The Politics of Art & Authenticity

Would you ever waste your hard earned money on beer while your children were starving? Most of us would answer, “no.” But one mother would answer, “yes,” and her life is portrayed in the short film Wasp.

Wasp is a heart breaking short film about a poor single mother that neglects her four children so she can have a night out on the town with other men. Wasp belongs to the auteur genre, and parts of director Andrea Arnold’s life are portrayed in this film using her unique voice. According to her interview, Andrea Arnold had a poor single mother with four children. The use of part of her own life makes the film more personal because her authentic emotions are more palpable to the viewer. Camera angles make this film more personal like when Zoe is frantically running down the stairs and the shaking camera captures her frantic and uncertain behavior.A hand held camera is also used to capture Zoe’s anxiety and shakiness about the possibility of losing her children. Music plays an important role in this film. Music symbolizes the shift in tone through the film.  Music is played after the fight scene to signal the shift of Zoe bringing her children to the bar, and music is played at the end of the short film to suggest the children might have a slightly better future ahead. Zoe loves her children and this is shown when she runs to her baby’s rescue after hearing his stinging scream.

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image: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3PPSVIEZjQo/TKYQPEA3rxI/AAAAAAAAAC4/bqS_nY6wHXE/s1600/wasp.png

interview: http://www.scotsman.com/news/film-andrea-arnold-interview-1-1355790