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The Tribe

Name: The Tribe
Director: Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi
Released: 2014
Duration: 132 min

Representation Score

7.2/10

Good

2014

Unrated

Director

Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi

Runtime

132 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

This film is a groundbreaking cinematic achievement that centers the Deaf experience through a visually rich, non-verbal narrative. By using actual sign language, it offers a true, authentic look at the social ecosystem of a underrepresented community. While the film excels in representing the Deaf community and integrating queer dynamics, it struggles with gender power structures. The social hierarchy is dominated by aggressive masculinity, limiting the roles of female characters. Ultimately, the film succeeds in exploring insular social structures and deconstructing traditional morality and authority, providing a nuanced view of identity and survival in a closed society.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Tribe have LGBTQ+ representation?

Good

Same-sex relationships are integral to the film's social structure and play a key role in the characters' power dynamics and social hierarchy.

How does The Tribe portray gender?

Limited

The film portrays a strict, aggressive masculinity where physical strength and violence define social status. Female characters are often shown as vulnerable, reinforcing traditional gender power imbalances.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Tribe?

Fair

The story focuses on a small, economically isolated community in Ukraine. It uses the underrepresented Deaf subculture to explore themes of otherness and insular social groups.

How does The Tribe represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative examines moral relativism in a lawless micro-society. It questions traditional authority by showing how survival overrides conventional social rules.

Does The Tribe include disability representation?

Excellent

The film provides authentic representation of the Deaf community by using sign language as the main communication method. It avoids clichés and presents the Deaf community with genuine complexity.

Present on Screen

Authentic representation of the Deaf community through the use of sign language.
Integration of non-straight relationships into the film's social hierarchy.
Challenges traditional moral frameworks and institutional authority.

Limited or Absent

Strict portrayal of hyper-masculine aggression and dominance.
Limited opportunities for female characters to take active roles.
Homogeneous casting reflecting the localized setting.

Official Synopsis

Deaf-mute Sergey enters a specialized boarding school for the deaf. In navigating through the school's hierarchy, he encounters a corrupt underbelly of criminality, known as The Tribe. By participating in several robberies, he gets propelled higher into the organization, when he meets one of the Chief’s concubines Anya, and unwittingly breaks all the unwritten rules of the group."

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