Film Analysis: The Grapes Of Wrath

A lot of classical movies in Hollywood connect the content of the films to the reality of the status quo. In the early 30’s, after two industrial revolutions, technology has improved rapidly. It leads to excess labor costs. Big companies had been established, but unemployed people became more and more. In Oklahoma, the bulldozers of big companies destroyed hundreds of families’ houses. The farmers who lived on the land for five more decades had to leave this land in order to survive. This movie is about the director’s desire to criticize the party who lead to the Great Depression and feel pity for the working class. In the movie The Grapes of Wrath, the representative figure are Tom’s family and friends, they left their home to California

for surviving because they know California’s vineyard need workers. But things go contrary to their wishes, they kept drifting from place to place and did not get a stable life.
This movie adapted from the writer John Steinbeck’s novel. This movie is a classical movie in narrative form. The main plot is Tom Joad who had just left prison returned to his home and met former pastor Jim. They found Tom’s family at Tom’s uncle’s house and they decided to go to California to get more job opportunities. Due to local farmers were forced to leave the land by order from the capitalist. On the way, Tom’s grandmother died. They found a place and settled down. But Jim was killed and Tom also killed people for Jim. They had to find a new place to settle down.
This movie is not short and it has four segments.

The first segment is the beginning of the story and it narrates Tom’s family prepare to leave their land. The second segment narrates things happened on the way to California. The third segment narrates things happened in California. The fourth segment narrates life in government camp and tom’s leaving.

The title of is movie is The Grapes of Wrath. In the Bible, ‘Grapes’ represent the people of Jesus. Jesus saw himself as a vine and the people who followed him were the foliage of the vine. So in this movie, ‘Grapes’ represent homeless people who have to leave their living land. There is one scene that grandfather wanna sit on the grapes and squeeze out the grape juice (John, 1940). This is an important symbol that the working class is seen as a basket of grapes and the capitalist pressure on their body, squeeze their labor force and the surplus value.

This film is a black-and-white film with the dark theme. Its aspect ratio is 4:3. It uses low light to express the theme. At the very beginning, a man walked alone on the road. The photographer uses wide-angle lenses and deep focus shooting to make Tom’s face look like not good. It also shows the empty of the city with the pleasant land and the low sky (John, 1940). After Tom came in the old house, he hold a lit candle and reminisced about the past. The light made Tom’s face like ‘Grapes of Wrath’. The light on Tom’s face is from bottom to top and hard light on his

side face. And the light in his eyes shows the perseverance.
The reflection of reality in social problems which we still face today in the social class struggle. When they were driving the car, the camera is shaking and the camera movement adds a sense of realism to the shot. Jim’s death reminds Tom of Jim’s advice. Jim was killed by the police. Tom began to wanna fight for the equality of poor class. This idea is reinforced with hazy camera focus when Tom figured out.
This movie also emphasizes the positive of the middle class. When they could not afford to buy food, some gas station clerks or store’s clerks ridicule them of these poor, rustic Okies. But there are also kindly clerks will sell them expired food cheaper. But it also shows the selfish and cruel of the poor class. Many camps have occurred stealing and looting. This movie exposes some realities of life in poverty but it still stays idealistic with the classical movie style. This is because the director changed a little plot in the novel. He made the plot more idealistic. The plot is after Jim’s death, Tom killed the police for revenge. More serious theme need more artistic camera work, the lighting is used to create shadows on people’s face that help reinforce the sadness.
There is sound added to the scene. When Tom asked the farmer who appeared in his house why people leave their land, they heard the wind sound. The farmer said the wind blow again, it blew away the land, blew away food and now it will blow away the people. In this scene, the wind represents the people who destroy their house and occupy their land. This expressed people's helpless. Also, when the farmer talked about why they have to leave, it appeared a word which is the bulldozer. In this scene, bulldozers fill the whole screen and it shows the power of people who occupy their land. Then the farmer talked about how his house was destroyed, the scene shows the indentation of the bulldozer on the ground and people’s shadow with no rock. It may express people have no ability to fight just like the land and the people who occupy their land just grind them like the bulldozer. Meanwhile, this film shows the farmer’s memory by narration interspersed with flashbacks.
Furthermore, at the very beginning, when Tom found his family in Uncle John’s house, there comes sound which is laughing. Before they saw Tom, the laughing sound shows the wish to their future life in California. Then Tom’s mother watched outside the screen, we will know she must find something. The shot moves, that place stand Tom and Jim. After they saw Tom, the laughing sound shows the happiness that Tom come back home. But with the sound of car horns, they laughing sound stopped. It means something bad may happen. Everybody watched outside the screen and we will know it must be someone driving the car there. When they arrived the the nice camp, their fear and desperation which are expressed by dark light changed to happiness which is expressed by bright lighting and the object cherry. The scene has changed. Children played and have fun. They found there is a dancing party every week. When dancing music rings, it means the party is underway.
In this movie, it highlights the mid-western arid dust bowl scene, and it makes people feel the background is under the recession. And the background music from Red River Valley could reinforce the feeling of the scene.
In this movie, there are two people it emphasized on. One is Tom’s mother. She buried two old men by herself and say goodbye to Tom. She becomes strong because she still has the responsibility to gather and maintain the family. The light focuses on her when she said to her husband in the end. She said the ability of a woman to endure the pain is stronger than man. A man is leaping, and a woman is a steady stream. The scene shows her belief which is being alive. The second people is the main character, Tom. He left the prison and suffer this long way trek. In the end, the death of Jim made him thoroughly realized. The poor people need to resist and struggle for better life. In the movie, his mother asked him where they can find him, he answered, ’Where the poor fight for stomach, where the police beat the poor, where there is me.’ Tom represent a spirit of this movie. So the function of this art is to provide society with a focus on their social conditions.
In addition, the pastor Jim is also an important character in this movie. His advice and death make Tom realize what he should do. In the very beginning, When Tom first met Jim, Jim said he was inspired by god and very royal to his career in the past. But after he was found to lure the female believer and drink, he left the church. This movie put his words at the beginning of this movie. It is used to hint that this is the factor he later became the Communist Party. In order to get the equality for the poor, he leads the strike because the capitalist only depresses their wages again and again. Though he died in this struggle, but his death aroused more people realized. He is like a beacon and lit up more people forward the road.
There is also a positive scene in this movie. A waitress in the coffee bar made the audience feel warm. When John’s family wanna buy bread, she sold the bread and two sugar with no profits. The shot focuses on her face and we may see her psychological changes.
Also, about the distance, when Tom met their family again, their distance became small. And when Tom said goodbye to his mother, their distance became far and his mother has been looking at his back. This expresses his mother mood which is reluctant.
The Grapes of Wrath uses the appearance and end mode of western movies. Starting with the arrival of the main character’s role. Tom walked slowly from far away. Ending with the back shadow at dawn.
The Grapes of Wrath gives the realistic perspective of irreconcilable conflict between small farmers and capitalists.

Joad family was forced to leave the land by an old dangerous trunk. All people up and ties look like no gas with some necessities of life. On the way, we can hear the ‘bang bang’ sound which made by these necessities of life. It expresses how dangerous the trunk is and indicates their future life will stumble. After the death of grandfather and grandmother, they have no jobs and kept driving on the road. In this scene, there is only their car driving on the road and everyone’s face look like tired

extremely.
At last but not least, this movie uses the expressionist approach and romantic atmosphere to express. And It shapes farmers’ miserable life and strength by the perspective of Tom’s family. And the director focuses more on how farmers live in this environment than the conflict among farmers and capitalists. The movie connects its plot to the reality of the status quo and reflects poor people’s spirits by lots of film techniques such as acting, lighting, camera movement and music.