Hindsight

Classic Kids, or 100 films the kids in your life have to see by 13 or else!

Day 55:  The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

The book is a masterpiece, so how could a film even come close?  Well, the book is still a masterpiece, but then so is the film.  Is that a good enough answer?   John Ford stays true to Steinbeck's key themes, and visually tells the journey of the Joads in a thoughtful, layered and respectful manner.  Each of the characters echoes the pain of the depression for so many farmers and their families caught up in the Dust Bowl nightmare.   The characters also reveal the courage and persistence of the American farmer, so there is this hope underneath the Joads journey to California.   Jane Darnwell as Ma, and Henry Fonda as Tom Joad are both fantastic, but so is the supporting cast of John Carridine, and Charles Grapevine.  Stand out scenes are the Caterpillar Tractor demolition, Tom Joads last speech, and the opening moments when Tom Joad hitches a ride home from prison.


Themes:  Dustbowl, farming, labor rights, poverty, migrant workers

Critical Media Literacy questions for kids:  How is the film similar and yet different than the novel?  How did Ford bring a specific visual language to tell the story?