Beasts Of The Southern Wild Essay

Hushpuppy is a child living in a geographically isolated and economically forgotten marshland community in Lousiana. She is a little girl who deals with a dying father, a homeland by a changing climate, and unfamiliar trauma wrought by both nature and a well-intentioned but ultimately clueless modern society. Along with her father, Hushpuppy lives in a ramshackle home surrounded by neighbors who largely live off the land and recycled modern refuse. Hushpuppy envisions beasts of ages past as both a coping mechanism and a way for her child’s mind to explain the shifting, uncertain world around her. In her largely uneducated or informally educated community, only one adult seems aware of the full implications of climate change on their floodplain home. Using her teacher’s knowledge of history and climate, Hushpuppy extrapolates her own explanations and forms her own logic to guide her as everything she knows to be familiar and …show more content…
The film stars first-time actresses for both of its lead roles – those roles being six-year-old Hushpuppy Doucet and her father, Wink Doucet. From the film’s official website, “Bouyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural order is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality.” (About the Film, 2012) By almost all accounts, Beasts of the Southern Wild is an outstanding and remarkable film. Roger Ebert reviewed the film before passing away, and concluded his review thusly: “Sometimes miraculous films come into being, made by people you've never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius. ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ is one of the year's best films.” (Ebert, 2012) Starring actors with no prior acting or stage experience, each scene translates into raw and powerful characterization rather than amateurish