Ideology

• Feminism: WB can be read as feminist simply by having an interesting, complex and active female protagonist.
• It is furthered by her surrounded by a supporting cast of vividly sketched female characters
• Ree is a noir hero.
• Feminist preferred reading: Ree is marked by the absence of men in her life, no father, no love interest, but she is not overly concerned with this, she is more concerned with it;s effects on her family and financial position.
• Critic: 'a feminist film about an anti-feminist world'
• Directed by woman, woman protagonist.
• Ree removed scenes sexualising Ree, removing the male gaze.
• The Bechdel test: two named female characters, who talk to eachother about something that isn't a man.
• WB passes the bechdel test .
• Cinematography does not disembody Ree like cinematography using the male gaze does.
• The male characters in the film do not look at Ree in a sexualised way.
• Three male key characters (business, law and family) show the positions of power are taken by the men.
• Gail - traditional passive female role in Ozark life.
• The primary authorial figures are men, reflecting the patriarchal society.
• Binary oppositions of active male and passive female:


  Gail, Connie (mum) are passive female, Teardrop is an active male

  But

  Mirab and Ree are active, subverting male gaze.
• The Ozark men are forced into social roles, they are not inherently violent, violence is what it means to be a man from the Ozark mountains.
• WB repositions the film industry's focus from the city to rural America, revealing the forgotten America fractured by military conflicts and financial crisis.
• Winter bone challenges American prosperity
• Granik uses the bleakness to challenge affluence and conservatism in hollywood cinema
• Our alignment with Ree and her operation within the community shows the theme of alienation / being an outsider.
• The reward for Ree is money, money saves them.