The More Things Change...

Rating: Null/10 (21 February 2002)

The amazing thing about this film, besides the acting, script, directing, lighting, etc., is how clear it is about class exploitation. The sharecroppers are being kicked off their land, but no one seems to at fault. When the company man is questioned he says, "It's not my fault, I'm only doing what the bank tells me to do." Farmer: "Well, I'll go to the bank." Company Man: "Well, it ain't his fault. He's just doing his job." Sharecropper: "Well, whose fault is it?" "Brother, I wish I knew." So, the first principle of exploitation, still present today, is to make the source of economic misery unlocateable. How is this achieved? Well, for one, politicians are in the service of the wealthy, but they also appear to be working for somthing called the "American People." A President like George W. Bush is obviously working for only the richest 1% of the people who live in the U.S. but he constantly looks for ways to appears to be working for the entire population. He said: "My economic security policy can be summed up in one word: Jobs." And then he proposed a budget that cut job training across the nation. The second principle of class exploitation clearly outlined in The Grapes of Wrath is that owners will always try and undercut wages by laying people off and throwing people out of work. The Joads are told they'll be paid 5 cents a box of picked peaches, and then the next day this is cut down to 2 1/2 cents a box, and because there are starving people all around, they can get away with this. This is still in effect today. The wealthy class needs economic misery to keep wages down of ordinary people--this is why no state in the US pays a living wage of at least 11.00 an hour. People actually have jobs for 6.50 an hour with out health care in this country! There is no way that the great economy of Clinton could be sustained with a Bush in Whitehouse--which is exactly why it plummeted so fast after Bush stole the election. I find The Grapes of Wrath to be the boldest Hollywood film ever made. And in the end, when Henry Fonda starts putting 2+2 together, realizes that there is systematic exploitation of poor working people, there is a light in his eyes, a presence beyond the boundaries of his physical body: "I'll be there..." and by the end of film, we have made the journey from the scared individual all alone and helpless (Muley--who recounts the destruction of his farm) to Tom Joad's realization that the 97% of us without much of anything have to stick together to beat the remaining 3% of the wealthy who have politicians in their pockets and control the media. It is Henry Fonda's portrayal of this growth of Tom Joad that makes him the best actor around who could have pulled off such a change. Bravo!!!