#158 The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

I will admit my ignorance of all things literature, but I can at least say, because of +Leslie Roskovich, that I have read one of John Steinbeck's novels: Of Mice and Men. That is not to be confused with the amazing Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. He is known for telling the story of the poor and forgotten. The Grapes of Wrath follow around a poor family from Oklahoma during the Great Depression. This story is apparently a timeless classic, but I don't know if they story itself is timeless or what the story is attempting to get across. When I watched this, this movie felt dated. I know that seems obvious because it is so old, but it was something different. This movie seems to assume that you lived through the Great Depression (which seems to be an ok assumption for a movie in 1940). There were many things going on in the movie that I was confused about. One that stuck out was police searching the vehicles when they crossed state lines. Was that something that occurred often or just during the depression? Anyways, I think this movie is excellent for understanding the Great Depression. The story is uninteresting. It doesn't have much of a coherent story and there is no central point to the movie (unless you consider general wondering a central point which is a fair argument), but that doesn't mean it is a bad movie. Normally the police are the good buys, but to poor, the police were the conniving people and the federal government were the benevolent. It explores what people with no options had to do to survive. It explores company collusion, worker's rights, and even hints at communism; that is the beauty of this movie because the themes and ideas of this movie explores the classic struggle of the poor.

"Seems like the government's got more interest in a dead man than a live one." -Joad

Have you seen this movie? What did you think?

What movie should I watch next?

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