A Comparative Critical Analysis of Stagecoach(1939) and The Grapes Of Wrath by John Ford.

John Ford pioneered the western genre by portraying beautiful visual imagery of the vast American landscape and thus allowing viewers to use their subconscious to establish the fabula of a narrative. In addition, at the beginning of Stagecoach (1939), Ford indicates the Monument Valley, which appears in all its splendor. Furthermore, the vast space is shot in long shot, a traditional technique of an establishing shot, and the stagecoach and Calvary move through the land at the beginning of the narrative. Furthermore, the light sky appears in harmony with the land expressing that travel with the stagecoach is a salvation and the land is the representation of freedom of travel and the conquer of the new American land. However, the setting is also cast in silhouette and uplifting non digetic music fades into music which is reminiscent of Native American Indian Music. The non digetic music creates a negative overtone and influences the audience to realize that the land is not free from danger and the obstacle of American progress is the Apache Indians.

Furthermore, within The Grapes of Wrath Ford uses the historical context of the Dust Bowl to connote chaos of agriculture. Additionally, the silhouette land and unfertile crop illustrated as Tom Joad and the ex-reverent walk together, in medium shot signifies ominous mies en scene. There is the physical change of the land and the climate that has affected the workers crop and it is strange to see that farmers are not using the land. Therefore, the audience believes that the climate is to blame. However, to audience members with knowledge of the 1930's, the silhouettes signify a state of change socially for the farm workers of America and Ford illustrates through the hostile pathetic fallacy that the farm workers industry is dying, like the land. However, the verbal association with the social change and the idea of the depression and industrial change are not directly portrayed until the farm workers flashback at the old Joad household.

The scene before the stagecoach arrives into the town of Tonto indicates the fabula through short verbal speeches spoken by the Calvary men. The officers are in a medium shot, in the same space, expressing all the character expressions of disapproval of the Apache's, representing that the Native Indian take are the threat to the freedom of the American people. The name Geronimo'

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