmount/Tim Robbins)...and the orphaned cousin who came to live with them when she was 8 years old (Carnelle/Holly Hunter).
On the surface, the film is about Carnelle’s aspiration to win the beauty pageant that is a centerpiece of the 4th of July festivities.
On the surface, the film is about small-town life in the deep south.
But dig just a little deeper, and you can see that it is so much more.
There is unrealistic hope. There is the ferocious desire to remain the favorite, the best, the most popular. There is despair followed by soaring optimism. There is the determination to break free from stereotypes but without the tools (or help) needed to succeed on that front. There is the creation of an idyllic version of the past that is not supported in fact. In short, Miss Firecracker is classic Southern Gothic literature at its best.
When the film begins, Carnelle, Elain, and Delmount are grown and living separate lives, but—like magnets that cannot stop the magnetism—they are drawn back together for the town’s annual Independence Day celebration. Carnelle—the town tramp—wants to change that image...to change herself...to find something special in her life. She believes that winning the beauty contest is her way out.
It would be proof positive that she is worthy of respect and, most of all, of love. While she directs her unstoppable energy into that one bright goal, all of the “respectable” people in the town won’t let her escape her past. Those respectable folks include her kin: Elain and Delmount. After all, once a tramp; always a tramp.
Elain is complex—but in a completely different direction. Winner of the Miss Firecracker Pageant several years earlier, she leveraged her beauty to escape Yazoo City by landing in the arms of her (never seen but often mentioned) husband, who clearly keeps Elain in “high cotton.” Is the marriage loveless? Who knows. And Elain (again, on the surface) does not seem to care...as long as she has her pretty dresses and hats, expensive face creams, and an extravagant lifestyle. BUT...Elain also does not want Carnelle to win. Mirror, mirror, on the wall...who is fairest of them all? For Elain, the fairest one must always be...herself. And even though it would cost her nothing to genuinely support Carnelle, she cannot bring herself to do so.
And Delmount? The bad son. The good-looking rogue who breaks hearts. The man who plans to sell the family house where Carnelle lives, taking the money and leaving her high and dry (and with no place to live). He is self-serving and supremely confident, but those characteristics are a ruse. Secretly, he suffers with demons that attack him in the form of nightmares. What does he fear? The past with parents whose specters haunt every corner of the family homestead? Perhaps a bit of incest with the beautiful Elain? Maybe the small town and its narrow-minded citizens with their spying, prying eyes? It is unclear; however, he, too, does not believe that Carnelle is worthy or good enough to succeed. To him, she is still the little orphan girl who landed on their doorstep years earlier. A charity case.
Two other characters round out the cast: the carnival barker, Mac Sam (played by Scott Glenn) and Carnelle’s new friend: Popeye Jackson (played by Alfre Woodard). Mac Sam is a grifter who is making his annual pass through Yazoo City with the carnival. A few days here—a few days there—his life is an endless round of small towns and cheap, casual flings...of which Carnelle is one. Her affection for him borders on adoration (as it does with her two cousins), and he does seem to care about her—as much as any such man can “care.” Once again (and, again, just like with Elain and Delmount), Carnelle gets exactly what she has come to feel that she deserves: scraps...leftovers...almost love. As Mac Sam puts it, Carnelle is a girl who can “take it on the chin.” Which she does—countless times and in a variety of painful, humiliating ways—although she always stands back up with the hopeful expectation for better times ahead.
And then there is Popeye, the loyal, innocent, lovely, supportive, and trustworthy friend. She does not see Carnelle as a tramp or an orphan or a person who can be pushed around with no repercussions. Popeye thinks that Carnelle is beautiful and talented and amazing. He admires Carnelle and works hard to help her reach her seemingly unattainable goal.
As it turns out, Carnelle only needs that one true friend and ally to give her courage. She will win the contest. She will turn her life around. And when she does, she will leave that town and start fresh.
Most challenging for Carnelle is the pain of opening her eyes to realize that the very people and things that have wounded her and kept her “in her place” are her cousins, her sometimes beau, the long string of past boyfriends, and her town. They have inflicted damage, and it can be so very challenging to see that with a clear head and eyes. It is hard to know that the people you love with all your heart have only a glancing affection (if that) for you. None of them will ever lift her up. Quite the opposite.
That kind of realization is something that I feel driving me right now. It is hard to face the truth—that our country is putting a boot to the necks of so many people...keeping them down and essentially telling them that they do not deserve anything more or better in their lives. It is hard to remain optimistic when the entities intended to help are the ones inflicting the most damage. It is easy to envision some kind of escape—Let’s move to Canada! Let’s go on vacation! Let’s dive into books...films...hikes...gardening...!— but impossible slip the bonds that hold us in place.
On America’s Independence Day this year, I found myself thinking about Miss Firecracker and how this film—watched this year—holds a very different meaning for me. Will Americans continue to “take it on the chin” as our Constitutional rights are stripped away or watered down? Will we—like Elain—close our eyes to suffering (as long as we are not personally negatively impacted, then who cares what happens)? Will we—like Delmount—internalize all of the horror and pain while, inside, we are eaten alive? Will we —like Popeye—retain an unshakable optimism that everything will be okay...eventually? Or will we— like Carnelle—face cold, hard truths and still have the courage (and the energy) to make some, small positive differences. To look at our world with open eyes and still see the beauty and promise of another day?
At the end of Miss Firecracker, that is what I saw. A person who has been wronged but who refuses to give up. Who continues to dream and hope. Who is going to prevail. Who has more honor and decency and integrity than anyone else around her.
After reading my thoughts about this amazing film, I hope you will feel moved to watch Miss Firecracker —keeping today’s America and today’s Americans in mind while you do.
