Kira Moore

How far does ‘Winter’s Bone’ rely on an understanding of its social

context?
To understand whether or not ‘Winter’s Bone’ relies on a predetermined understanding of its
social context it must first be understood what this context is.
In the clip where Ree goes to confront a man she has previously tried to get information on
her father’s whereabouts from the social context is demonstrated quite well. Here the social
context would be understood as the very niche micro society of the impoverished American
South. A rural and primitive community. This is supported within the clip by mise-en-scene
clearly as all the clothes are of earthy tones and no one wears makeup or jewellery. Tied
together with the very simplistic use of camera; very few shots but repeated as seen with the
mid-shot from in front and behind as Merab throws her drink at Ree the women drag her into
the garage, gives the impression of people living to survive. There are no luxuries for the
people in the scene so no fanciful or artistic camerawork is used.
However, in order to pick up on such subtleties the film does rely on an active viewer. This
meaning that they engage with the subtext of the film which highlights the social context
here. For example, in this same sequence, Ree has to be rescued by her uncle whose first
question is “Did you hit her?” to one of the men. At this Merab (the woman who assaulted
Ree) says it was only her and her sisters and no man hurt her. To a passive viewer this
would just be a statement of fact but to an active one the subtext behind this would be of the
sexism in this micro society and this would then show the primitive views underlining the
context here.
Throughout the film and especially here there is no non-diegetic music or sound. This is both
a convention of the social realist genre and used to highlight the simplicity of this society. A
lack of non-diegetic sound makes everything very real and raw. The violence with which Ree
is treated isn’t romanticised or enhanced as in most main stream action films but is shown in
its raw form. The close-up shot inside that garage after the prolonged long-shot outside of
the door closing only enhances this raw tone. We hear Ree’s yells from afar as the door
closes and then are shown a close up of her spitting out a tooth. Again, two very simple
shots using a basic form of handheld camerawork but combined with sound and mise-en-
scene a clear picture is formed. A passive viewer wouldn’t pick up on how this likens Ree to
being the prey of the hunters in her society and how this shows the raw and animalistic side
to this society. An active viewer would. That it cuts straight from long-shot to close-up is both
effective as we go from outside to inside and because it is a simple transition. No blends or
fades as this society isn’t embellished in any way as reflected by the aforementioned mise-
en-scene.
So, the question here is less how far does it rely on an understanding of social context and
more whether it relies on active viewing. It doesn’t rely at all on an understanding of social
context as this is clearly explained throughout the film. ‘Winter’s Bone’ does however rely
heavily on active viewing as the social context is explained through subtext. Never blatantly
spoken as it would be in mainstream cinema but nevertheless still explained.