You are here:

The Savage Bees

Name: The Savage Bees
Director: Bruce Geller
Released: 1977
Duration: 90 min

Representation Score

2.6/10

Limited

1977

Not Rated

Director

Bruce Geller

Runtime

90 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film operates as a standard 1970s natural horror procedural. While it grants the female lead professional expertise, the narrative remains anchored in the era's conventional demographic hierarchies. Diversity is limited by the period's casting norms, which favor white protagonists despite the culturally rich New Orleans setting. The story focuses on institutional responses to a biological crisis rather than exploring the overlapping aspects of identity. Ultimately, the film lacks significant disruption of social norms, relying on established formulas of professional expertise and heterosexual relationship dynamics to drive the plot.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The Savage Bees have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The interpersonal relationships focus on heterosexual connections, particularly the professional and former romantic bond between the coroner and the entomologist.

How does The Savage Bees portray gender?

Fair

Jeannie Devereaux provides moderate subversion as a specialized entomologist with intellectual ability to act. However, her role is framed through her past relationship with a male protagonist.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Savage Bees?

Limited

The New Orleans setting offers cultural plurality, but the cast follows 1970s conventions by prioritizing white protagonists. The Brazilian trawler serves as an inciting incident rather than a focus.

How does The Savage Bees represent religion and culture?

Fair

The narrative uses the Mardi Gras celebration as a backdrop for social disruption. It depicts the vulnerability of established social structures when faced with systemic environmental threats.

Does The Savage Bees include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no discernible representation of visible or invisible disabilities. Characters are defined primarily by their professional roles and their response to the biological threat.

Present on Screen

The female lead, Jeannie Devereaux, possesses intellectual ability to act as a specialized entomologist.
The setting of New Orleans during Mardi Gras provides a backdrop of cultural plurality.

Limited or Absent

The cast lacks racial diversity, adhering to 1970s television conventions of prioritizing white protagonists.
The female lead's professional utility is framed through her past romantic connection to a man.
There is a lack of LGBTQ+ representation or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth identities.

Official Synopsis

In this horror-drama the festive fun of the annual Mardi Gras celebration is brought to a halt when a swarm of African killer bees escape from a foreign freighter.

How are these scores produced? →