Most people are quick to dismiss Juggalos. They’ve been a cultural punchline for almost 30 years now, ever since the Insane Clown Posse first hit the scene with Carnival of Carnage in 1992. As fans of one of the most hated and misunderstood bands of all time, they’re looked upon with derision, confusion, and hate by just about everyone who comes across them. The FBI went so far as to classify them as a gang, a move ICP has vehemently fought.
For writer/director Laura Steinel, however, Juggalos provided a fascinating and layered source of inspiration for her debut feature film, Family. The film, which follows a woman (Taylor Schilling) whose niece (Bryn Vale) decides to become a Juggalo, hits theaters today and offers a unique perspective on a subculture that most people never give a second thought to.
I had the chance to chat with Steinel about her film and the rabbit holes she went down while writing it, including her bizarre introduction to the world of the Dark Carnival. What she found was a world wholly unlike what the culture at large understands, one full of love, acceptance, and a surprising amount of support.
What was your experience with ICP and Juggalo culture prior to making Family?
Prior to making Family I had zero experience with them. I was writing the script and I had also just seen this documentary called American Juggalo by Sean Dunne. It’s a fantastic 20-minute documentary on Vimeo and that just happened to coincide with writing the script. I thought, ‘Wow, what an incredibly scary yet embracing and nurturing group of people.’ I thought that would be a really interesting world for the character of Maddie to wind up in. I didn’t really know much about it prior to that, just stuff I had seen on Vice and whatnot.
Did you research more in depth beyond that? I’ve got kind of an academic fascination with ICP and there’s a lot out there about them.
I do too. I went down a few rabbit holes with them. They’re just fascinating. I love any sort of counter culture that has a lot of texture and the more you start dive into their world, as scary as they appear or want to appear, they’re actually quite sweet and quite embracing of one another. That’s what keeps me sucked in. This polarity in their appearance and their presence is so fascinating to me. So I really just wanted to include as much of that as possible.
I feel like when you really dive into the mythos—and people always look at me funny when I use that word talking about ICP—it almost feels like a modern update of Judeo-Christian values.
It’s so true! I’ve actually used Christianity to refer to them in a certain regard as well. It’s fascinating that you say that because they are so unconditionally embracing. It’s come as you are. They’re not a necessarily wealthy community. They have been frowned upon by people. Yeah, I would say that there’s a lot of parallels. It’s super interesting.
Would you say that your perception of ICP and Juggalos changed the more you researched?
I wouldn’t say it changed. I would say I was just surprised by embracing they were. I wrote the script and then we sent it to ICP to be a part of the process. I didn’t want them to suddenly find out there’s a movie about them. We sent it to them. They approved the script. They also volunteered to come down to Atlanta, where we shot the movie, to be a part of it. At that point, I said, ‘Great, we’re gonna find a way to fit them in.’ What I was surprised by was how sweet they were. And just the relief on their faces when they found out this was a movie that wasn’t mocking them is next level heartbreaking. I think they’re just so used to being the butt of every joke and they finally weren’t with this film. I’m just really proud of that.
Did they have any notes about getting dialogue or the Juggalo scene more correct?
[laughs] We had no money, basically. In the scene with the Gathering, we shot the scene in Atlanta very tight because I didn’t have a lot of extras. Then I went to the actual Gathering myself to get footage. The one we shot in Atlanta, ICP had a problem with the guy we staged as the DJ. They thought that he looked too fraudulent and they were adamant about removing him from the scene. In terms of dialogue…no. Scotty D, I would say he’s our Juggalo consultant. He came from the Austin, Texas area and he gave me some notes on the script. Basically, he pulled me back. He was like, ‘We’re not that aggressive and vulgar.’ I was like, ‘Oh, well now I’m ashamed.’ I thought that if I’ve outdone Juggalos then I’ve really done it. [laughs]
It’s always interesting me, and I was just talking about this with a buddy, how everyone has these preconceptions of Juggalos until they meet one and talk to one. What you just steady, constantly see is people going, ‘Wait, what?’
Yeah. They’re just people. They’re just people who have kind of been sidelined and ostracized a bit and then they found this community with one another. It’s very embracing and it’s unfair that they’re listed as a gang because they’re certainly not.
So you staged the scene at the Gathering but did you use actual Juggalos? Was there a Juggalo casting call?
Yes! What we did was—because we had Taylor [Schilling], and you can’t bring Taylor to the actual Gathering of the Juggalos; the insurance on that would be impossible [laughs]—we staged a mini-Gathering in Atlanta and the Juggalos in the area actually drove themselves there to be extras and to participate in the movie. They were so great. They slept over and it was cold and they camped outside. I was so grateful, and the only thing I could do was just buy them pizzas. They were just so wonderful. They really helped out.
We didn’t have too many people that could come. We only had about a hundred local Juggalos, so that scene I knew we would also going to have to go the real Gathering. There’s no way to replication the actual Gathering. It’s complete chaos. It’s something to see. I definitely knew that I wanted to capture that for the movie.
I’m glad you brought up Taylor. Was this a conceptually difficult sell for her?
No. She was so game, right away. She read the script and was the first person on board. She just sent me a very adamant message [saying], ‘I wanna do this.’ I was so grateful because we really needed an actress that was gonna attack the role and not be fragile about it. She brought her A-game, and it was incredible.
On a similar note, one thing I kept wondering is whether Bryn Vale’s parents had a problem with this.
It was such an awkward conversation because I had to call them and be like, ‘You got the part! I’m really sorry about the language in the script!’ [laughs] Her parents are awesome, and they were totally cool with it. Bryn is like a little adult and she’s just so wise beyond her years. She’s such a talent. Nothing fazed her. It was pretty cool working with that kid.
What was interesting to me, watching the film was Kate, who is absolutely a complex and flawed character, her arc and emotional journey almost kind of mirrors the path that Juggalos take as an outsider looking for some kind of acceptance.
That’s why I think it’s kind of crazy that I fell into this Juggalo research while writing this script. I think creativity works in really strange ways like that.
What other subcultures had you thought about or planned on writing about before landing on Juggalos?
None! That’s the thing. I was sort of going along with a movie and was like, ‘Where does Maddie go? What is this kid’s thing?’ Then I came across documentary and thought that’s the perfect parallel world. I also think it’s like…everyone can feel ‘other’ at times. But the Juggalo community just super embraces that notion of being other, being different, being the outcast. I thought it was perfect.
It’s taken me almost 40 years to realize that and it’s one of the things I always try to pass on to my step-children, to just embrace your personal weird because that’s what makes you you. And like you said, it is beautiful that they’re so open about that and so willing to embrace their strangeness.
Yes! And I think it’s something that so easy to say and so much harder to do when in the confines of society. That’s somewhat why the Juggalos are somewhat outside of society. It’s really hard to just accept and love yourself when you feel judged. Juggalos do that really well.
Read our review of Family here.
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