Wind River Movie Analysis Essay Sample

One of the ten guidelines that Jane demonstrates in the movie Wind River is to “never back down from the sharks." In the movie, Jane never backed down from the sharks. When she led the search party group to the drill site to investigate the trailer, Jane found herself among many powerful, strong, intimidating men. Jane was a female who was unfamiliar with the land, alone without FBI support, and an outsider who is not accustomed to the culture and relationships between other characters. During the shootout scene, Jane was being threatened, but she stood her ground. She asserted herself and made powerful moves to control the rest of them and urge them to back down from shooting at each other. She stayed calm, waited for the threat to pass, and waited for the shark threat to pass.

The second guideline is to “never ring the bell." This means that no matter how easy it seems to quit something through hardships, you are supposed to persevere and rely on your strength to make it through tough times. Jane demonstrated this by not ringing the bell when she was shot. She needed help from Cory and was about to give up on the mission at hand, but she told Cory to go get the bad guy regardless of her life-threatening situation. She never forgot about the end goal and prioritized her profession and mission. She didn’t ring the bell on her life or her job and handled both competently. 

The third guideline is to “find someone to help you paddle". This means that you must find a group of people that you trust to help you win and make it through thought tough times who have the same passion as you and are willing to maintain consistent grit. Jane demonstrated this by working with Cory, trusting him, seeking help from him, and learning things from him. The police and the Native American people also helped her paddle through the mission. It was a though, gruesome one where a lot of help was necessary, but with the right support from a great group of people, she was able to solve the case.

The last guideline that Jane demonstrated is, “don’t be afraid of the circus". There were many obstacles when solving this case. Jane and her team kept failing to find the murderer. They were stopped by the snow, guys at the drill site, the brother who would not confess, etc. Every time that she failed, she was forced to work harder, think smarter, and be better. Each new solution/idea made her a better FBI agent by teaching her how to think differently when issues occur. 

The theme of the movie Wind River is that either “You survive or surrender." Because luck does not live out there, our chance at survival is determined by our strength and spirit. Wolves don’t kill unlucky deer. They kill the weak ones. Once you earn your freedom, you get to go home. This means that our will to live, thrive, succeed, and prosper is what determines if we survive the cruel, competitive world. The ones who fall behind are the ones who are hunted for and taken advantage of. You must keep up and use all your strength to be free and go home. However, if you don’t fight hard enough and your strength and spirit are insufficient, the alternative is to surrender. By giving up, you are allowing yourself to never earn your freedom and reach home.