Feed The Brute
Struggling to survive on the Oregon Trail, one woman single-handedly hunts down a bison to prove her worth to the caravan, and to herself.
I recently reread “The Old Man and the Sea” by Hemingway, and had always really admired Santiago’s endurance, strength, empathy, and stoicism. But my research afterward led me to discover that, according to modern commentary, this was still a novel about “what it means to be a man.” This was incredibly frustrating considering I, and so many women I know, very obviously have these qualities…so I decided to adapt the novel into a short film with a woman at the helm. And what better setting than the great Wild West? Where stoicism, strength, and endurance were valued more than gold.
One thing I found fascinating in my research of the Oregon Trail was the constant battle between nature and society. Men and women started the journey with specific duties based on their gender roles from civilization. But as things got tougher and life came down to literal survival, gender roles blurred and people helped however they could to make it to the west coast alive. They were forced to give in to nature in their pursuit of conquering it.
This duality is explored through the main character, Margaret, who suffers shame at not fulfilling society’s ideal female role and struggles to survive in this microcosm of civilization on the Trail. Only once she gives into her brute side as a result of the need for pure survival, she is able to release her repression and break away from society’s judgments and restraints.
Corsica Wilson grew up as a Navy brat, traveling the world since she was born and developing a deep passion for history and culture. She has written numerous film and pilot scripts with the overall goal of directing. She is currently working on adapting Feed the Brute to a feature and is in search of representation.
Contact Corsica:
0 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
Leave a Comment