Angry Fruit

Regarding what appears to be Doug Englebart's assertion within Larry Press' article on Marshall McLuhan:

"We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us."

In researching a paper about THE GRAPES OF WRATH this summer, I stumbled upon a number of references to the challenges of bringing socially conscious film work to mass audiences. Previously the sole territory of the documentary, socio-political content in filmmaking had only just begun creeping into what used be "pure entertainment" with such vehicles as GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) and THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940). This change in what was being presented to the viewing audience was much discussed in the media. The question was "who's shaping whom"? [The questions IS "Who's Zoomin' Who?" if you're Aretha—–or Katie Couric earlier in the week.] Was the changing tide in American society/consciousness influencing movie producers in their choice of subject matter? Or was the film industry affecting national sentiment? Some writers concluded at the time that the film industry was REFLECTING BACK what they perceived was on the population's collective mind. I propose that this mirror allowed the public to understand that their feelings were justified, thereby paving the way for further evolution. And perhaps TOGETHER we all moved forward.