The Beach Bum: 10 Tricky Philosophical Questions It Raises

2. Is There A "Right" Way To Raise A Child?

Moondog's daughter, played by Stefania LaVie Owen, is hardly a central focus of the film. Nonetheless, Heather has an important role to play. Millie's death occurs on the night of Heather's wedding, and Heather is ultimately the one who holds Moondog accountable for staying out of the mansion until he gets his book published. As she appears in these relatively few scenes, some viewers may find themselves a little unsettled by her characterization.

Heather barely reacts when Moondog shows up late to her wedding and grabs her new husband by the trouser cherries. She seems to have no issue with her parents cheating on each other. When Moondog passes her a joint during Millie's funeral, she casually accepts.

She does acknowledge that the parents who raised her are anything but normal, but their lifestyle is what she knows. And despite their disruptive (some child psychologists might say borderline abusive) influence, Heather turned out fine. Millie and Moondog don't need to conform to the beliefs of psychology books to raise a functional human being.

Furthermore, some experts - such as codependency specialist Pia Mellody - define child abuse in a very broad way. Mellody's book Facing Codependence defines child abuse as "any action or inaction...that is less than nurturing or experienced as shaming." By such a definition, it's questionable whether anyone could truly conform to the morals handed down to them by literature on proper child-rearing.

The Beach Bum's central figures merely act with what they feel is the best intent, and hope their daughter turns out well. That's essentially what every decent parent is trying to do, regardless of whether they're using child psychology texts to help them do it.