Life at the Bottom

Film usually favors the glamorous: fast cars, strong men, beautiful women, etc, but the exceptions are important. Here are five movies that honestly depict the life of whites at the bottom.

Man’s Castle

This love story, made in 1933, does not shy from depicting the poverty of the Great Depression. And since it was released before the censorious “Motion Picture Production Code” went into effect, the social ills that come with poverty are shown free of euphemism.

Wake In Fright

An Australian teacher is sent to a school in the outback. Out of boredom, he goes to a local bar, where he begins to immerse himself in a completely alien way of life that nearly kills him. Martin Scorsese said, “it left me speechless. Visually, dramatically, atmospherically and psychologically, it’s beautifully calibrated and it gets under your skin one encounter at a time, right along with the protagonist played by Gary Bond.”

Gummo

Harmony Korine’s atmospheric love letter to — for lack of a better term, poor white trash.

Fish Tank

A coming of age story set in the chaos of a poor, broken family in the UK. In 2010, it won the BAFTA (Britain’s equivalent to the Oscar) for best British film, and the BBC called it one of the best 100 films of the century.

The Florida Project

Bria Vinaite’s portrayal of Halley, the protagonist, is the best depiction I’ve ever seen of how the downtrodden so often manage to make their lives even more difficult through bad decisions and self-destructive habits.