Winter’s Bone Essay
In the opening shot, we are shown a large area of rural land that is dotted with dead looking trees,
dry bushes, old, rusty looking vehicles such as a caravan and an old school bus and a truck .
The mise en scene included in this shot is very old, and looks used and worn. The bleakness and
dullness in the lighting of the shot also gives a ethered feeling to this area, and makes it seem almost
depressing and dark. This place does not look like the rest of the USA, and seems very isolated and
separated from the rest of the world. In the next shot, we see two children playing together jumping on
a trampoline. In the mise en scene, again, everything seems run down and poverty stricken. The
trampoline is obviously old, there is rusty piled up chicken wire, old baby toys and lots of wood shown
in this rural area. In the next shot where we see the children holding the puppies, their ragged and old
looking clothes could indicate this family's financial insecurity, further supported by the fact that the small
newborn puppies are kept in a box outside in the cold. As the children play on the skateboard, from their
clothes and the broken down and rusty lawnmower in the background, the financial insecurity and poverty
that this family live in is very clear. I feel like Winter’s Bone relies on the viewer knowing the social context
of the film before watching, as throughout the film, the poverty and financial insecurity are never explained.
In another scene we see Ree at her uncle’s house where she asks to borrow the truck. At first,
she asks her uncles wife, but we see her cower under the fear of her husband as she does what he
tells her to do. In this scene, we are first introduced to drug usage, violence and domestic violence.
Here, I think that knowing the social context is important as without it, we would have no idea as to why
the men in this film are so violent, and why the family is so divided with Ree. The sense of kin between
everyone in this film seems very strong, and the family ‘bond’ does seem loyal, in a way, however it is never
fully explained in the film as to why Ree and her family are so separated from the bond, and why they are
treated like outcasts. Ree’s mother especially is treated like an outcast due to her mental health, and her
lack of ability to do things herself. It is also shown in this scene the patriarchal system that these people in
this town live in, and that there are only a few resilient women left, including Ree. I feel like the social context
is important to know when watching this film, as otherwise it is confusing and may perhaps not make sense
to the audience as to why certain characters act the way they do.
