Winter's Bone Assessment

How far does 'Winter's Bone' rely upon an understanding of its social context?

Set in the rural Ozarks of Missouri, ‘Winter’s Bone’ stars Jennifer Lawrence as Ree, a 17-year-old girl forced with looking after her sick mother, and her two younger siblings, all while tracking down her Father who has to appear in court otherwise they’ll lose their house.

The film explores many different themes and social issues such as poverty, gender and power, drug abuse, and family, both distant and close.

One scene that highlights the social issue of poverty, is when Ree has an interview for army recruitment and is adamant in learning more about the money involved. The scene begins with Ree being called up for her time, and straight away it is clear that she doesn’t quite fit in. Every other person having an interview are men, and to further add to the gender divide, Ree appears beaten up slightly implying she cannot take care of herself and that she is not powerful enough to stand up to those who attacked her. Ree states that the main reason for her joining is for the $40,000, which only someone in desperate need of money would ask. We know Ree’s backstory and what position she is in at the time of the interview and its hard for the Officer to imagine without Ree telling him, he’s just doing his best to make her aware of the other reasons for joining the army. Yet because Ree was unaware of the other aspects, she was made to look like she didn’t know anything and was just that desperate for money she’d sign up for anything, which is true in a sense. The officer asks Ree her age and when she replies with 17, he tells her that she’ll need to bring her mom or dad down, which links to the social issue of age and how we see her acting well over her age however when it comes to laws and things that matter, she is just a helpless teenager. As a viewer, I need to realise that she is just a young girl who has to obey the laws like every other adolescent, despite this the movie is structured in a way that Ree is almost ageless because she does everything a mother would do and so when this scene occurs and she is forced to walk away, we are shocked and saddened by the fact she needs the money to support her siblings, herself acting as a mother and father figure to them.

Another scene I have chosen to analyse is the scene depicting John Hawkes’ character driving Ree home yet when they get stopped by a police officer, there is a standoff like moment and its driven by the 2 men on either side of the law, one being a drug user while the other is a respected Officer.

At the start of the scene Teardrop (Ree’s Uncle) is driving his truck with Ree in the passenger seat. The divide between them is colossal and in the middle, a set of antlers which can be in relation to the fact that men go hunting and Teardrop has obviously obtained these antlers, causing his power to outweigh Ree’s. The location of the film is also significant when it comes to roles carried out by men and women. Almost every house Ree visits, she is greeted by a woman and taken to see a man. The man on occasions also taking advantage over Ree, especially Teardrop who strangles her almost immediately because he doesn’t want any association with her.

As the Officer approaches Teardrop’s truck, he suddenly feels more tense than usual, seeming cautious and very conflicted when asked questions. Knowing Teardrop is a drug user, this can be a reason he feels on edge and could start a fight at any moment. When asked about his brother he doesn’t want to talk about it and slightly raises his gun, a common action of someone who is nervous, broken, or under the influence. Teardrop is clearly the most powerful person in this situation despite the Officer’s greater sense of authority because both Ree and the Officer wander their eyes around, in a worried gesture. Meanwhile teardrop doesn’t break eye contact with the Officer once, making it clear to him he isn’t afraid of dying or isn’t afraid to do something morally wrong, most likely because he’s already done something wrong.

Overall just from these 2 scenes, it is apparent that ‘Winters bone’ is much more complex than you may think, as it involves thinking about social issues that are present for individuals and collectively as a community in this village in Missouri.