So an interesting The Plow That Broke the Plains<\/i> is, a rather boring short documentary film but some interesting takeaways and phrases. Shot in 1936<\/a>, this film documents what happened in the Great Plains region of the Midwest when new agricultural farming eventually led to the Dust Bowl. It was written and directed by Pare Lorentz<\/a> with some interesting music selections from Virgil Thomson. I will come back in a little to the music subject but first some commentary on the effectiveness and overall message of the film. Overall, it seems to succeed in delivering the message of the seriousness of the problem caused in the Great Plains by the misuse of land. Using pictures and film of the Plains, the classic documentary explains the over-cultivation and how mixed with the drought brought about the Dust Bowl throughout the Midwest. To understand a little better you can read Price\u2019s blog post on the readings for class. He explains what the film shows through images in which profit maximization, Plains capitalism and Gilded Age failures mixed with the Midwest drought directly led to the Dust Bowl. But, do not think so fast; don\u2019t worry folks- the US government is on the scene to help! Much criticism seems to mention the poetic manner in which Lorentz\u2019s documentary style uniquely captures the essence of the New Deal 30\u2019s.<\/p>\n There were some cool phrases and scenes I thought deserved just to be thrown out there as sort of funny and interesting: \u201cPioneer came to the Plains,\u201d \u201cMake way for the plowman,\u201d The great day was coming\u2026 day of profits,\u201d and the scene where there is a back and forth comparison between the US battle tanks in combat and the new plow machines rolling over the lands of the Midwest.<\/p>\n However, in my opinion the most influential subject to mention was the music. In my mind, the music was rather amusing and clich\u00e9d. Supposedly, a famous film score, Virgil Thomson seems to constantly have upbeat, popular clich\u00e9 songs playing in the background with scenes of the problems depleting the Great Plains are playing in the background. I\u2019m assuming that at that time getting a sound crew to travel all across the plains to shoot people talking and sounds of the lands was rather expensive or impossible so Thomson made the score himself. It is pretty funny to listen to the numerous folk songs and religious sounds playing to the pictures of dry lands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So an interesting The Plow That Broke the Plains is, a rather boring short documentary film but some interesting takeaways and phrases. Shot in 1936, this film documents what happened in the Great Plains region of the Midwest when new agricultural farming eventually led to the Dust Bowl. It was written and directed by Pare … <\/p>\n