Throughout the film ‘Winter’s Bone’, the film depicts different gender roles as well as ideas of masculine and feminine qualities. Int he film the main character ‘Ree’ is depicted as a rugged younger women who is very independent and strong willed. She manages to take care and provide for her entire family, because her mother is sick and her father has left them to fend for themselves. She does not dress as you would expect a typical women too, she wears loose clothes and what many would consider men’s clothing, as well as boots. They also don’t wear any makeup or appear to try to fit ‘beauty norms’. The men in the film are depicted as strong as well, but in a negative manor. They are seen as uneducated and abusive towards women. They seem to have a lack of chivalry or moral code and don’t seem to respect women at all. They dress the same as the women because they all wear men’s clothing. they don’t have hairstyles and usually look dirty from being outdoors. The ‘mountain culture’ depicted in this film has a serious affect on how women and men are portrayed, in more urban societies women and even men are more concerned with fashion, clothing, and looking good, but in ‘mountain culture’ they don’t seem to care very much about any of that.
Men in the film are very negatively portrayed in this film, because for the most part they are either a ‘dead beat’ like the father who left his young children and sick wife to fend for themselves, or the men are portrayed as abusive and aggressive, with a lack of respect for women. both of these stereotypes portrayed are true about some men in the appalachia but certainly not all of them.
In the film the people tend to stick together in groups, especially the men. This is common in Mountain culture, “Appalachian Mountain culture is often called "clannish" and indeed, it is, reflecting the clan structure that exists to this day in rural Scotland and Ireland. And created a society extremely difficult to penetrate by outsiders, including law enforcement. When outsiders begin asking questions, mountain people close ranks and protect their own.” (Innes, pg.1) The packs that these men made, allowed them to be very powerful and intimidating and also prevented police from getting answers they needed about the death of Ree’s father.
The women in this film are often seen as helpless in come cases, but at the same time very strong to deal with what they have to put up with. Men and women suffer through many hardships due to the poor economic conditions in Appalachia, an article on usaonrace.com touches on this stating. “The economy of the Appalachian people is a study in poverty. A large number of the families live on as little as $5,000 per year.”Which exemplifies how much difficulty men and women face in the Appalachia which contributes to how they act and how the social structure is.
Innes, W. (n.d.). Appalachian Mountain People: A Study Of Stereotypes. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
Men in the film are very negatively portrayed in this film, because for the most part they are either a ‘dead beat’ like the father who left his young children and sick wife to fend for themselves, or the men are portrayed as abusive and aggressive, with a lack of respect for women. both of these stereotypes portrayed are true about some men in the appalachia but certainly not all of them.
In the film the people tend to stick together in groups, especially the men. This is common in Mountain culture, “Appalachian Mountain culture is often called "clannish" and indeed, it is, reflecting the clan structure that exists to this day in rural Scotland and Ireland. And created a society extremely difficult to penetrate by outsiders, including law enforcement. When outsiders begin asking questions, mountain people close ranks and protect their own.” (Innes, pg.1) The packs that these men made, allowed them to be very powerful and intimidating and also prevented police from getting answers they needed about the death of Ree’s father.
The women in this film are often seen as helpless in come cases, but at the same time very strong to deal with what they have to put up with. Men and women suffer through many hardships due to the poor economic conditions in Appalachia, an article on usaonrace.com touches on this stating. “The economy of the Appalachian people is a study in poverty. A large number of the families live on as little as $5,000 per year.”Which exemplifies how much difficulty men and women face in the Appalachia which contributes to how they act and how the social structure is.
Innes, W. (n.d.). Appalachian Mountain People: A Study Of Stereotypes. Retrieved August 6, 2014.