Beasts of the Southern
Wild shows a strong connection with deluge myths. But considering they are all relatively
the same story I chose to analyze Beasts with the story of Noah’s Ark from the
Bible. Beasts uses many bits and pieces of Noah’s Ark to intertwine with the
outline of the film. I will explain and compare the relationship between text
and subtext through analyzing visuals and aspects of Noah’s Ark. The story has been rewritten before in other movies such as Evan Almighty or the movie that came out in 2014 called Noah's Ark featuring Russell Crowe. There are also many other movies filmed for Noah's Ark and even ones for children.
Beasts heavily emphasizes the importance of water in the
movie even though it destroys everything. Just calling where they live the
Bathtub reflects their home and life. In the beginning they comment how beautiful
it is where they live. But they also point out what is making their home ugly with the factories and pollution. They get their food from the water and enjoy its presence. They
appreciate for little and live to the fullest each day. Like I stated in my proposal blog, the most obvious connection is the flooding. In Beasts, a storm hits at night causing dangerous flooding in the bathtub. Ironically, their home is literally called the bathtub. Which a word that we would understand as a tub filled with water. Why do they name it a bathtub if flooding is considered bad? I think it's because they live off the water from the sea, the fish they eat and call it beautiful. They see it differently than the rest of the World. There they feel free and pure from the World's cruel intentions. Water in most cases is used to purify which is why God called upon the rains to rid the Earth of sin and purify it once again. The bathtub is their pure sanctuary surrounded by water and away from everything else. It is still their home no matter what so they accept the flooding. They don't want to leave their home and give up on it.
There's another connection when Hushpuppy's father tells her to get in the "boat" when the storm hits. This way if their home floods she will be safe and float. The movie transforms the use of a small box/boat to the connection of the Ark. After the storm subsides they come out of their home through the ceiling to survey the area. You also see a dog come out with them shows another connection referring to animals also surviving. The movie actually shows animals quite a lot.
The movie uses a lot of close ups. It focuses in on what is happening which tends to make it look very chaotic and more realistic to the state of their condition. After they emerge from their home that's underwater they use their makeshift boat to see if there are any other survivors. Once again, the reference to using a boat is relevant. The survivors gather together and still stay strong after everything that has happened as if they are a family.
When outsiders come in to take them to a shelter they all revolt and escape back to their bathtub. The movie is almost backwards. The people who belong in the bathtub see it as their sanctuary even though it may be underwater. All the people trying to help them are only doing it to stop any other attacks or explosions. The aurochs or "hogs" is seen as evil sweeping the land in search of victims. Hushpuppy is the light and saves not only herself but the people. In the movie though, Zeitlin, wanted to show how these creatures used to exist in the cavemen era. Those cavemen paintings were meant to tell people in the future of their past and learn from them to know who they were. No differently from when Hushpuppy is trying to draw her own story inside the box so that scientists of the future will know who they were. People learn from our past history and mistakes. Perhaps the flooding in the film is a reminder of the past mistakes when people continued to sin.
I think all of this started when her Dad became sick. He handled it wrong and lost himself. She felt like she could fix it and in the end she realized that you can't fix everything but you can start with making small things. I feel like this connects heavily with the teachings of the Bible and life in general. You don't have to change the world. Your small footprint of action is more than enough to bring the good in people. Be kind, strong, compassionate and humble. Even though the movie's story line doesn't fit the exact story of Noah's Ark it still portrays messages that are alike. Flooding equals the result of change. Specifically, the people in the film like Hushpuppy when she understands her place and the her meaning of life.
