Interstellar: 20 Easter Eggs & References You Need To See

19. The Dust Bowl & The Grapes Of Wrath

The film opens with video interviews with real people recounting their experiences of the Dust Bowl which is killing off humanity - thanks also to a blight epidemic that is wiping out crops - two of which are taken from Ken Burns' 2012 PBS film The Dust Bowl. That film shows twenty-six survivor accounts, offering a morality tale for humanity's relationship with the Earth - the underlying moral message of Nolan's film. The third of the three accounts comes from Exorcist star Ellen Burstyn, who is revealed at the very end of the film to be Cooper's aged daughter. Thanks to Nolan's aesthetic and the design choices that strip away any futuristic elements, there's a distinct recall to The Grapes Of Wrath - a very obvious narrative (but not generic) cousin of Interstellar.