Malibu Rising

Each of the Rivas has to navigate the relationship between family and fame. While Mick’s fame pulls him away from his family, Nina, Jay, Hud, and soon Kit’s bring them closer.

Mick’s fame makes him “both inescapable and never there” (115)—he is absent as a father, but his family cannot get away from his image in the media. Mick has a domestic side, which comes out when he and June first marry, and when he comes back after leaving her the first time. But his craving for attention, wealth, and fame is much stronger than his commitment to his wife and children. After spending the first half of his life being pulled in two directions, wanting to be famous but also wanting to give June everything she wants, he chooses his life as a celebrity, returning to his children only when his fame is ending and he is alone.

Mick’s fame bolsters that of Nina. Nina modeling career takes off because she is the daughter of Mick Riva, though she doesn’t pursue being a celebrity. She doesn’t enjoy the attention, often feeling objectified and over-sexualized by the media. The photo of her in a white bikini that she doesn’t realize is see-through makes her feel “uneasy,” yet, “it was that photo that became a sensation.