The Ozarks are a shattered zone

The Ozarks are a shattered zone

A shattered zone denotes a borderland and specifically an area where the people living in the area are not a subject of authority. In the film Winter’s Bone, which is a 2010 American mystery drama directed by Debra Granik, the Ozarks are a shattered zone. In most cases, people living “shattered zones” are either escaping from the pressures of capitalistic economies of the state (Kottak, 2006, p.35). According to Scotts in The Art of Not Being Governed, “shattered zones” refer to places where there is resistance to state rules. People living in “shattered zones” refuse to comply with regulations and take part in doing actions against state-making. Scotts related “shattered zones” to out of the way place where people seek refuge when faced by unexpected pressure. In the Moon and Tallers review of the Winter Bone, they noted that the existence of both pleasurable and painful aspects of living in the rural Ozarks is similar to life in “shattered zones” thus, the Ozarks are a shattered zone.

Shattered zones are mostly inhabited by the poor who cannot withstand the pressure to comply with the capitalistic economies or the rules of the state (Kottak, 2006, p.18). First, the nature of Gee’s family is deplorable, her father is dead, the mother is mentally sick, and the children are living on survival skills taught by Gee. Such a low-income family cannot cope with the pressure of capitalistic economies or the rules of the state hence live in the rural Ozarks. The scenes were Ree Dolly’s father runs from trial while having pledged the house to the bond master symbolized the fact that the Gee’s father could not comply with the pressure of the rules of the state, which is a common characteristic of life in the “shattered zones.” Gee’s father act of running away from a trial, yet he had pledged the house also symbolizes uncertainty as life in the “shattered zones” is very uncertain.

According to Scotts, disparate groups of people reside in Zomia in a stateless manner, just like it is in Ozarks, which is a shattered zone. Zomia is a mountainous region bordering other nations. They occupy an area that would be referred to as no man’s land. By holding a stateless area, the occupants are not subject to the state rules, taxes, and projects by the neighboring states (Kottak, 2006, p.34). The social organization of Zomia inhabitants is curved towards discouraging states from annexing them into their territories. For the Zomia communities to live in harmony without interference from neighboring states, they use resistance as their leveling mechanisms. According to Woodburn and Boehm, societies portray unique socio-political attributed to neutralize possible coercion by dominant communities. As the egalitarian people advocate for equality for all humanity, people in Zomia are less interested in having equal fundamental status and opt to be stateless.

In my opinion, Ozark is a shatter zone for it is a place where its inhabitants face difficulties and suffering but endure and enjoy the pleasure of their straggles. Using Gee Dolly as an example, she endured the pain of solving the mystery of her father’s disappearance. The systems of rule in shatter zones are not transparent. Hence we see Gee Dolly’s effort to seek to understand her furthers disappearance through her clan members enrages her family members leading to her beating by Thump’s wife, Mareb. Even in modern states, there are areas along the boundaries that are inhabited by people who prefer being stateless. A good example is people living at the Great Dismal swamp in Amazonia, which is at the borders of three states: North Carolina, Virginia, and Appalachia.