The Learning Tree
The Learning Tree is a 1969 American coming-of-age film written, produced and directed by Gordon Parks, who also scored the film. It depicts the life of Newt Winger, a teenager growing up in Cherokee Flats, Kansas, in the 1920s and chronicles his journey into manhood marked with tragic events. Based on Parks' 1963 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, The Learning Tree was the first film directed by a black filmmaker for a major American film studio, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.
Plot
In 1920s Kansas, a group of African-American boys, Newt Winger, Marcus Savage, and friends steal apples from Jake Kiner's orchard, and when Jake (who is white) confronts the boys, he is beaten and left for dead by Marcus, who later is sent to jail for his actions. During the chase of Marcus and the boys, the racist white sheriff shoots dead an innocent black boy crossing a river, and the sheriff is not punished.
More details
| author | Gordon Parks |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Kansas |
| director | Gordon Parks |
| editor | George R. Rohrs |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | boxing match county fair kill left for dead make up new girl in town run away steal win |
| musicBy | Gordon Parks |
| producer | Gordon Parks |
| productionCompany | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts |
| publisher | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts |
| recordedAt | Fort Scott |
| theme | biographical black coming-of-age rape |