The movie Salt of the Earth was the most controversial motion picture to ever be produced in Hollywood. Short in 1954, the movie’s script was written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. The three had been blacklisted in Hollywood for their involvement in Communist Politics. The movie was based on the true-life story of striking miners in New Mexico. The miners and their families were the real actors who had participated in the 1951 Zinc Miner’s strike in New Mexico. The movie highlights the difficulties that the Miners encountered while trying to defend their rights and oppression. The Movie Salt of the Earth acts as a historic tool that helps to identify the effects of the Cold War and Labor Unions.
The movie was produced when Communism and Labor Movements were at their peak of formation (Lorence 54). This is evident in the movie where there was the formation of the Labor Movement to unite the miners. The movement acted as a platform where they would air out their grievances. The mineworkers were downing their tools in protest for the poor working conditions they encountered while being manipulated by their employers. They demanded good working gear, better salaries, and sanitation. Their pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears and this brought the aspect of Communism in the land. The outcome provokes the women and children to join in the strike.
The onset of a more rampant strike led to the exchange of gender roles where men had to stay at home doing domestic work while the women were in the front line at the pinked. This is after the court gives the miners two options of either losing their jobs or being taken to jail for conducting the strike. In the movie, it is evident that the writer was very keen on portraying the theme of feminism. The wives of the mineworkers were at the fore front in the strike. They emphasize equality to their men. This allowed them to bring forth their grievances. They demand better housing, sanitation, and equality among the races. This is a lesson to learn on the history of the formation of the labor movement how women came to be a member of the Communist and other Unions.
The class between the poor and the rich, races, and residence of a person is also evident in the movie. This is also an aspect that led to the politics of the Cold War and the formation of Communist and Labor Movements. Segregation was everywhere in the working environment, schools, and even in social gatherings (Foner 67). In the movie, there is well illustrated where the miners were Mexican Americans while their bosses belonged to the other class of Americans. Race defined the position one held in a particular working condition. In this case, the miners who are Mexican were the ones to have the riskiest job of being miners.
In conclusion, the movie Salt of the Earth is full of metaphors where the miners are the Communists who see themselves as being undermined and manipulated. To be able to fight for their rights they have to form labor groups to unite them and hence be heard. Despite the movie being a true-life story of the New Mexico Miners, it contains detailed information on how Communism, Labor Movements, and Cold War Politics started. The movie becomes a vital tool in learning the history of the early day’s politics and movements in the United States. How solidarity of the people helped them to shape their lives despite the circumstances that surrounds them.
Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Give me the liberty: An American History. Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Norton and Company 2004. Print.
Lorence. J. James. The suppression of salt of the earth. How Hollywood, Big Labor, and Politics Blacklisted a Movie in Cold War America. New York: University of New Mexico Press 1999. Print.