Week 17 2011-12

Week 17	Class work	Homework
Monday (Print out syllabus and turn in by Tuesday at beginning of class for 100 points extra credit).	Vacation	Vacation
Tuesday	Grapes of Wrath Finish Screening of Grapes of Wrath ·      To analyze the effects of the Dust Bowl on tenant farmers by using a visual document. ·      To analyze the film "The Grapes of Wrath" as a "cultural document" of its time. ·      To view film critically by using a film guide to explore techniques and visual treatment of the migrant experience.	Read pp.369—372 Complete Questions 1-5 And Vocabulary Study Review definition of THEME. Paul Laurence Dunbar Extra Credit: Draw a series of masks that illustrate the faces you wear for different occasions.
Wednesday	Test of Grapes of Wrath	Read Stephen Crane pp 373-376 Do Activity 1-6 on p.376
Thursday	Dunbar Discussion and vocab quiz	Read Reading a Painting pp.385 Write a 1 page double-spaced typed ART review. See ART REVIEW ACTIVITY p. 385
Friday	Crane Discussion and vocab quiz	Read El Corido de Gregorio Cortez by Americo Paredes,My heart feels like bursting by Satanta, and Gold Mountain Poems pp.397-399  Do Activities 1-5 and Vocabulary study pp 404

RE River Valley Lyrics and Woody Guthrie You Tube

Red River Valley
arranged and adapted by Arlo Guthrie

From this valley they say you are going
We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That has brightened our pathways awhile

CHORUS:
Come and sit by my side, if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
Just remember the Red River Valley
And the cowboy who loved you so true

I've been thinking a long time, my darling
Of the sweet words you never would say
Now, alas, must my fond hopes all vanish
For they say you are gong away

Do you think of the valley you're leaving
O how lonely and how dreary it will be
And do you think of the kind hearts you're breaking
And the pain you are causing to me

CHORUS
They will bury me where you have wandered
Near the hills where the daffodils grow
When you're gone from the Red River Valley
For I can't live without you I know

CHORUS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM54-ZRd-9k

Dust Bowl Ballads

Dust Bowl Ballads

Lyrics:  Woody Guthrie "Ain't Gonna be treated this a way"

I'm a-going down this old dusty road
I'm a-going down this old dusty road
O Lord God
And I ain't gonna be treated this way
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/w/woody_guthrie/aint_gonna_be_treated_this_way.html ]
I'm a-going where the dust storms never blow
I'm a-going where the dust storms never blow
O Lord God
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

My children need three square meals a day
My children need three square meals a day
O Lord God
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

I'm a-looking for a job and honest pay
I'm a-looking for a job and honest pay
O Lord God
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Further 2009 Version of Woody Guthrie


2009 Furthur Version

Historical Background on The Great Depression and the Arts

Historical Background on The Great Depression and the Arts The 1930s marked the worst economic collapse experienced by this nation. Unemployment peaked at nearly 25% and hovered above 15% throughout the decade. Many a "forgotten man" disappeared into the Depression. Wavering confidence in the nation's political and economic institutions called for bold experimentation and compelling leadership. Although Roosevelt's New Deal measures never brought the country to complete recovery, government activism that produced Social Security, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), direct relief, labor reform, work projects, housing, and agricultural subsidies was unprecedented. Many saw Roosevelt as a savior who genuinely cared about the American public. To them, his voice over the airwaves gave reassurance that the values defining the American political experiment and cultural identity would prevail. Under the New Deal, the notion of work expanded beyond the construction of roads, bridges, dams, and buildings. Government patronage for the arts inspired creativity, provided entertainment, and promoted American culture. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) became the New Deal's largest employment agency. Under the WPA the Federal Art Project, the Federal Writers' Project, the Federal Theatre Project, and the Federal Music Project employed thousands of artists, writers, actors, film makers, musicians, and dancers. Other government agencies also supported aesthetic endeavors. The Resettlement Administration (RA), later absorbed by the Farm Security Administration (FSA), produced documentary photographs, and the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture commissioned post office murals. Not only did this New Deal for the arts put Americans to work, it also celebrated American workers, the nation's history, its talents, and its diversity. Arts projects did not necessarily ennoble ordinary lives, but these lives became the subjects for plays, interviews, murals, and photographs, producing a documentary record of how the Great Depression affected them. Like other New Deal remedies, however, the arts programs endured controversy. Critics charged that these programs were wasteful, amateurish, or that they flagrantly promoted the New Deal agenda and radical politics. At the same time, independent artists such as John Steinbeck and John Ford, who found creative inspiration in these socially conscious times, came under fire from forces who saw their work as leftist dogma disguised as art. However, the America that wasn't on the breadlines generally embraced the trend by artists to record the American that was. And even those who eked out a living on government relief sometimes found it possible to listen to the radio, go to the "pictures" (movies), enjoy "the funny papers," or read popular fiction from the Book-of-the-Month Club. The New Deal had its weaknesses. It failed to alleviate the protracted poverty of migrant workers and urban poor, and either excluded or restricted access to relief agencies by racial minorities and women. Roosevelt's "court packing" scheme threatened to undermine the system of checks and balances. Even the Keynesian experiment of deficit financing, which fueled the successful war economy, resulted in reliance on government spending as policy, rather than careful application of deficit spending as an emergency action. Nevertheless, at a time when fascism seemed to some like the most expedient solution to economic crisis, the New Deal proved that capitalism and democracy could adapt and survive.

50 Film Segment Questions: Grapes of Wrath

Film Segments and Focus Questions

 Muley's Story: "The way it happened..." (5 minute 35 seconds)

1. What laws might Muley be referring to when he says, "The law that done it"?

2. How does Muley determine ownership of the land?

3. What is particularly discouraging about the failure of the tenant system?

4. What is the effect on you (the viewer) of the (a) dramatic lighting used in this segment? (b) the image of Muley's family's shadow cast upon the land? and (c) his touching the land?

5. What do you notice about the conditions of the land?

Ma Reminisces on the Eve of Departure (1 minute, 40 seconds)

6. What is the effect of conducting the entire scene without dialogue?

7. What items does Ma keep, and what does she discard?

8. If you were reading this scene instead of watching the film, how might you construct Ma's "inner dialogue"? (In other words, what would be Ma's thoughts and feelings?)

Departure (7 minutes)

9. Why do you think Granpa suddenly resists leaving for California when originally he couldn't wait to leave?

10. How do the Joads' eventually get Granpa to go on the trip? Give examples in this scene of the Joads' resourcefulness, tenderness, generosity, intelligence and forbearance.

11. What is the significance of Route 66 being called "the Mother Road?" 

12. How does the camera work suggest movement and the passage of time?

Granpa's Death and Burial (3 minutes, 30 seconds)

13. What is the significance of Granpa's clutching the soil before he dies?

14. How do the Joads' try to give Granpa dignity in death?

15. How does the lighting in the film symbolize Granpa's death?

16. What is the significance of Casey's statement, "I'd pray for folks who's alive"?

Transient Camp Scene (4 minutes, 5 seconds)

17. Why would Woody Guthrie's song "Ain't Gonna Be Treated This Way" be chosen for the film?

18. Where are other migrants from?

19. What irony do the Joads encounter at this camp?

20. What lessons of supply and demand are evidenced in the lament of the man returning from California?

Rest Stop and Restaurant Scene (3 minutes, 45 seconds)

21. How are the Joads treated by the gas station employee?

22. How do the Joads try to maintain dignity despite their poverty?

23. How does the waitress's attitude soften towards the Joads? Why do you think it did? Why does she tell Pa that the candy is "two for a penny"?

24. What illustrations of compassion are evidenced in this scene? How is Burt's kindness "repaid"?

At the Arizona Gas Station, Crossing the Desert, Granma's Death (7 minutes)

25. What comparisons to the Okies does the gas station employee make?

26. How does this disdain for the Okies' way of life encourage others towards them?

27. What is ironic about the description of the Okies in contrast to Ma's care for Granma as she dies?

28. How do the California inspectors treat the Joads after Ma insists that Granma is ill? Why does Ma lie to them?

Hooverville Transient Camp (5 minutes)

29. What is the effect of allowing the jalopy's anguished motor to provide the only sound of the Joads' arrival?

30.  What is the effect of the roving camera's eye while specters of human beings pass by the car in almost slow motion?

31. What theme is illustrated by Ma's willingness to share the family's leftovers with the starving children in the camp?

32. What is the effect on the viewer of having the camera linger over these faces? Is the camera a neutral narrator in this scene? Explain.

33. How are the authorities depicted in this scene? Why would the contractor accuse a worker of being an "agitator" for asking to see the contractor's license?

34. How does this scene illustrate the continuing theme of generosity and resourcefulness—as well as the irony of "wealth" among the indigent?

35. What is significant about the "supply and demand" lesson delivered by the "agitator"?

36. How does the policeman's statement, "Boy what a mess them .45s make" reflect the film's view of law enforcement?

Keene Peach Ranch (20 minutes)

37. How is the camera's eye used to convey the Joads' apprehensions and confusion as they enter the ranch during a strike?

38. What seems ominous about this scene and Tom's statement, "These are our own people"?

39. Why are the Joads called "scabs" by the strikers?

40. What do the background sounds of sirens and dogs barking suggest in this scene?

41. What are the economics lessons being taught in this scene?

42. Why would it appear that Casey continues to take risks and make sacrifices?

Arrival at Wheatpatch * and Tom's Departure (23 minutes)

43. What seems to be the reason why the Wheatpatch Camp differs from the other camps?

44. Whom does the camp director resemble? (Note to all: You may recognize the FDR likeness in the camp's director, dressed in white pants and sweater.) Why might he be given the title "caretaker" in the film credits?

45. Why would Tom shut off the running faucet?

46. By the end of the film, what lessons relate to the American political climate of the 1930s? 

47. What was occurring in 1940 that might have made this film more of a political statement than John Ford intended.

48. What is the tone or the feeling of the final scene? 

49. What do you think was the director's intention by having Ma say, "We're the people that live" followed by a wide shot of a procession of migrants' jalopies?

50. What message does the film convey about the role of government in helping the needy migrants? * In the novel the camp is Weedpatch, the movie refers to the camp as Wheatpatch.

General Questions for Film Viewing

General Questions for Film Viewing

1. What are some of the examples the film uses to communicate the values of family and of community?

2. How does Ma Joad keep her family together? How does she care for the "family of man"?

3. How does the film express hope, despite despair?

4. How does the film reconcile American values of rugged individualism with collective strength?

5. How is visual or dramatic irony used in this film?

6. What are some of the examples used in the film to portray the following?

Labor unions/organization vs. business

Women and men

Local, state, national government

Law enforcement

7. How does the director use the following film techniques? Comment on their effects using specific illustrations.

Shadows and silhouetted lighting

Tight camera shots

Music and other sound effects

Special effects

Absence of dialogue

Reactive shots or reactive characters

8. Is the film a historical record of the Depression era or a romanticized "docudrama"?

Week 16 Welcome Back

Week 16	Class work	Homework
Monday (Print out syllabus and turn in by Tuesday at beginning of class for 100 points extra credit).	Review Final Exam Topics Grapes of Wrath Discussion Vocabulary from the Grapes of Wrath http://www.vocabulary.com/lists/25187 Denver Post: Captured America in Color: 1939-43 http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.asp	Write a 1 page reflection oh the Denver Post photographs: Captured in Color http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.asp
Vocabulary Irony Tone	Grapes of Wrath ·      To analyze the effects of the Dust Bowl on tenant farmers by using a visual document. ·      To analyze the film "The Grapes of Wrath" as a "cultural document" of its time. ·      To view film critically by using a film guide to explore techniques and visual treatment of the migrant experience. ·      Read Film Synopsis ·      Review Timeline	Grapes of Wrath Answer quests 1-5 of Film Questions
	Begin Film	Answer questions 6-10 on film
Thursday	Continue Film
Friday	Finish Film	Answer Film Segments and Focus Questions Timed Essay Exam on Monday on Grapes of Wrath