What would Steinbeck think of America today?

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2011)

Growing up in a comfortable suburban community, I had the option of reading John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" in an English class. I wish I had. But I'm not sure I would have fully grasped its significance. Now that America is in a modern equivalent of the Great Depression, some 80 years later, I can fully appreciate Steinbeck's work.
I have nothing against capitalism, but what is portrayed here is not capitalism, it is naked, ruthless greed destroying the lives of countless people. While the details have changed, the greed we see today is the same, and even more faceless and insatiable.
This movie is not just a story, it is a lesson about the need for compassion for our fellow Americans and human beings, a lesson that desperately needs retelling today.
In 1960, John Steinbeck traveled around America in a pickup camper to research the book that became "Travels with Charlie." The Steinbeck who saw the horrors of migrant labor camps portrayed in "Grapes of Wrath" did not like what he saw Americans had become in 1960, especially the racist "cheerleaders" of New Orleans. He was so demoralized he eventually cut his trip short and headed for home.
I wonder what Steinbeck would have thought about Americans today, especially the politics? I think John Steinbeck would weep.
This is a movie that every American should watch, especially if you are living in a comfortable suburb insulated from the pain many of your fellow Americans are experiencing today. This is not a comfortable story, but it is one you need to see, and probably will be glad you did see, unless you are one of the 21st century robber barons.