Jagoda Tyczyńska
Silent Narratives and Post-Recession Anxieties in Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone (2010)
Polish Journal for American Studies, vol. 17 (2023), pp. 149-166

Abstract: The article analyzes Debra Granik’s portrayal of the rural working-class in the mystery drama Winter’s Bone in the context of post-recession anxieties, social mobility, and community isolation so as to contest popular conceptions of this demographic. Through a review of Hollywood stereotypes, the impact of the American Dream on the image of the working-class, and an examination of the film’s cinematography, the article further studies the influence of liminality and internal transgressions on the image of this community. An additional analysis of the depiction of poverty, sexual politics, and the role of nature allows for the positioning of the rural working-class within the framework of a “forgotten” America.

Keywords: working-class, post-recession, stereotypes, social mobility, rural spatiality

DOI: 10.7311/PJAS.17/2023.10

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