John Steinbeck, The Forgotten Village

Michael J. Meyer (DePaul University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1941

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Cinema/ Film/ TV
- Screenplay

Resources

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Filmed in the village of Patzcuaro, Mexico, this semi-documentary film/ book grew out of an invitation Steinbeck received during the early months of 1940 to participate in a project with the documentary filmmaker, Herbert Kline. Kline’s intent was to depict the truth regarding the primitive nature of native Mexican / Indians, and both the film and the book seem to suggest that their actions were both backward and dangerous since the natives routinely let superstitions and folk remedies take precedence over advanced medical knowledge, a decision that would ultimately cost a number of young lives in the isolated small villages who were unaware of the scientific progress that urban residents enjoyed. Primarily, the script grew out of Steinbeck’s concern for the health of the natives he…

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2174 words

Citation: Meyer, Michael J.. "The Forgotten Village". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 August 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=819, accessed 25 November 2024.]

John Steinbeck, The Forgotten Village

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