Beasts of the Southern Wild

      Beasts of the Southern Wild was one of those movies I had to let marinate for a little before I could decide if I was a fan or not. I had no idea if it was one of those movies that I was supposed to take literally, or if it was meant to be completely interpretive. The way I interpreted the film, Hushpuppy's swampy homeland in the Bathtub is a struggling microcosm of society that is in danger of being flushed off the map. Cut off from the rest of civilization by a levee built to keep the water at bay, the Bathtubbers work with the land and the animals to provide for themselves. They've learned the ways of nature in order to milk it for a means of survival, without mainstream grocers and restaurants. Refusing to leave their home for a more convenient life, the people of the Bathtub are ravaged by a storm that nearly takes their homes away completely. With their means of living being destroyed by the after affects of the storm, they take drastic measures against the mainland and more specifically, the levee. As the water recedes into the blown hole of the levee, it reveals what's left of the Bathtub, deemed an uninhabitable environment. Unable to live like animals anymore, they are forced to assimilate to mainland culture and receive food and medical treatment as charity. Wink, Hushpuppy's terminally ill, hotheaded father, refuses to die in these conditions and demands to be brought back to the Bathtub to die.
     Throughout the entire movie, we hear and see these strange glimpses of the Aurochs, giant boar-like creatures from the Stone Age that were once the ultimate predators. We see them unfreeze from inside the melting ice caps, plunder over land and water before the ultimately end up in the Bathtub. These spur my first question about the movie: are they supposed to be real? Or a figment of Hushpuppy's imagination to symbolize her fears of being swallowed by life? My second question comes from the opening scene we analyzed today in class, more specifically, the scene of the party: is the movie loosely based on the history of the Acadians of eastern Canada? These were the people that were forced from their homes in New Brunswick down to the Louisiana coast (and subsequently became the Cajuns..) and every five years they have this festival where they make as much noise as possible to show they are still there. This could maybe contribute to the overall theme of the movie of showing that the smallest person or group can have the most fight, and make the biggest impact if only they make enough noise. My last question comes from the scene with the woman we are made to believe is Hushpuppy's mother. Nothing in the movie suggests that this was actually her mom, but it isn't denied either. Is the fact that doesn't have a mother important to the movie? To me, the story line would not have progressed any differently had there been an additional female presence.
    Overall, I think I really did enjoy the movie. I thought the acting was great and the role of Hushpuppy was as cute as it was powerful. She is such a strong little girl, facing impossible odds, with very little resources. Either way you look at the message of the movie, its hard not to find the story inspiring. The allegiance these people feel to each other and to their home is nothing short of miraculous. It's hard not to feel right along with them as they suffer loss and struggle together. All for the sake of making their presence known to world.