Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitln, is a tale of the trials and tribulations of growing up as a young girl in the Bathtub, her outsider home that is frequently flooded and hit with brutal storms leaving her and her makeshift family stranded. Hushpuppy, our hero, lives with her distant, injured father, who wants to teach her how to look after herself when he inevitable dies and leaves her alone. Even though his methods are borderline abusive and hyper-masculine, we understand his reasoning. As perhaps leaving her alone without the strength to look after herself would be even more damaging. The strength Hushpuppy possesses throughout this film is so powerful, and we especially see this in one of the final scenes when she faces her metaphorical fears, symbolised by the imaginary beasts that are following her every move. To me, this film is such an inspirational representation of an outsider community, it helps those of us who aren’t in this kind of society to understand why they believe what they believe… and perhaps we are just ignorant for ever doubting them. Zeitlin captures the incredible story of a little girl who is fighting her way through the world, and at the end of the film she leaves us as a grown up, no matter her age. But the film also perfectly represents the community she strives in. It makes us realise we should care more about the little things, those which help us survive, and appreciate them a lot more than we do in this materialistic, capitalist society.