Cami Vanderwolf 12/3/13 Blue CAP

Cinematic Analysis-The Grapes of Wrath

The movie Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford, portrays a theme that a person must have hope and continue to persevere when they are faced with the over-bearing struggles of life. The movie takes place during the Depression in the 1930s. The film begins when the main character, Tom Joad, arrives back in Oklahoma to his old house after being released from prison. He meets an old friend named Jim Casy who is a former pastor. They find Toms old house abandoned and learn that the Joad family is moving west because they had received a flyer asking for workers. Tom and Jim meet up with the family and prepare the truck for their departure in the morning. Tom Joad survived 5 years in prison, away from his family and is now able to be with them because he kept going and enduring the conflicts with which he is being faced. While traveling on the road to California, Grandpa Joad suffers from a stroke and dies. Grandma Joad, depressed at her husbands passing, dies as well. The Joad family continues their journey to California to look for jobs. While traveling, the Joads come across other people who have also received the flyer and they tell the Joad family that the flyer is a lie, that there are no jobs. The Joad family continue their journey and hope that they will somehow find work along the way. The Joad family leaves their first migrant campground in a rush after a conflict between Tom and an employer. Casy takes the blame for Tom and is arrested. They find another migrant camp in which to stay and are given a job to pay for their housing. When the Joads finally think that their life cannot get any worse, their employers reduce pay and raise prices in the company store. The conflict reaches its highest point when Tom meets up with Jim and a group of other men about starting a strike and the camp police find them. Jim Casy is killed and accidently kills a cop during the struggle. Tom escapes with a serious wound next to his eye. Ma Joad hurriedly ad dresses Toms wound and sneaks the whole family out of the compound because Tom would be sent back to prison if he gets caught. Even after having to deal with the constant strifes that each camp gives them, they endure. The Joad family finally comes across another migrant camp that is run by the government. They have running toilets and showers, working lights, and better paid jobs. They finally find a place where they can stay and start a new life. After witnessing all that has happened at all the other camps, Tom decides to leave to keep his family safe and so that he can help others achieve social and political justice. The Joads have faced so many complications and conflicts during their journey westward, but they endure all, from low wages to death. The Grapes of Wrath shows that one must withstand and suffer through all of the different obstacles put in his/her way in order to find what s/he is looking for.

Cami Vanderwolf 12/3/13 Blue CAP

Historical Analysis
The Grapes of Wrath takes place during the Depression in the 1930s. The characters travel from Oklahoma all the way to California. The movie was made and released in 1940. Because The Grapes of Wrath was made so close to the time period in which it is set, there are few historical inaccuracies. In the movie, the Joad family encounters troubles with receiving low wages and very high prices. During this time is history the government passed the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which required employers to bargain collectively with union representatives chosen by the workers. This law triggered a boom in union membership, which by 1941 reached 27 percent of the total work force (Joyce E. Salisbury and Andrew E Kersten). The movie was vague about union activity even though unions played a big part during this time period. The movie only suggested that workers needed to unite in order to protect their jobs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president during the time period The Grapes of Wrath took place and when the movie was released. During the time of the Great Depression, between 1929 and 1933 the effects of the economic collapse on labor were catastrophic. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-45) became president [and] he inaugurated the New Deal; many New Deal programs were designed to benefit worke rs (Labor Unionism (Issue) 1999). During this time, to meet the immediate crisis of starvation and the dire needs of the nation's unemployed, FDR established several public relief programs in 1933. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) made direct cash allocations available to states for immediate payments to the unemployed. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) put 300,000 young men to work in 1,200 camps planting trees, building bridges, and cleaning beaches (University of Virginia). FDR had done many things to help the people of the United States so many Americans thought of him as a role model and a savior. Because of this popular belief, John Ford, the director of the film, cast the manager of the government camp to look like FDR because in the film, the camp was supposed to be their salvation and the manager was intended to be like a guardian angel to the Joad Family. The movie portrayed social themes and messages of the Depression including migration, individualism, poverty, and despair.

Cami Vanderwolf 12/3/13 Blue CAP

Part C
Discuss how various cinematographic techniques are used to increase the viewers awareness of the setting, characters or plot development.
The film Grapes of Wrath, cinematographed by Gregg Toland, incorporated a wide amount of film techniques that makes the viewer aware of certain characters, the setting, and the development of the plot. During many scenes in the movie, there is banjo music playing, whether it is just playing in the background or the characters themselves are actually playing it. The folk type of music and the use of such simple instruments gives the viewer a constant reminder that the characters are living in the early twentieth century and that they are in the western states. When Tom Joad and Jim Casy are attacked, Gregg Toland uses distinct hard lighting. Hard lighting is mostly used in dramatic scenes or images. Toland wanted to make the scene feel exposed and real, which is something hard lighting does to a film. The use of hard lighting helps the reader understand that the particular scene was supposed to be very intense and suspenseful. Soft lighting is used when the Joad family meet the manager of the government run camp. The manager was seen as a hero to the Joad family because he was the one who let them stay at the nice government camp. The soft lighting created an unnatural glow around the manager, making him look almost angelic and imaginary; the Joads had been through so many hardships during their journey west, which made the safety and freedom found in the government-run migrant camp seem unrealistic.

Cami Vanderwolf 12/3/13 Blue CAP

Works Cited
"Labor Unionism (Issue)." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale, 1999. U.S. History in Context. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. Salisbury, Joyce E. and Andrew E Kersten. "Reform in the United States, 19201939." Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. American President: A Reference Resource-Franklin Delano Roosevelt. the University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/4>.