Grapes of Wrath

Gregory Lopez
FILM 2600: Film History
Dr. Cathleen Londino
Fall 2011
“Grapes of Wrath”
1. John Steinbeck grew up in California and observed the troubles of the migrant workers, or Okies, as they were so-called because many of them migrated from the dust bowl of Oklahoma. He worked beside them, visited their camps, and traveled to Oklahoma as he researched this phenomenon. As a result, The Grapes of Wrath was conceived and then, published in 1939, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. When the rain wouldn't fall, and the crops couldn't grow, the dust still blew and the days and nights still proceeded. They were jam-packed with the dry, infertile earth, in this hard time known as the Dust Bowl. Farmers such as the Joads in this screening and in the book lost their farms to the banks as well as their family history. Unable to come to a conclusion to solve this matter, they packed up and headed for California with hopes of finding work in order to prosper and survive with the bountiful land that had multiple, luscious growing seasons in store. Although it seemed like the Promise Land, when they arrived, they found that they were part of a great migration and there wasn't enough work for the masses, little to none for them to survive. There was a huge prominence on the importance of family values, ethics, and morals. Social injustices were depicted as well and assisted in making this an efficacious, compelling screening that many can relate to.
2. http://www.helium.com/items/1180767-john-steinbeck-the-grapes-of-wrath-dusk-bowl-okies-oklahoma-joads-family-hooverville
3. This article relates to the screening because it basically talks about what the film was about, where the idea derived from, and how it was conceived and developed into such a timeless masterpiece. The articles states what’s especially resonance about the Graphs of Wrath. It discusses how it epitomizes human latent strengths and evident weaknesses in the face of struggles and hardships, implying that often the weak becomes stronger and the strong weakens under unrelenting pressure. This was in accordance to The Grapes of Wrath since it was about the Joad family's adversities and struggles in Oklahoma during the Great Depression and later on in California. The Joads, like many farmers, were in calamitous financial quandaries and incapable of paying home mortgages or buy farm equipment that was essential to maintain and sustain their farms. Consequently, many of the Dust Bowl farmers were required to move to greener meadowlands, leaving behind all their belongings except what they could take in their automobiles.
4. Personally, I enjoyed the screening for many reasons, as well as the book. The author/director examines the causes behind the suffering, asking and answering from his perspective the definitive questions about land ownership, the use of power, government's role, the nature of justice and the principles of capitalism. He clearly sponsors the lower classes working collectively through unions. He points a reproachful finger at wealthy property owners for thoughtless policies meant to maximize profit while forcing laborers to work for less than cheap wages. These controversial views make the screening very interesting in its own way. The whole film in general is brilliant and makes it understandable through its cinematography why it’s regarded as a masterpiece.