Ford's Film The Grapes Of Wrath example essay topic

The Grapes of Wrath During the 1920's the American country prospered greatly. These were the progressive years where the living standard rose, and it was a time of great economic opportunities for what had become a consumer society. 'Most Americans enjoyed a life of unprecedented material abundance and good fortune. This period became known as the seven good years.

The period following was called The Great Depression and was the worst economic decline ever in U.S. history. The recession began in 1929 with the stock market crash and by 1933 it had become a depression that was to last approximately 10 years, affecting all industrialised nations of the world. In the 1930's and 1940's American cinema was one of the most powerful ideological forces in the world. 'One of the most valuable aspects of feature film is that they reveal national moods and much about the society and period from which they are produced' and this is especially true when you look at John Ford's film 'The Grapes of Wrath'. Screened in 1940 towards the end of the period of 'The Great Depression', The Grapes of Wrath presents the viewer with a realistic look at one rural family, the Joads, who represent the story of many migrant families who were forced off their land because of the floods, droughts, mechanization and finally the dust storms and who chased the dream of a better life in California where according to the flyers there were jobs for everyone picking fruit. The film shows the importance of the family unit and their determination to make it through the hard times, whilst maintaining dignity and respect.

Through making comparisons between two camps, Ford is comparing the actions of President Hoover and President Roosevelt towards the depression and he shows the audience how The New Deal gave hope to the American people. It is my intention in this essay to show how the film 'The Grapes of Wrath' portrayed to audiences an ideal similar to that of Roosevelt's' New Deal, being that through determination, perseverance and faith, they too could find solutions and achieve anything. The scene where the tenant farmer Muley's land is being bulldozed illustrates how spread out the controlling corporate system is. Muley is not sure who the villain is because the Caterpillar is driven by another tenant farmer following orders, who also needs money to feed his family. The bank is able to send these agents to do their bidding, showing that a whole system not any particular individual is evicting them and giving tenant farmers no real access to those with power. With so many people needing work, should there be any trouble, replacements were easy to find.

It shows how helpless the situation was for the little person against the institutions that Hoover supported. Hoover believed in the cooperation of business and government to improve production and profits and proclaimed that this would put an end to poverty. However, whilst the private enterprise was surviving it was at the expense of the poorer classes. Ford uses imagery and symbolism to present to the viewer the hard times and the despair faced by the migrant families leaving their homes to find a better life and hope in another place. When the Joads begin their journey, the first camp they enter is a migrant camp, which is overrun with other hungry, jobless migrants with nowhere else to go. This camp lacked any established government control and was in a state of disorder and utter hopelessness.

Ma Joads shared her pot of food with all the children and could not eat herself because she could not bear to see children starving. This scene was a picture of the hopelessness and despair that Hoovers 'do nothing' attitude was creating. Around the country, those who had no homes built similar shanty town settlements that were later to be called 'Hoovervilles', to show their lack of respect towards President Hoover. Hoover believed that it was up to the private enterprises to help sort out the problems of the lower classes by giving them work and maintaining wages. The Joads continue their search for the work advertised on the flyers and arrive at the Keene Ranch, which is another style of Hooverville, run by growers. The growers at the Keene Ranch have advertised for more workers than there is work, putting the migrants in a position of having to compete for jobs, thus allowing the growers to keep wages down.

Hoover 'opposed using federal funds for unemployment relief and insisted that relief efforts remain in the hands of local governments, with supplemental aid from private charities'. At this camp Tom kills the guard that mortally wounds his friend Casy and when he tells Ma of this she accepts that it was something he had to do. However, she doesn't want Tom to leave because it is important to keep the family together. She talks about the family falling apart and how the younger children Ruthie and Winfield will grow up like animals with nothing to trust, and begs Casy to stay and help her.

By the 1932 elections the American people had lost their enthusiasm for Hoover and were looking for someone else to put their trust in. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president in 1932 by a large majority, he began to take measures to repair the society to save democracy itself'. He took office in March 1933 and promised his government would do 'the greatest good for the greatest number'. This shift in government leadership can be seen in the transition of the Joads' from one style of camp to another. FDR had compassion for the ordinary citizens of America and set up several programs to provide relief, create jobs and encourage economic recovery. These programs became known as 'The New Deal', and they changed the allocation of political power from private enterprises to farmers, consumers and homeowners.

Roosevelt was 'more concerned about farmers than workers, in part because of the vast extent of the rural depression. ' The Joads arrive at the Wheat Patch Government Camp and are met by the manager who appears in the film clothed in his white suit and clutching a cigarette holder, who tells them that the camp is owned by the government but managed by the people. They are directed to 'Number Four Sanitary Unit' and are told of the toilets, showers, running water and the dances and schools, etc. The faces on the Joads tell you that they have found a paradise that promoted decency for poor migrants. By interpreting the manager as a symbol of Roosevelt the audience could see that the New Deal did indeed show support and compassion for the common people. This government camp was interested in the ordinary man and showed that all American people were an important part of the New Deal and it also promoted hope for a positive future.

Conclusion Fords film The Grapes of Wrath showed the optimism of the people who were most affected by the depression and stressed the importance of traditional values and how the New Deal would help them recover from past troubles and give them optimism for the future. Hoover, although unsuccessful in his attempts, did try to help the less fortunate by believing his 'trickle down' theory would indirectly support the common man. He did this by supporting private enterprises and not the individual, believing that he could 'feed the sparrows by feeding the horses'. Through his comparison of the Keene Ranch and the Wheat Patch Government camp Ford showed that although the Roosevelt government did not have all the answers it did do something to bring the nation through the worst of the depression and that the New Deal was the driving force behind getting America back to the way of life it held so dear. Fords main message was for the faith and perseverance of the common people who longed for the past amongst the misery of despair. And although Roosevelt had his ups and downs, the people showed their continued support for him by once again electing him to office for a third term in 1940.

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