As a Rorschach check you would possibly rewatch two prehistoric black-and-white motion pictures—“Captain Blood” (1935) and “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940)—taking note of the themes of legislation and authorities, of oppression and what to do about it. One is a swashbuckling Seventeenth-century pirate’s story, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland; the opposite is a quasi-documentary melodrama, starring Henry Fonda, heartless bankers, vicious fruit growers and the Mud Bowl. Take into account the 2 motion pictures to be allegories that discover the distinction between MAGA and Woke.
“Captain Blood” captures the essence of MAGA—or, anyway, of MAGA’s barely piratical thought of itself. “The Grapes of Wrath” is a masterpiece of what is perhaps known as sentimental realism, closely laden with Christian and socialist formulations. Ask your self which of the films speaks to your coronary heart. The train—a go to to American fantasies from the time earlier than Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been born—is perhaps fascinating preparation for deciding how one can vote within the November elections.
