Visual Poetry

          So, I watched a movie the other day that was absolutely beautiful and just had to write something about it, even if it is a short post. I had read a little about the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild, and yesterday morning my mom and I were watching the reveal of the Oscar nominations and low and behold, Beasts of the Southern Wild was nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress (the little girl who is now 9, was only 6 years old during filming. She is the youngest nomination for Best Actress ever.), and it is also up for the big one, Best Picture. The movie debuted at Sundance Film Festival and from that moment began to captivate individuals with its beauty and intriguing story.

          The movie, which is more like visual poetry, follows a young girl named Hushpuppy who lives in "The Bathtub" of southern Louisiana with her father. Hushpuppy is heartened by a sense of childish optimism and extraordinary imagination and is convince that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm that forces her to change her reality. Hushpuppy is faced with many adversities such as the deterioration of her father's health, her father's hot-temper, a storm that devastates her home and leaves her on the brink on orphanage. Desperate to repair the structure of her world to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny (literally tiny!!!) hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions. Hushpuppy has a smile so entrancing, yet a scowl that no creature would dare cross. On the outside, Hushpuppy may look small and vulnerable, but in her eyes she is strong and powerful and will do anything to prove that. Beasts of the Southern Wild, is a work of magic realism as well as an exercise of wishful thinking. The movie combines crawfish boils, cold beer, a grand imagination of the cutest little girl who gives the most powerful performances you could ever wish to see. The movie is beautiful and enchanting and will make you smile and laugh and cry all in the span of an hour and a half. Watch the movie, trust me it is worth it.

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