Film Review: Excerpts
“I (have) been thinking about us, too, about our people living like pigs and good rich land layin' fallow. Or maybe one guy with a million acres and a hundred thousand farmers starving'” (Ford,1940).
These lines were excerpted from “The Grapes of Wrath”, a black-and-white film directed by John Ford in 1940. The plot of the movie revolved around the Joad family, an “Oakies” family and their more than a thousand miles journey from Oklahoma, United States of America (USA) to California.
Thomas Joad, portrayed by Henry Ford, condensed above what was their life like after they have been forcefully driven out from their own land and house after the bank claimed it because of failure to pay mortgages.
The only source of livelihood of the family was farming but after a prolonged drought and then, sand storms continuously hit their place and other nearby states, their lands suffered from massive soil erosion.
However, the Joads did not expect that in California, instead of the promise of a better life, they have encountered a more miserable condition without a permanent house and decent jobs. They did not have a choice but to live in camps with other migrants and get meager and temporary jobs such as orange pickers.
Mrs. Joad, a character in the film, played a very essential role to hold and maintain the determination of her family to continue to survive and surpass the challenges they have faced after leaving their home in Oklahoma (Ford,1940).
Even though the film is fiction and its screenplay was based on the novel of John Steinbeck, it covered historical events that occurred during the period of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, between the years of 1930-1935.
It was a bleak period for the whole country of America then. The stock market crashed, banks were bankrupted, companies and factories permanently shut down, industrial production decreased, houses and properties taken by banks and unemployed people increased by a large quantity (Mintz & McNeil, 2013).
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The movie also depicted that the economic situation of the country then, including the displacement, unemployment and starvation, discouraged a lot of people and disheartened their own spirits and will to live.
Like the Joad family in the said film, many people, mostly from the farming areas of Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Kansas retreated to other distant states to escape poverty, hunger and hopelessness in their own homes and lands. Many people and families endured the miles and miles of traveling just to look for any job that will provide the earnings.
To accurately present the historical events portrayed in the film, the scenery, language, costumes and manners of the characters were flaunted based on the culture and trends during the time era of the 1930s.
The neutral backdraft in the Oklahoma scenes shows the gloominess and amidst the gray and dusty surroundings.
The conversations between the characters in the film nearly illustrate the language patterns of the Oakies and at the same time, give a hint of despair.
More ever, for the costumes, the characters such as Pa Joad were clad in dirty working clothes such as a hat, vest, work shirt, and shoes; while in other scenes, the rest of the Joad’s men wear denim overalls as work attire. In contrast, the men from the bank were clothed in crisp, clean suits. Meanwhile, women like Ma Joad and Rosasharn wear long, flower, or stripes print-dresses or feed sacks dresses.
The underlying message of The Grapes of Wrath is that although the Great Depression period was considered as a depiction of poverty, oppression, losses, and hopelessness, they hope to survive and start anew still breathes among the people then.
The character of Ma Joad reminds everyone of the importance of toughness, preserving dignity and spirit during those hard times. It also represents the family as the most vital strength of an individual to overcome any ordeal. Additionally, the movie upholds social reform and respect to all people as well.
Today, America has experienced almost the same crisis similar to what was shown in the movie. The global recession in 2007 following the downfall of the world financial system and which, resulted in bank bankruptcies, the collapse of stock markets, the company closes down, unemployment and the number of homeless people increased unexpectedly.
However, more than that, the theme of the movie on oppression by the rich and powerful is still prevalent at these times. Many people still suffer inequality today because of the deficiency of social reform in society.
Hence, although this film was made and shown many decades ago, the present generation may not only relate with the story of the Joad family but may also be inspired to emulate either the resilience and emotional strength of Ma Joad or the openness of Tom Joad to reinvent himself and his beliefs. ###
