Trouble with attempting to learn history through movies—even great movies—is that they throw NO light on causes. “Sergeant York” promotes the preposterous notion that WWI had something to do with fighting tyranny. “The Grapes of Wrath” throws NO light on the causes of the Smoot-Hawley-Hoover-Roosevelt-Federal Reserve Depression.
It is certainly true that Sergeant York doesn’t really teach much of anything on why the war happened or why the U.S. got involved. It does, however, present a snapshot of how it was sold to the nation.
These were great feature films, not documentaries. I doubt people would be watching The Grapes of Wrath much if Henry Fonda had a long monologue about the Smoot Hawley bill, lol!