"Me and my daddy, we stay right here," Hushpuppy says. The government relief workers are alien conquerors, and the Katrina rescue centers look to Hushpuppy like "fishbowls without any water.". Director Benh Zeitlin describes the Bathtub as a sort of Utopia: "The Bathtub is not a place where money exists. They're preparing by... partying. So I could relate to the seemingly dysfunctional relationship between Hushpuppy and her hard-drinking father. Les Miz: Class themes in Oscar nominees #2, Reflections on the West Coast Class Action Training of Trainers, 8th Annual First Generation College Student Summit, Got Netflix and a Coffee? By having an even mix of Caucasian and African-American lower class characters that are portrayed as being in the same boat, BOTSW successfully overcomes this harmful racial stereotype without explicitly stating it. It's even how it's supposed to be in nature. Especially when it springs from an embrace of our place in the natural world. Drinking and fireworking up, well, a storm. Such unfavorable living conditions also adversely affect Hushpuppy’s upbringing and both characters’ overall wellbeing. View an alternate. Hushpuppy is often left to fend for herself, as in the case of Wink suddenly leaving her on her own for a few days when he had to seek professional medical attention. They got fish stuck in wrappers and babies stuck in carriages.". All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Cliche alert: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At least, not in the way that I envisioned. Sort of. "If one piece busts, even the smallest piece...the entire universe will get busted. But I still prayed -- for a normal life, a normal mother, maybe even a normal father coming into my life, if God was so inclined. From the get-go, the main characters of the film, a six-year-old ‘Hushpuppy’ and her father ‘Wink’ are the very faces of poverty – grimy appearances, shoddy garments, and haphazardly constructed shacks filled with junk. A downer.". Class Action inspires action to end classism and extreme inequality by providing change-makers with tools, training and inspiration to raise awareness, shift cultural beliefs about social class, build cross-class solidarity, and transform institutions and systems. But still no pussies (wimps). Read my Forbes blog here. Your comment could not be posted. So there’s no religion, no politics, no money, no one sees race, there’s no rich and poor because there is no currency. Like Hushpuppy. More often than not, the lower class is portrayed as pity-seekers, too unqualified to decide what is best for themselves. Hushpuppy is one of the best characters to grace screens in 2012, and the moments between her and Wink are among the most moving I've seen in years. So inspiring. I wouldn't want to live in the actual world Hushpuppy inhabits. Hushpuppy and her father understand this. Please try again. And how to light the gas stove. Some critics have accused the movie of celebrating poverty. Your comment has not yet been posted. Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 United for a Fair Economy / Responsible Wealth. As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. Due to their poverty, being strong is no longer a matter of choice. In an unconventional way. To Hushpuppy, it's all part of a magical chain of events that she herself put into place when she hit her father and he collapsed---the first sign of his terminal illness and rapid decline. Posted by: With us. What's behind rich people pretending to be self-made? They represent power. No sign of a computer, cell phone, or wi-fi in The Bathtub. See it. The whole idea of the Bathtub is that it’s a society where all the things that divide people have been removed. Quvenzhané Wallis (/ k w ə ˈ v æ n dʒ ə n eɪ / kwə-VAN-jə-nay; born August 28, 2003) is an American actress and author. The characters are unconventionally named, and rightly so, because it is indeed unconventional to see a movie with two impoverished protagonists (who actually remain impoverished till the end) gaining widespread acclaim from the mainstream audience. Each to his or her own. A way that will make overprotective parents cringe. Meaning, how you respond to the movie probably says quite a bit about your attitude toward wildness, dysfunction, chaos, rules, emotionality, self-reliance, self-expression, and a whole lot more. Very realistic in the movie. I see it rather as a celebration of community and place told from the perspective of a young girl whose imagination gilds the world around her, populates it with imaginary pre-historic Aurochs, who imagines the icecaps melting when she hears thunder, who leaves drawings on cardboard boxes for the scientists of the future to find and remember her by. She lives with her father, Wink, played by Dwight Henry, though the two live in their own trailers. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. It's a political movie, but its politics aren't clear. I'm too attached to my civilized comforts. Beasts of the Southern Wild is a fantastical, emotionally powerful journey and a strong case of filmmaking that values imagination over money. One movie may not effect extensive change in people’s perception of the lower class, but BOTSW’s efforts are definitely commendable as they bring society a little closer to the elimination of classism.