Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Benh Zeitlin's 2012 fantasy drama Beasts of the Southern Wild is so far a painfully accurate [accurate or would "realized" be more precise] depiction of life "off the grid" in Southern Louisiana. The film takes place in a bayou called the "Bathtub" and is separated from the civilized world by a levee. The main character, Hushpuppy, is a six year-old girl named "Hushpuppy" [redundancy] who lives in what appears to be third-world poverty with her father, who we know struggles with substance [here are you referring to his alcohol consumption?] abuse problems and possible mental illness.

Despite being a severely poverty-stricken community, the Bathtub's residents display a very easy-going and fun-loving attitude, as well as a love and respect for their community and its people. Early in the movie, we see the Bathtub throwing a massive party with everyone shooting off fireworks and having a great time. Later in the film, however, we catch a glimpse at Hushpuppy's flawed relationship with her father, who exhibits a very unstable and problematic temperament. He is seen walking toward his house in a hospital gown after being MIA for several days. He looked disheveled and appeared to be talking to himself. My first suspicion was that he was schizophrenic.

The last scene we saw in the movie was everyone in the Bathtub talking about an incoming storm. Some people were leaving town, but, as I would imagine, other residents weren't going anywhere. What Hushpuppy and her father end up doing remains to be seen. Overall, I like this film and look forward to finishing it.  

Michael,

Your posts are a welcome addition to the class blog. Keep up the good work.

Monahan

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