Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of a young girl, ‘Hushpuppy’, who searches for her mother as her father slowly dies in front of her. She must also learn to deal with her world crumbling around her, as the global warming destroys her home.
My initial impression of the film was that I liked it. It didn’t particularly blow me away so I was surprised it gained a Best Picture nomination. The film uses a lot of handheld shots which annoyed me at first but as the film progressed I found that it served the narrative better as it was bale to clearly show her chaotic lifestyle which would have been harder to do if still shots were used. I think that the film was flawed because as a viewer, it was difficult to understand the motivation behind any of the characters in the first act but it gave a unique interpretation of a changing world and gender.
I believe the film was trying to accentuate female gender role as the main character, a young girl who takes charge in the midst of her fathers illness demonstrates independence. I think the most obvious out of everything though was the impact of global warming, shown through melting ice caps that flood their homes and consequently release the wild beasts that she stands up to in the final act.
Aaron Bruce's Film Studies Blog 