Surviving the Dust Bowl

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Surviving the Dust Bowl (1998)

Directed by Chana Gazit

Documentary · 55m

In 1931 the rains stopped and the "black blizzards" began. Powerful dust storms carrying millions of tons of stinging, blinding black dirt swept across the Southern Plains — the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, western Kansas, and the eastern portions of Colorado and New Mexico. Topsoil that had taken a thousand years per inch to build suddenly blew away in only minutes. One journalist traveling through the devastated region dubbed it the "Dust Bowl." This American Experience film presents the remarkable story of the determined people who clung to their homes and way of life, enduring drought, dust, disease — even death — for nearly a decade. Less well-known than those who sought refuge in California, typified by the Joad family in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," the Dust Bowlers who stayed overcame an almost unbelievable series of calamities and disasters.

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Cast

Crew

Director
Chana Gazit
Writer
Chana Gazit
Original Music Composer
Michael Bacon
Editor
David Steward
Producer
Sharon Grimberg, Susan Bellows, Chana Gazit

Details

Release date
1998-03-02
Runtime
55m
Genres
Documentary
Original language
EN
Spoken languages
English