Role Of Women In The Movie Salt Of The Earth

1028 Words3 Pages

Salt of the Earth In the early 1950’s America was on the cusp of great change. The fight for equal rights for minorities and women was just over the horizon, a movement that would explode in the 1960’s creating lasting social change within the United States. The miners of Zinc Town, USA, and their families, were a part of this movement. The miners, who were largely of Mexican descent, felt that the working conditions were unsafe and not on par with that of Anglo’s employed at different mines. The miners wives tolling day after day without sufficient plumbing and proper sanitation, felt that their issues were just as important and should be included in the demands of the miners union. Salt of the Earth (1954) looks at the miners strike through …show more content…

In many ways the movie was ahead of its time. The idea that wives were and should be treated as equals to their husbands was still new in the 1950’s. The change in the relationship between Ramon and Esparanza parallels the changing roles of women within marriages, in the decades since the movie was made. In the beginning Ramon is the perfect example of a 1950’s traditional husband, he wants to support his family from the outside and let Esparanza handle the kids and the home. Esparanza fulfills her duty as the traditional wife, and she works very hard. Esparanza and her husband are at odds throughout the film, over what role they each should be playing within their family and in the community. Ramon becomes a leader to the other men, he wants to fight hard for their safety in the mines, however when it comes to his wife and the other women in the community, their needs are not as important. Esparanza and the other women have plans of their own, they lobby the union to include their demands for adequate plumbing and sanitation. At first Ramon forbids her to participate in these activities, he believes her place is at home, and fears for her safety. When the strikers are told that they must stop picketing or go to jail, the women take it upon themselves to continue the strike. Ramon is still unable to let her be his equal, and fight …show more content…

Blatant discrimination against African Americans and Hispanics was the norm in the 1950’s in many parts of the country. The miners are fighting for the same rights as the Anglo or white miners, who are safer because they are able to work in pairs. The company uses the fact that the miners were minorities as an excuse to not take them seriously. They think that they are lazy and would give up on the strike easily. At one point the company men say the Mexican miners are like children, and should be treated that

Show More
Related

  • The Day The Cowboys Quit Chapter Summary

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    An employee strike might seem like a modern technique but it’s moderately, if not fully, based on an actual event in Texas in 1883. This book illustrates the importance of the changing political, social, and economic factors that shaped this country. It shows the devastation that comes with it; people defying and protesting the change that contradicts from their way of living. It also brings out the importance of economic laws and barriers that prevent large businesses from yielding too much power and exploiting the public. The novel not only has some of the elements of western fiction, rich and big against the poor and small, justice serving at the end, and the main protagonist wearing the heroic sheriff’s badge but also brings a great deal of recreation, intuition, and exhilaration. It also provides moments of bonding and congregation as the degradation by big ranchers made the cowboys join together and do the inconceivable – go on a strike. It has an unexpected turn of events from a quarrel over cow brand to a gripping courtroom

    Read More

  • The Centralia No. 5 Mine Explosion: A Failure in Public Administration

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    All levels of protection for the miners failed them. Every agency that was entrusted with their safety had other concerns as priority. Mr. Scanlan submitted true and honest reports of violations over a long period of time but never went that extra step to enforce the law. State authorities should have acted when the initial reports were made. The Union membership was at risk and yet the Union never represented Local 52 nor gave it support when it tried on its own to get state assistance with their grievances. Politics and profit motivated elected officials appointees and the coal company.

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Film 'Forbidden Planet'

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    Forbidden Planet (1956), directed by Fred Wilcox, is the first science fiction film to take place on an exoplanet. The film is about a military class vessel and crew dispatched to investigate the status of a scientific exploration team on a planet in the Altair system. The captain and crew of the investigating team is surprised to find only one original crew member remaining on the planet; furthermore, the investigators find out that all the other crewmembers of the science team were viciously attacked and killed by a mysterious, unseen entity. Many elements present in the film inspired later films and shows that were of a space exploration, science fiction type. The inspiration is strongly visible in Roddenberry’s Star Trek series. One of the most interesting facets

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Women Miners In The English Coal Pits

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the gradual advancements of society in the 1800’s came new conflicts to face. England, the leading country of technology at the time, seemed to be in good economic standing as it profited from such products the industrial revolution brought. This meant the need for workers increased which produced jobs but often resulted in the mistreatment of its laborers. Unfortunately the victims targeted were kids that were deprived of a happy childhood. A testimony by a sub-commissioner of mines in 1842 titled Women Miners in the English Coal Pits and The Sadler Report (1832), an interview of various kids, shows the deplorable conditions these kids were forced to face.

    Read More

  • The Ludlow Massacre: The Battle Of The Colorado Coal Strike

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Colorado Coal Strike from 1913 to 1914, one of the largest losses of life was the Ludlow Massacre, or sometimes referred to as the Battle of Ludlow, on April 20, 1914. Colorado was the epicenter for mine-related violence in the West. From 1913 to 1918, the United Mine Workers of America launched a full-scale unionization campaign by sending forty-two organizers to the Trinidad coal mine located in Ludlow, Colorado. Ludlow was the largest tent colony in Colorado and a major source of tension during the Colorado Coal Strike. Strikers were asking for better wages and pay for “dead work” (unpaid work necessary for maintaining workable conditions), an eight-hour workday, the right to elect their own checkweighmen, the right to choose what resources they buy and use, and the enforcement of the Colorado Mining Laws.

    Read More

  • Out Of This Furnance by Thomas Bell

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.

    Read More

  • Labor Right with John L. Lewis

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    Labor’s rights, this issue have been bothering many worker since the 19th century and can still be a problem today. As John L. Lewis has said in his speech “I repeat that labor seeks peace and guarantees its own loyalty, but the voice of labor, insistent upon its rights, should not be annoying to the ears of justice or offensive to the conscience of the American people” (John L. Lewis), which under his words meant that labor is something that can be done right and peacefully but it needs rules and benefits that come with those rules which labor asks for and when labor asks for those rules and benefits it shouldn’t be taken like some annoying kid’s demands but more as something that needs to be done and done with a right mind set. Labor today consists of a man or woman going to work, working their hours, and finally getting paid for those hours at the end of the week, at least a minimum of $7.50 an hour (United States Department of Labor), but before it wasn’t like that before many workers would get paid very poorly even thought they would work for a lot of hours and they wouldn’t get benefits from their work or safety when working such as in the mines like the mine workers, but one man stood up for them and his name was John L. Lewis (John Llewellyn Lewis, Encyclopedia).

    Read More

  • FIGHT IN THE FIELDS: CESAR CHAVEZ

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though, this is a fictional book, it tells a true story about the struggle of the farm worker to obtain a better life for themselves and their families. There are two main themes in this book, non-violence, and the fight for dignity. Cesar Chavez was a non-violent man who would do anything to not get in a fight while they where boycotting the growers. One, incident in the story was when a grower pulled out a gun, and he pointed it at the strikers, Chavez said, “He has a harder decision to make, we are just standing here in peace…” The picketer were beaten and put in jail before they would fight back and that is what why all farm workers look up to Cesar Chavez , along with his good friend Martin Luther King Jr. Non-Violence is the only way to solve anything. The growers in that time did not care about their workers, if people were striking, the growers would go to Mexico and bring in Braceros, mean that they would not have to sign the union contract and not take union workers, who were willing to work if the grower would sign the contract.

    Read More

  • Organized Labor Union of the late 1800s and its Impact Today

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... were left unprotected and abandoned by the unions. How is it that the unions can demand labors lose months of wages, be subject to labor blacklisting and ultimately sacrifice their lives without any protections for the strikers and still claim success? They can’t. If anything, the Pinkertons who dispersed the crowd did more to help the worker, by reopening the Homestead, than the union had done. Thus, the unions were an utter failure in furthering the position of the laborer, as the laborer was better off before hand. Before unions the laborer had their life, as many died in failed strikes, and their dignity, as society at least held an intrinsic value in their lives. However, unions succeeded in decimating any chance of advancement by tarnishing the reputations of all laborers, leading to a direct decline in the socio-economic position of the blue-collar worker.

    Read More

  • Day Of Destruction Days Of Revolt Analysis

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many different ways to resist an injustice but finding the most effective way can be challenging. Once the right way of resistance is found the only thing to do is stay adamant with your ideals and continue to fight. Using these modes of resistance will not fix anything in a day. But, need to have a strong support system to help maintain the ability to fight against the higher power. Without a strong support system any type of resistance will automatically be shut down due to the fact that corporations always find ways to make any labor cheaper and create more profit. In the text it states on page 141 and 142 Rudy says, “The mines had changed in other significant ways. The United Mine Workers of America had triumphed in its struggle to unionize the miners at the Gary operations by the early 1940’s.” At the end of it he says, “It was the best thing that helped in the coal mines.” Rudy was treated poorly for a majority of his life as a coal miner and stuck with the cause, which lead to everything falling into place over time. And to say it again, it did not happen overnight, but with persistence and dedication the miners found a way to receive compensation for their life of hard

    Read More

  • Chinese Workers In Westward Expansion

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the word “gold” is thrown around such news travels far and fast. This caused people from all areas of the world to flock thousands of miles during the Westward Expansion period in efforts of going from “rags to riches” to obtain the American dream. One particular group of laborers the Chinese went to pursue a dream in the west by working on the transcontinental railroad system. This paper will reveal experiences and discriminationsthat Chinese laborers faced while working on railroads during the Westward Expansion era in hopes of overcoming poverty.

    Read More

  • El Movimiento Analysis

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    The video “La Raza de Colorado: El Movimiento” and the exhibit “El Movimiento” at UNC’s Michener Library chronicle the struggles and triumphs of Mexican Americans in Weld County and throughout the state of Colorado. Visitors of the exhibit can see different graphics and pictures posted on the walls depicting many of the important events such as the protests against Kitayama farms in the 1960’s which aimed at improving working conditions and pay, especially for women. Not only were farm workers being exploited, but factory workers lacked appropriate conditions as well, to help with this, several groups such as United Farm Workers, Brown Berets and Black Panthers organized a united front in order to launch strikes and boycotts against offending farms, factories and businesses which oppressed and exploited minority workers. Another source of dissent was the Vietnam war. Minority groups felt that White America was waging a war against colored

    Read More

  • Misrepresented In The Film Bread And Roses

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    Maya comes to the United States with hope and promise of a free and prosperous land of opportunity, and instead is met with the harsh reality of Corporate America. In the history of California, Latinos, African Americans, and other non-Caucasian people have been exploited under the industrial boom that was currently taking place in the country, and have been throughout time left with jobs unwanted by white men and wages far below the living standard. This film does a great job of putting the viewer in the shoes of these unfairly treated people and opening our eyes to the injustices done to them, and what inequalities still remain today. The company Maya and Rosa work for, Angel, cleans the many floors and offices of a building in downtown Los Angeles, all while being paid under the minimum wage set by the Fair Labour Standards Act. They have no defense against these unfair conditions, and salaries because they are illegal immigrants, and will be deported if they argue or complain to their employer, just like the old lady Teresa who was fired for arriving late, which typically wouldn’t have been to someone of Caucasian background. Maya and Rosa have differing opinions about unionizing and argue about whether its worth risking their job, and

    Read More

  • Female Gender Role In Viramontes Under The Feet Of Jesus

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cleofilas, must endure the hard labor of her husband’s temper and if she doesn’t take on both gender roles for example: housework, caring for her children, and the outside duties of the home, she suffers the consequences of her husband and the beatings. Juan Pedro, Cleofilas husband is just like society in this situation, he doesn’t think twice about laying a hand on his wife. Whereas, in Cleofilas situation, society doesn’t want to get involved and will place the incident “under the rug” they don’t want to be asked questions, by the husband or the

    Read More

  • The Inequality Of Mexican Americans In The Film

    380 Words  | 1 Pages

    The film illustrated the inequality of Mexican Americans who were fighting to live in a more equal world where whites aren’t seen as superior and having a higher class. It depicts the struggle of daily living and the unfairness towards Hispanics who should be treated as significant as whites because they had the right. Mexican Americans lived in the cruelty of the elite race even when they risked their lives in WWII. Many individuals fought to protect their loved ones at home and essentially the whole country, in hopes of coming home to a change that would benefit their lives. Ultimately, they were let down, they came back only to find everything untouched and the same. Thus, resulting in some influential impacts that progressed them to make

    Read More

More about Role Of Women In The Movie Salt Of The Earth

Open Document