Sullivan’s Travels is a film about a director who wants to make a film about modern reality. During the course of his research, his travels, Sullivan winds up going to the movies a couple of times himself. In one scene he is annoyed by the escapism of the film, yet later when he suffers he begins to see the value of escaping reality for a little while. Yet, therein is the irony. While the character in the movie learns the value of using the movies to avoid reality, the movie that depicts this revelation displays the reality of the poor and suffering. In light of this, what is the message of the movie? What do you think? Here it may be helpful to consider the parts of the film that cross “genre lines”—slapstick comedy, romantic comedy, realistic drama (quasi-melodrama), and the like.