UNESCO
defines displacement of peoples as the “forced movement of people from their
locality or environment and occupational activities.” This form of social
change can be caused by many factors, including “armed conflict, natural
disasters, famine, development, and economic changes.” UNESCO goes on to say
that when peoples are forced to leave their own region, and the lives that they
have led, the “displaced populations often become impoverished.” As communities
and cultures are uprooted, the bond that once held that community together is
quickly dissolved. The effects of displacement on individuals and minority
cultures are very significant and are often pervasive in societies over a great
length of time. The 2012 film, Beasts of
the Southern Wild is a wonderful example that a film can have a beautiful
story, and be visually stunning while also being a commentary on issues that
are being faced in our society today. This film functions as a commentary on
the significant negative effects that displacement has on peoples in minority
cultures.
From
the opening scene, Beasts of the Southern Wild
effectively immerses the viewer in the culture of the Bathtub. The social norms
of the Bathtub become the social norms of the viewer. The viewer grows to love
the people of the Bathtub for their sense of resourcefulness, the way that they
care for one another, and their raucous manner of celebration. As a massive
storm ravages the Bathtub, the audience watches helplessly as the characters
that they love struggle for survival. Luckily, the system of the Bathtub, and
the strong community in place, meant that they were quickly able to re-coup
after such a storm. Although they have been ravaged by the storm, the culture
of the Bathtub is still as healthy as ever. It is only after the residents of
the Bathtub are forcefully displaced that the strong sense of community begins
to dissolve. After the audience has spent so much time being indoctrinated into
the culture of the Bathtub, the shelter seems very foreign, and surreal. It is
too clean, too bureaucratic, and too far removed from everything that the
Bathtub is. The gravity of this cultural displacement hits its zenith when we
see Hushpuppy in a dress with her hair done. Our hero, the hero of the Bathtub,
normally clad in nothing but orange underpants and a tank top, has been completely removed from her culture
and her home. At that moment, the audience mourns for the loss of community
that the Bathtub has suffered. When they finally escape from the shelter, the
members of that community are worn down, mere shadows of the one raucous and
joyous community that has now been lost. They must work to rebuild their
community, and to reform the bond that once held their community so tight. It
is on the cusp of this rebuilding effort where the story ends, but the audience
knows that the road to recovery for the Bathtub will be long and arduous, and
that life for that community might never really be normal again.
The
type of cultural displacement that is depicted in Beasts of the Southern Wild is often performed in the real world
for the supposed well-being of the minority culture. There are numerous
examples of this type of displacement in the world today, but I have chosen to
focus on one. This is the story of the Inuit tribe of Canada. The Inuit tribe
was traditionally nomadic, trekking through snow and ice year round. Several
decades ago, the Canadian government decided that the way that these people had
been living for hundreds and hundreds of years was the wrong way to live. This
ancient culture that had remained relatively unchanged over time was suddenly
rounded up and placed in government issued housing. Today, suicide is the
leading cause of death among this people. Compared to the general population of
Canada, the rate of Type 2 diabetes is three to five times higher, and the rate
of tuberculosis is eight to ten times higher. Additionally, unemployment and
alcoholism are rampant among the population. The effects of displacement on
this group means that the communities that once flourished have now been lost
forever, and the communities that remain today are tragic remnants of what was
once great.
In an interview with
Stephen Colbert, Benh Zeitlin, the director of Beasts of the Southern Wild talks about how the places that they
filmed in the south were in extreme danger. The day that this film began
shooting was the exact day of the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig explosion in the
Gulf of Mexico. Zeitlin said that, while filming, there was a very real sense
that everything that they were seeing, all the beauty around them, was in an
incredible amount of danger because of the vast amount of oil that had been
spilt. Due to this, Zeitlin knew that the situations that were being depicted
onscreen would too soon be the real situations for the actual communities that
live beyond the levies. This allowed the film to take even greater meaning in
its discussion of the need for preserving land for the people who really live
there. This film, and its depiction of the endangered lives of people is not
just something that happened onscreen. It could happen, and has happened in
real life as well.
In the play Medea, it is stated “a fatherland
is no small thing to lose.” This statement could not be more true. As is shown
through examples from the film Beasts of
the Southern Wild, as well as through the stories several real communities
that the effects of forceful displacement still occur on a daily basis. Forceful displacement, which occurs for any
number of reasons, ultimately leads to a devastating loss of community and vast
numbers of social problems that persist over an extensive period of time. It is
only through the acceptance of all cultures, and by stopping forceful
displacements, that these tragedies can stop affecting communities all over the
world.
Word Count: 998
Works Cited:
Diseases and Health Conditions. N.p., 07 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
"Displaced Person /
Displacement | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization." Displaced
Person / Displacement | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
"Native American Living
Conditions on Reservations - Native American Aid." Native American
Living Conditions on Reservations - Native American Aid. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
Jan. 2014.
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