Symbolism In Beasts Of The Southern Wild

In the film Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin, Hushpuppy lives with her father, Wink, in an isolated place called the bathtub. Wink is a strict father who is preparing his daughter for a future without him. When Wink falls inexplicably ill, the world seems to fall apart as he is getting sicker. The polar ice shelves start to melt due to high temperatures and primitive beasts called aurochs run freely towards the bathtub. The growing waters put in danger the people of the bathtub and their homes by threatening to submerge the entire community. Hushpuppy starts to imagine her mother and tries to find her by following a bright light on the horizon. Throughout the film, Hushpuppy listens to different heartbeats and imagines humongous beasts coming her way. The listening of the hearts ties into her father’s illness and the beasts represent how the world is falling apart right in front of Hushpuppy’s eyes.
During the film she says something about how everything in the universe fits together, and if one thing gets out of place, the whole system falls apart. In listening to different heartbeats, she is attempting to figure out how the system of life works and why the heart beats. During the course of the movie, Hushpuppy listens and feels the beating of hearts of different people and animals. This ties into her father’s blood disease. Since the blood relates to the heart, it could mean that the heart failed to do its job letting Hushpuppy