I don't know why folks keep asking me what I think about "Beasts of the Southern Wild,"by Ben Zeitlin. I guess it's because I'm Black, and I watch a lot of movies... I'm a projectionist. Well, first off, let me say that there wouldn't have been a movie without Quvenzhané Wallis. Quvenzhané plays "Hushpuppy," and she made it for me. I'm definitely looking forward to more greatness from her. But the film... in the first five minutes, I turned to my lady and said, "This isn't a Black Director..." Bottom line, I shouldn't be tripping on what race the Director is, I should be enjoying the film. I found the film joyless. The lens was one of objectifying the other, in this case the noble savage scenario. Listen, plenty of folks really dug the film, from President Obama to Oprah... For me, I'm just not crazy about the novelty of poverty, for the enjoyment of an audience. Watching a cast completely covered in filth, a community bound by their devotion to living off the grid, scavenging. A father feeds his daughter dog food., calls her a man, a boy, a beast. It's crazy. There's a conspiratorial feeling of taking part in the abuse of Hushpuppy. Somehow, I'm sitting there endorsing these toxins entering the subconsciousness of Quvenzhané, the audience, the President, Oprah... Maybe because I myself endured some trauma being poor, growing up. For this reason, I may be sensitive to the representation of poverty in film. How is the audience reaction's reaction? Oftentimes exploitation of class, culture, race is about feeling superior... "Oh how quaint..."
