Not Too "Keen" about This Job
By Karen Timmerman, with comments by Erin Meinert and Heather Camperson
[1] The scene in Ford's The Grapes of Wrath in which the Joad family is entering the Keene Ranch in order to find work is one that instills in the viewer the sense that the Okie migrants were often treated as subhuman by California's residents and were taken advantage to such an extent that the Okies are almost on opposing sides.
[2] The Ranch is swarming with police officers and officials, walking around carrying rifles and clubs, refusing to answer anyone's questions. Their overwhelming presence leaves a sense of helplessness for the Joad family, whose questions as to what all of the fuss is and what exactly is happening are all answered with a curt "None of your business." Even their actions are intimidating, an officer banging the door of the Joad's vehicle with his club and barking out "hold it, Bud" to get Tom to stop. There is a lack of courtesy and friendliness from the officials; they do not seem happy to be providing so many helpless families with work; they act more like they are herding along livestock.
[3] In addition to the presence of the abundance of law enforcement, the road leading to Keene Ranch is lined with hundreds of grim-faced Okies watching the procession of families with all of their belongings piled into their vehicles. The scene opens with a wide shot of the Joad family approaching the ranch surrounded by families on all sides, with cops on motorcycles in the middle. The silent stares of the crowd, along with the sirens and police presence leave an ominous feeling for the viewer. When Ma wonders what could be happening, Tom Joad replies that he does not know, and tells her "I don't like it. . . . These are our people." Something is clearly not right with the situation, but the Joad family is not going to cause enough trouble to find out because they may ruin their lucky chance to get a bit of work, to be able to earn money to feed the family.
[4] As the Joad truck drives closer to the gates of the ranch, the scene is shot from the point of view of the three Joads in the cabin of their vehicle. The audience sees what they see: a subdued, unsmiling crowd of people just like them, all staring and leaving the Joads to wonder what could possibly be going on. At one point, a man pushes through the crowd and starts to heckle the Joads, standing in front of their truck and screaming "scab!" before getting dragged away by the police. (see comment by Heather Camperson) However foreboding, it does not stop the Joads, because whatever risks they may be taking, it is a necessity to make money picking peaches in order to feed their large and increasingly hungrier family. (see comment by Erin Meinert)
[5] By using a camera angle that uses the Joad's point of view, the audience begins to feel with the family, filled with the same apprehension and doubt, yet knowing that the Joads must press on for their own survival. The viewer wonders who all of these other Okies on the sidelines are, and why they could be looking at their own people with such stone-cold expressions.
[6] Once inside of Keene Ranch, the camera angle pans back, and you see the policemen closing the gates on all of the Okies on foot outside, barring them from entering. Children quickly crowd up to the gate, clutching the metal wire with their hands and gazing after the Joad family with expressions of longing. When it is later learned that the Okies outside of the gate were on strike for higher pay, and the Joads and their companions were being used as "strike-breakers," one views the situation with disgust at how greedy and unfair ranch owners could be in this time. They took advantage of the situation, not caring that families were starving, and children were dying after traveling across the country in hopes of jobs that may not even exist. They played with the Okies, knowing that if some refused to work, there would always be another wave coming to break the strike; there would always be families to pick peaches for ridiculously low wages.
[7] Ford uses this scene to paint a portrait of the helplessness of the Okie families in the face of the rich ranch owners who have the help of the local law enforcement to get them what they need. The road lined with grim-faced Okies on strike brings a chill of apprehension to the Joad family and the viewer as they approach the ranch, and the presence of a considerable number of armed police and guards just serves to amplify this. Instead of leaping at the chance to help their fellow Americans to settle down, to help restart the lives of the poor folks who have been uprooted from their homes, the Californians take advantage and belittle their own comrades, their own fellow citizens.
Comments
Karen, this particular sentence illuminated another scene for me within the film and reminded me of the common ground of desperation that all the Okies shared. Just as the Joads were willing to do whatever was necessary to provide for their family, the other Okies were also in the same resolute position. They had no food, no money, and were eager to sign up for any paying job that would put food on their tables. In the beginning of the movie, Muley was approached by one of his neighbors who had been paid to bulldoze his home and take his land. Enraged and disheartened, Muley looks to shoot his fellow farmer for his threat until he eventually gathers that he is only doing so because he was paid to drive the bulldozer and he also has a family to provide for. The poverty and desperation that the Joads experienced at the peach-picking farm was not unique to their family but rather a commonality among all of the Okie farmers, such as Muley's neighbor, which further illuminates the severity of this event.
Throughout this film we see how easily the police are able to silence the Okies, specifically the people who are on strike outside of Keene Ranch. Timmerman writes that the man who screams “scab†is “dragged away by the police,†which brings us to question how the police became so powerful? I think Timmerman could expand upon her statement here about the power of such a small group compared to the Okies, who easily doubled in size. The fear that is instilled in the Okies is enough to keep them subdued and powerless. At what cost, however, will people continue to be beat down? We see that both grandma Joad and grandpa Joad die on their journey to California, but when, though, is enough really enough? In many cases, it takes a leader to stand up to injustice. If one person can begin the fight against cruelty, then maybe people will band together and not be afraid to also partake in a fight for their rights. The Grapes of Wrath touches only lightly on this idea through the character Tom Joad. We see him develop as a potential leader through his “I’ll be there†speech to his mother, where he says, “I’ll be all around in the dark. I’ll be ever’-where-wherever you can look.†However, the film in general does not illustrate much of a fight by the Okies. Further, the film almost ignores violence all together; when Tom Joad punches a policeman after the cop shoots an innocent women, all Tom does is run away. This scene, as well as many others, does not leave any satisfaction for the audience who are craving to see the Okies fight against the unjust Californians.
