Struggles for Dignity: A Comparative Study of Social Inequality in 'Laila's Brothers' and 'The Grapes of Wrath'

Both Laila’s Brothers (2022), directed by Saeed Roustayi, and The Grapes of Wrath (1940), directed by John Ford, offer powerful depictions of economic hardship, social inequality, and the resilience of the human spirit. While rooted in vastly different cultural and historical contexts — Tehran’s urban environment in the case of Laila’s Brothers and America's Great Depression for The Grapes of Wrath — these films share a common theme: the struggle for dignity amidst the pervasive forces of poverty and social injustice. By focusing on the lives of two marginalized families — Laila and her four brothers in Tehran and the Joad family in the U.S. — both films emphasize the dehumanizing effects of economic systems and the profound resilience of individuals who resist oppression despite overwhelming odds. In Laila’s Brothers, the narrative revolves around the Laila family, consisting of Laila and her four brothers, whose lives are shaped by an oppressive patriarchal structure and the weight of societal expectations. As the family struggles to survive and assert its dignity, they are confronted with the economic hardships inherent in urban Iran, where traditional values and modern challenges collide. Similarly, in The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads, an impoverished family of tenant farmers, are forced to journey westward to California during the Great Depression in search of work and a better life, only to encounter harsh realities that reflect the failure of the American dream for the working class. This article compares Laila’s Brothers and The Grapes of Wrath through the lens of naturalism in cinema, with a particular focus on the theme of social inequality. Both films portray the intersection of poverty and family dynamics within systems of economic oppression, ultimately illustrating how societal forces constrain the individuals’ pursuit of dignity. Through an analysis

Struggles for Dignity: A Comparative Study of Social Inequality in 'Laila's Brothers' and 'The Grapes of Wrath' Keywords:

Social Inequality , Laila's Brothers , The Grapes of Wrath , Naturalism , Cinema