The Grapes of Wrath: The Ghost of Modern America

In April 1939, "Grapes of Wrath" entered the pantheon of literature with a bang. Americans are at loggerheads over the odyssey of the Joad family, tenant farmers from Oklahoma who, like thousands of others, were driven from their land during the Great Depression. Eighty years have passed since the famous work was published, and 90 years since the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929. To mark this occasion, the documentary examines the genesis of the novel, its themes, its renewed reception during the financial crisis of 2008.

Cast

Denis Podalydès

Denis Podalydès

as Reciter (voice)

Gavin Jones

Gavin Jones

as Self, professor, Stanford University

Susan Schillinglaw

Susan Schillinglaw

as Self, professor of English, San Jose State University

Marie-Christine Lemardeley

Marie-Christine Lemardeley

as Self, professor of English literature

Pap Ndiaye

Pap Ndiaye

as Self, historian

Delphine Coulin

Delphine Coulin

as Self, writer

Sharon Garrison

Sharon Garrison

as Self, former resident of Arvin Farm Labor Camp

Dale Gibson

Dale Gibson

as Self, former resident of Arvin Farm Labor Camp

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck

as Self (archive footage)

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