Film Review Of The Grapes Of Wrath

For the purpose of this essay I chose to watch The Grapes of Wrath, I have not seen this film previously. The movie is based on a novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The focus of the movie is the Joads family from Oklahoma, a poor multigenerational family affected by the hard times of Great Depression leading to bank foreclosures on their land, as well as the drought and severe dust storms leading to agricultural changes and significant economic hardship. As a result of these circumstances, the family is forced to leave Oklahoma and travel to California in the pursuit of a better life. The elderly of the family did not want to leave their land, on which they were born and raised and this is absolutely understandable and heartbreaking. As the movie progressed it is obvious …show more content…
My parents had to do this at the age of 55. The grandparents in this film eventually passed away while in route to California. It is not easy for elderly to drastically transition from one place of residence/town/city where they feel comfortable and know their surroundings to something that is completely new and different. The journey alone was difficult. This film was very emotional for me, not only from the perspective of the elderly being affected by the economic crisis of the Great Depression, but also the many children and people in general. This movie shined the light onto just how unjust this world was and unfortunately continues to be where the poor continue to be the backbone of civilization while those who are privileged take what they have for granted. One of the focal points of the movie is the importance of family and how that allows one to go on and have a purpose in life. The Great Depression shook the fabric of what American family is and what it means to care for each