Isn't it interesting that we automatically associate poverty with markers that are not economic? I definitely agree that Sid's family is clearly marked as "low class": but it's a moral deterioration that is indi- cated, because, as was pointed out, the family is clearly not poor. But I think the film exploits the association of lower moral status with lower economic status which is deeply embedded in our culture. (Compare this with the film--I forget the title, with John Turturo as mad scientist wife is dying of cancer and the son is dealing with it-- where the same kind of dark, unkempt interior is associated with a liberating departure from "normal" behavior. Athough even in this film, the wacko brother gets institutionalized, i.e., "normalized", in the end.) In "Toy Story" Sid's family is unkempt, the father drinks, the mother is unavailable (doesn't appear once whereas Chris' Mom appears often, always sympathetic and attentive). Sid's sister gave me the creeps, I couldn't help but think she had been (sexually?) abused: something haunting in her expression and her victim status. The different lighting in the two homes was also evocative of the different moral status, and I suspect there were different color schemes used as well to convey different moods. One departure from family stereotypes was that the single mom household was the "good" household whereas the nuclear family was the "bad" family. ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]