Dixie - In Memoriam
New member
I will begin by saying, I am an old movie buff, I love to watch old movies and also like to research my favorites, to learn more about the movie itself. Movies are part of our cultural history, and often reflect social consciousness of the times, and more often than not, from a more 'liberal' perspective. Some of the greatest films of all times, are steeped in Liberalism, Socialism, and outright Communism, but it is done in such an artful and compelling way, we sometimes don't even notice. Such was not the case in 1940, with my first movie review.
Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Modern-day Conservatives need to watch this movie again, if you haven't recently. It's uncanny how similar the 'theme' of the movie is, to the left-wing message of today. We begin with the Joad family, being 'kicked off' their land by 'the company.' (i.e. evil corporation) Then we progress through their plight to California, where they hope to pick fruit for a living, led by the 'prodigal son', Tom, who has been paroled from prison, although his friends and family insist he 'busted out' of jail. Tom is constantly harassed and harangued by 'the man' throughout the movie, always in his business, always telling him what to do, where to go, asking him for his name... "It's still Joad," he (Henry Fonda) sarcastically replies. The poor old Joads just want happiness and peace, an honest days work for an honest days pay, a place to call their own. But it's the evil company, and those 'bosses', the cops and authority, who continue to stand in the way and prevent them from having those things. We get the full-on dose of starving kids and dying old people. It seems so eerily familiar, doesn't it?
It's almost like Micheal Moore could do a "remake" of Grapes, and instead of it being the Joad family from Oklahoma in the 1930s, it could be the Peterson's from Ohio in the 2000s, getting laid off by the factory who sent their jobs to China, and "the man" keeping them from recovering, sending them on an exodus to the South, where mean old rednecks make them work in the cotton fields and live in dirt-floor shacks, for minimum wage! Poor kids don't get no government-provided lunch at school... poor old folks don't get no government-provided health care... kids just starve and old folks die, and "the people" just move on.... (as Ma Joad might have said it.)
It's interesting to look at the perspectives in this movie, and contrast it with today. So many problems that were just too insurmountable to overcome as people, day in and day out. The hardships and indignity these people endured, and still lived on. Much of what the big 'beef' in Grapes was about, was the unionization of labor. That was the leftist political message, that we needed serious labor reform in America, and honestly, at that time we probably did need some. However, the consequences of what we chose to do, largely as a result of things like this movie, was to place labor on a pedestal, above reproach, and untouchable. We've gotten everything Tom Joad ever wanted and more, but it's still not enough, is it? And this is where you need to remember this movie is over 70 years old, about a time nearly a century ago in America.
I picked this movie as the first in a series, because I think it most appropriately illustrates the intent of the thread. Hollywood has blessed me with a plethora of options for review, and I will try to make this a regular feature here at JPP.
Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Modern-day Conservatives need to watch this movie again, if you haven't recently. It's uncanny how similar the 'theme' of the movie is, to the left-wing message of today. We begin with the Joad family, being 'kicked off' their land by 'the company.' (i.e. evil corporation) Then we progress through their plight to California, where they hope to pick fruit for a living, led by the 'prodigal son', Tom, who has been paroled from prison, although his friends and family insist he 'busted out' of jail. Tom is constantly harassed and harangued by 'the man' throughout the movie, always in his business, always telling him what to do, where to go, asking him for his name... "It's still Joad," he (Henry Fonda) sarcastically replies. The poor old Joads just want happiness and peace, an honest days work for an honest days pay, a place to call their own. But it's the evil company, and those 'bosses', the cops and authority, who continue to stand in the way and prevent them from having those things. We get the full-on dose of starving kids and dying old people. It seems so eerily familiar, doesn't it?
It's almost like Micheal Moore could do a "remake" of Grapes, and instead of it being the Joad family from Oklahoma in the 1930s, it could be the Peterson's from Ohio in the 2000s, getting laid off by the factory who sent their jobs to China, and "the man" keeping them from recovering, sending them on an exodus to the South, where mean old rednecks make them work in the cotton fields and live in dirt-floor shacks, for minimum wage! Poor kids don't get no government-provided lunch at school... poor old folks don't get no government-provided health care... kids just starve and old folks die, and "the people" just move on.... (as Ma Joad might have said it.)
It's interesting to look at the perspectives in this movie, and contrast it with today. So many problems that were just too insurmountable to overcome as people, day in and day out. The hardships and indignity these people endured, and still lived on. Much of what the big 'beef' in Grapes was about, was the unionization of labor. That was the leftist political message, that we needed serious labor reform in America, and honestly, at that time we probably did need some. However, the consequences of what we chose to do, largely as a result of things like this movie, was to place labor on a pedestal, above reproach, and untouchable. We've gotten everything Tom Joad ever wanted and more, but it's still not enough, is it? And this is where you need to remember this movie is over 70 years old, about a time nearly a century ago in America.
I picked this movie as the first in a series, because I think it most appropriately illustrates the intent of the thread. Hollywood has blessed me with a plethora of options for review, and I will try to make this a regular feature here at JPP.
