Riding the Rails Worksheet PDF

Preview

Summary

Professor Pliley, Hist 1320...

Description

Dr. Pliley Motion Picture Analysis Worksheet: Lucas Naquin – hist 1320 Step 1. Previewing A. TITLE OF THE FILM: Riding the Rails (PBS: American Experience, 1998).

Step 2. Post-viewing (or repeated viewing) A. What is the central message(s) of this documentary? The central message of this documentary was the reputed romanticism of the road and rails along with the deterrent legacy of the Great Depression. The Great Depression forced millions of Americans, mainly children, out of their homes and onto these trains and railroads wanting the see the world, in search of food and housing. The filmmakers produce the experiences and aching recollections of these now-elderly survivors of the rails, who lived to tell their stories. The film goes more into depth as to describe the myths of a hobo existence along with how they lived, traded, and survived along the rails. B. What types of primary sources did the filmmaker use? Filmmakers Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell interviewed 10 different people who train-hopped as teens during the Great Depression. Each person’s story was a different primary source, who used first person information to tell a story about their past lives. These oral interviews are the main type of primary sources used when making this film. C. Consider the effectiveness of the film in communicating its message. As a tool of communication, what are its strengths and weaknesses? When watching this film, I felt the strengths when communicating its ultimate message was the use of actual individuals who road the rails. That is the most effective way to communicate to an audience, using actual people who can sit there and tell their story to the world. I thought the narrator also did a good job of filling the audience in on what some of the videos were and giving background information on every topic. Some weaknesses were the quality of some of the videos. I know that much of the film was from many years ago, but the picture quality could have been better. All in all, a very informative film that portrayed its message throughout. D. How do you think the documentary filmmakers wanted the audience to respond?

1

Dr. Pliley The documentary filmmakers probably wanted the audience to respond with sympathy towards the millions of people who hopped on these trains, looking for a way out of their boring, worthless lives just sitting at home poor. Often the only way these people could get anywhere was by hopping on a freight train illegally. Hopping on these trains were extremely dangerous, moving at a fast speed, it was easy to be slung off and killed. Finding food was a constant problem for these people; Hobos often begged for food at the local markets.

E. Does this film appeal to the viewer's reason or emotion? How does it make you feel? Yes, I believe the film does appeal to the viewer’s reason and emotion. This film takes interviews and information from real people who actually road these trains, trying to make a better life for themselves during the Great Depression. There were cases where children would walk into the bar at a restaurant and ask the owner if they could work in the back for a meal. If the owner denied them, they’re hope would be that someone wealthy at the bar would ultimately just pay for their meal. These kids lived day by day, meal by meal just trying to make it in society. This film made me feel blessed for the lives we live today and appreciate more of the little things in life that we sometimes take for granted. F. List two things this motion picture tells you about life in the United States during the Great Depression: The motion picture tells us just how hard life was in the United States during the Great Depression for almost everyone. Teenagers frequently rode the rails, trying to cope with the ravages of unemployment. The film is not just about the adversities of riding these trains, or living in shanty-towns as hobos, it was also about the romance of the railroads. For many young people, the trains were an escape from their normal routine lives of small-town life. They saw this life as an expression of freedom and independence. Everyone who road these trains were basically apart of a family because they all shared the same interests and were on that train for the same reason most of the time. G. Write a question to the filmmaker that is left unanswered by the motion picture. After watching the motion picture, I thought to myself wondering how those people are doing now or how they ended their lives. They all went through so much during the Great Depression, unlike any of our generation today, so I wonder how they made their living after all of that. They have overcome so much and learned so many lessons on

2

Dr. Pliley not to take anything for granted, so I would love to see how they are doing today. H. What information do you gain about the Great Depression that would not be conveyed by a written source like your text book? Be specific. We gain a lot of first-hand primary evidence from this film, watching real interviews with actual people from this time who made an impact. Each person they interview gives their entire story during the time, using real life day-to-day examples of some things they would endure. For example, one man said if you weren’t careful enough on top of the trains, you could be flung right off and never seen again. When the trains would take turns at such high speeds and a person was standing upright, it could be incredibly hard to stay on. All in all, we gain a lot more meaningful information hearing it from primary sources themselves, rather then just reading out of a textbook.

3...