Is Beasts an Eco Fairy Tale?

The rising waters of the untamed Louisiana bayou, melting polar ice caps, and the emergence of apocalyptic Aurochs are images that have defined the film and inspired conversations about climate change and the environment.  Environmental blog Care 2 recently wrote about Beasts of the Southern Wild, focusing on the environmental elements of the film:

The movie set in southern Louisiana and more than a few statements about climate change are placed in Hushpuppy’s mouth. “Everything has to fit together just right. If it doesn’t, it all falls apart,” she says. These words can be applied to a discussion about how our burning of fossil fuels can be linked to the the lessening sea ice in the Arctic and other world-wide effects of global warming.

Do you agree with Care 2's analysis of the film? What is Hushpuppy referring to in the above referenced quote?

Read the full article here.  

What Beasts of the Southern Wild Really Says

Or, at least through the eyes of one viewer. From the By Way of Beauty blog, another take on the film:

My favorite: "We's what the earth is for."

This last quote comes right before the end of the captivating first few scenes, which reveal the celebratory spirit of life in The Bathtub, complete with song, food, and fireworks. 

These lines show what Beasts is fundamentally about - not poverty or politics (though it does touch on these things), but universal "big" questions about mortality, purpose, and ultimate reality.

In a revealing interview with the director Benh Zeitlin, he does talk briefly about the social and political dimensions of the film. Zeitlin explains that the film tries to show The Bathtub as a kind of "utopia," a place defined by "ultimate freedom" and "joy" that you'd want to "fight and die for." (To be fair, you could also point to the many instances of physical, psychological, and spiritual turmoil experienced by Hushpuppy, and make a case for The Bathtub being an equally destructive and problematic place. The Bathtub - though blessed with a certain simplicity and sense of community - is far from a utopia, even on the film's own terms.)

Read the full analysis here.