History Film / TheStrangeThingAboutTheJohnsons

* ParentalIncest: A one-sided, forced, incestuous relationship between Isaiah and his dad. A rare example where the ''child'' is the abuser and the parent is the victim.

* AnAesop: ''Anybody'' can be an abuser, and abuse is bad no matter who does it.

* YourCheatingHeart: Isaiah cheats on his wife ''on their wedding day''.

* BystanderSyndrome: Some of the film's most potent FridgeHorror lies in Joan, who on multiple occasions was made fully aware of Isaiah's abusing Sidney, but chose not to do anything, likely prolonging the abuse. Even worse is that in her final conversation with Isaiah, she reveals that she'd seen the signs of his abuse in Sidney ''since it began''.

** When Isaiah finds that Sidney's locked the door as he's taking a bath, he states that Sidney "knows how [he feels] about locked doors."
** When Joan confronts Isaiah at the end, she alludes to ''something'' that he did on his prom night that had Sidney crying when he drove him home, which reveals [[FridgeHorror just how long this has been going on...]]

Undoubtedly one of if not the most popular short of his, it alongside ''Film/Munchausen2013'' helped Aster get the attention of Creator/{{A24}}, where his career continued with feature films.

* CaughtWithYourPantsDown: The film's opening scene, in which Sidney walks in on Isaiah masturbating to a picture and gives him a speech that it's a natural thing to do. We then find out that the picture was of Sidney.

** The second is when Isaiah rapes Sidney in the bathtub. Right after Isaiah kicks the door down, the film cuts to Joan watching TV and trying to drown out Sidney's cries by increasing the volume.

* ThousandYardStare: Joan, at Sidney's funeral.

Undoubtedly one of if not the most popular short of his, it alongside ''Film/Munchausen2013'' helped Aster get the attention of [=A24=], where his career continued with feature films.

* WithinArmsReach: Isaiah tries to kill his mother Joan by shoving her head into the fireplace. As he's doing so, she manages to grab the fire poker and [[MusclesAreMeaningless bludgeons him to death with it.]]

It premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January of 2011 but gained infinitely more attention following its leaking online in November of that year. Out of the sheer advent of public curiosity towards the aforementioned [[AudienceAlienatingPremise "strange thing"]], [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity the film went viral]], receiving a polarized mix of reactions from acclaim to disgust.

* DeconstructiveParody: According to Ari Aster, he chose the most socially abhorrent premise he could think of for his senior thesis film to stand in stark contrast to the conventional, "politically correct", and OscarBait-y shorts made by AFI's graduating students.

''The Strange Thing About the Johnsons'' is a horror short film written and directed by Creator/AriAster as his thesis film while studying at the American Film Institute's graduate school.

''The Strange Thing About the Johnsons'' is a darkly satirical dramatic short film written and directed by Creator/AriAster as his thesis film while studying at the American Film Institute's graduate school.

'''As the film's entire plot hangs on the WhamShot in its opening, ''all spoilers are unmarked''. It is strongly advised that you [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqyQMX4rwHs watch the short first]], then come back here. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

* BigBad: [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Depending on who you ask]], Isaiah and Sidney could equally be this. Initially, the audience is led to believe that Isaiah is the villain, due to his sexual abuse of his father, but his HannibalLecture to him near the end implies that Sidney abused him first, and it snowballed from there. The possibility that Isaiah is simply UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming him is still open.

* AdultFear: What makes the movie so horrifying is the very ''idea'' that your own child could be a monstrous psychopath who could abuse you.

->''"I love you, Dad... but this makes it hard."''

It premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January of 2011, but gained infinitely more attention following its leaking online in November of that year. Out of the sheer advent of public curiosity towards the aforementioned [[AudienceAlienatingPremise "strange thing"]], [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity the film went viral]], receiving a polarized mix of reactions from acclaim to disgust.

'''As the film's entire plot hangs on the WhamShot in its opening, ''all spoilers are unmarked.'' It is strongly advised that you [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqyQMX4rwHs watch the short first]], then come back here. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

* CreatorCameo: Ari Aster cameos as Dr. Storm Rickles, Ph.D, who made the "words of encouragement" tape that Sidney is listening to in the bathtub when Isaiah rapes him.

* WhamShot: One that sets the tone of the film ''hard'' -- the photo Isaiah was masturbating to in the opening was that of his dad.

* BigBad: [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Depending on who you ask]], Isaiah and Sidney could equally be this. Initially, the audience is led to believe that Isaiah is the villain, due to his sexual abuse of his father, but his HannibalLecture to him near the end implies that Sidney abused him first, and it snowballed from there. The possibility that Isaiah is simply victim blaming him is still open.

The film focuses on the eponymous Johnson family: Sidney, a successful poet; Joan, his wife; and Isaiah, his charismatic son.

Not much time passes before the film reveals [[{{Squick}} what exactly]] the "strange thing" about this family ''is'', at which point [[FromBadToWorse things quickly go downhill]].

* BystanderSyndrome: Some of the film's most potent FridgeHorror lies in Joan, who on multiple occasions was made fully aware of Isaiah's abusing Sidney, but chose not to do anything, likely prolonging the abuse.
** Even worse is that in her final conversation with Isaiah, she reveals that she'd seen the signs of his abuse in Sidney ''since it began''.

* SelfMadeOrphan[=/=]{{Matricide}}: Not only did Isaiah accidentally get his dad killed, but he tried to shove his mother's face into a fireplace after she attacked him.

* WhamLine: Isaiah's HannibalLecture to Sidney starts off with some regular victim-blaming (accusing Sidney of being complicit with his actions), but then he begins to imply that he's not as innocent as we've come to expect.
-->"I didn't ask for this! This is ''your'' thing, something ''you'' started."

* DeconstructiveParody: According to the director Ari Aster, he chose a rather distressing premise for his senior thesis film that comes off more like mocking toward AFI's conventional, "politically correct", and OscarBait-y shorts made by the graduating students.

* SpringtimeForHitler: Ari Aster stated that, after seeing past works made by fellow alums, he chose to make the worst thing he could make at American Film Institute, which is one of the most respected film schools in the United States but also an industry school that encourages their students to make more safe and conventional movies. But little did he know that many film critics embraced for its genuine merits than its shock values.

* AdultFear: What makes the movie so horrifying is the very ''idea'' that your own child could mistreat and abuse you.

* AbusiveParents: Inverted, since it's Isaiah who regularly sexually abuses his own father, Sidney. Isaiah's HannibalLecture towards the end implies that it was Sidney who started the abuse in the first place, but given how [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] Isaiah is, it's [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguous]] whether or not that's true.

* DownerEnding: Sidney dies after getting hit by a car. After his funeral, Joan confronts Isaiah, demanding to know the truth, and she is forced to kill him in self-defense when he tries to murder her. Afterwards, she burns Sidney's memoir, leaving her as the only one who knows of what her son did to his father as well as the fact that her ignorance of said abuse contributed in part to both of their deaths.

''The Strange Thing About the Johnsons'' is a darkly satirical dramatic short film written and directed by Creator/AriAster as his thesis film at the American Film Institute's graduate school.

It premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January of 2011, but gained infinitely more attention following its leaking online in November of that year. Out of the sheer advent of public curiosity towards the aforementioned [[AudienceAlienatingPremise "strange thing"]], the film went viral, receiving [[BrokenBase a polarized mix of reactions]] that ranged from acclaim to disgust.

'''As the film's entire plot hangs on the WhamShot in its opening, ''all spoilers are unmarked.'' It is strongly advised that you watch the short first, then come back here. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

* LookBothWays: Justified, Sidney is so torn up by the aforementioned HannibalLecture he runs off in a daze and is hit by a van before he can get out of the way. One could also interpret this as a suicide, which is perfectly understandable given the circumstances.
* NoodleIncident: When Isaiah finds that Sidney's locked the door as he's taking a bath, he states that Sidney "knows how [he feels] about locked doors."

* WhamShot: The photo Isaiah was masturbating to in the opening was that of his dad.

* YouMonster: Joan calls her son out for inadvertently killing his dad.

''The Strange Thing About the Johnsons'' is a darkly satirical dramatic short film written and directed by Creator/AriAster.

* DownerEnding: Sidney dies after getting hit by a car. After his funeral, Joan confronts Isaiah, demanding to know the truth. She is then forced to kill him in self-defense when he tries to murder her. Afterwards, she burns Sidney's memoir, leaving her as the only one who knows of what her son did to his father as well as the fact that she ignored said abuse. So now Joan has lost both her husband and her son.

* KarmicDeath: Isaiah is killed by his mother, Joan, at the end.

-->"You are not just my father; you're my friend. You're my ''best'' friend, and maybe we can just agree that that's a beautiful thing, and not something to be perverted and corrupted and mutilated by your warped and confused conscience."