Salt Of The Earth: A Miner's Life

The Chicanos in Earth’s Zinc Town fight against discrimination in order to obtain their civil rights that should be afforded to them by the Constitution. Racism experienced in Salt of the Earth is much more prevalent and more openly expressed than it is in Honor and the American Dream.

The vignette “Beautiful and Cruel,” conveys the impact it has on Esperanza. In this vignette, Esperanza feels that she is “an ugly daughter” and “the one nobody cares about” (Cisneros 88). She does not need, or want, a man to lead her life, unlike the women she knows. She does not need, or want, a man to make decisions for her. Unfortunately, she still feels the pressure to look gorgeous and stunning: “Nenny has pretty eyes and it’s easier to talk that way

Don Seigel’s 1956 film “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” shook many viewers with its brutal imagery of an invasion, a take over, that was almost impossible to differentiate from the normal behavior of society at that time. Neighbors would be completely normal one day, go to sleep, and wake up where “everything else is the same, but not the feeling” that those close to them had come to recognize. Wilma, a desperately worried niece of a recently ‘Snatched’ citizen, can feel the difference all too well in her family members. The film was able to terrorize the hearts of so many watchers due to its ability to hit so close to the situation many of them were experiencing at that time. The 1950’s were rife with social and political changes, from changes in rights to changes in the political ring of the world. Communism, for example, seemed to be invading the minds of friends and neighbors alike all across the country from the views of American citizens. In fact, it was these bonds of

The 1954 film Salt of the Earth directed by Herbert J. Biberman, is set in New Mexico and is about the Hispanic miners working for Delaware Zinc, a mining company, and the plot of the movie is about how the miners go on strike till they are treated equally the same as the other non-Hispanic miners. The miners’ strike goes on for months and the company decides to hold out on the workers by scaring the old workers with new miners to take their jobs, and during that time the wives of the miners decided to take it upon themselves to put themselves on the frontlines with the men because the women are also fighting for something else sanitation. News gets out about the strike and many supporters send letters with money

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is seen as a true piece of American Literature that presents itself at the core of McCarthyism in the bitter wake of Communists spies inside the United States. In many cases the main character of Abigail Williams is considered secondary to that of John Proctor. However, many years later, Miller writes a screenplay for the 1996 film adaptation starring Hollywood heavyweights like Winona Ryder; who’s portrayal seems to allow the character of Abigail have more room to expand. It is to my opinion that the author does this to present a more rapid and truthful motif that differs from that of the 1950 ‘witch hunt’ for communists. It is shown that the differing aspects of Abigail’s character from play to screen, that Miller’s intention to bring something new to the table becomes evident. In this paper I will figure if this ideal is true or if it is overshadowed by Ryder’s outstanding performance, that Abigail Williams a muted character within the play that differs from the wildly vibrant and headstrong character we see on screen. The author uses this, among other tools, to bring to life a more universal message for the audience to understand and to take with them. In context, entering the 1990’s a golden age of contemporary films, The Crucible stands alone for many of these reasons.

Elia Kazan’s film On the WaterFront and Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible are two works that have always been paired together because of their similar themes. The crucible; written in 1953 replays an awful chapter of American history regarding witch trials and a vengeful town whose greed for revenge led to deaths of many innocent people. The film on the other hand was created in 1954 and told us the story of a man who freed a town from the hands of a mob. These two authors were once close friends but separated because of certain incidents. When Elia gave names of people who were associated in the Communist party; he included Arthur Miller in his list of names and their rivalry started. In return Arthur made this play showing Elia and others testifying false names. After that, Elia made the film to showing how people needed the truth. These two work of arts have one thing in common, moral dilemma. The Crucible and On the Waterfront both display the theme of Moral Dilemma and the consequences following it.

High Noon, the shocking American film from the 1950’s, shines light on the true nature of one standing their ground when the world is against them. This movie was written to represent the Red Scare, when Hollywood members were falsely accused of being communist. These actors were forced to give names of others who they thought were “communists” or else they would be punished. If the “communist” actors gave out names, however, they would be ruining other’s careers. Some of the people refused to give names. Like the Marshall in the movie High Noon, these brave actors stood up for what they believed in. Nevertheless, the other members of Hollywood around were not very willing to support. They were like the townspeople in High Noon. They didn’t want to risk their own reputation and safety. In the film, Zinnemann successfully revealed the hardships of those falsely convicted, and exposed the hearts of those who saw the false conviction, but did nothing about it in order to protect themselves.

April 2000, the largest gypsum crystal in the world are found in Naica Mexico mine’s Cave of Crystals. Crystals can be made in many different ways. Earth can either make them or they can be made artificially. Crystals can be made out of salt or borax. The earliest crystal grower was Earth. For salt crystal the water starts to evaporate the solution of the amount of salt in the glass that it remains the same. There is not enough water left to keep the sodium and chlorine ions from joining together (What Controls Crystal Growth?). Salt crystals are formed. This experiment will conduct of the type of water will affect the growth of crystals.

Salt of the Earth, first shown in theaters March 14, 1954, and was the only blacklisted movie in American history. It was blacklisted because it’s creators were accused of having been involved in communist affairs. It was written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico, and was based off the true story of the 1951 Empire Zinc Company strike in Grant County, New Mexico, where miners went on strike for better working conditions while their wives protested for better treatment in the home. Though it may raise important points, the overall performance is disappointing when compared to the critics reviews.

After comparing and contrasting observations, the discussion could then shift to trying to critically understand the film as a cultural reflection of the period by discussing the historical context. Examining why the American western was so popular to film audiences and producers during the mid-to-late 20th century may help explore whether these films reflected a certain zeitgeist. Some questions that the movies raise are: How does the western reflect 20th century politics? Which 20th century values are portrayed within these films? Do these films help contribute to a consensus of support around America’s status as a

The creators of Salt of the Earth “had a consciousness of radical activism” (Aptheker 2015). Paul Jarrico, Michael Wilson, and Herbert J. Biberman made connections between the Cold War anti-union sentiment and what was happening in the lives of the community at Hanover, New Mexico (Balthasar 353). "Salt fuses the antiracist, anti imperialist sensibility...with the central popular front icon and narrative form- the strike tale. In this sense Salt is not simply an expansion of a 1930s political aesthetic; it is the fulfillment of it” (Balthasar 356). This included thinking about how different forms of oppression impact people. Their final film implicitly critiques the United States’ imperialist policies and treatment of minority groups (Balthasar 355), a dangerous move in the era of high tensions due to the red scare. This, along with affiliations with the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League (HANL) made them targets of the United States government (Balthasar 354). Their careers had been destroyed, since no one wanted to make themselves a target of the U.S. by being friendly with people that were accused of being communists, and their film was blacklisted. The leading actress, Rosaura Revualtas, who had already radically starred in what is recognized as the first lesbian film (Aptheker), also faced punishment for starring in Salt. Though she was here legally, participation in the film was grounds for her deportation. Furthermore, she was banned from acting in Mexico (Aptheker). Clint

The black and white color of the movie is considered exceptionally peculiar for the time of release. But this color choice is applicable as long as the political atmosphere and the time period are concerned. Given that the film took place during the McCarthy era where accusations of treason or disruption without legitimate evidence were practiced, the coloring contributes as a visual element to the general

In 1938 Disney came out with a movie called Snow White. The film featured seven dwarves that had different personalities. One thing they had in common was that they liked to mine. Mining is the removal or extraction of minerals and metals from the earth. In the movie, Snow White, they gave an unrealistic look on what mining really is. They showed that mining is for mythical creatures and that it’s effortless work. Disney isn’t the only one who gave an impractical look on mining. J.R.R. Tolkien is also guilty of this. Mining, especially large-scale mining, isn’t all fun and games. It can be very dangerous for miners and it takes a lot of hard labor. Even though large-scale mining can have good outcomes, it also has multiple effects on the environment and the human race.

Hollywood usually makes films that are attempting to be representative of society at the time, their conflicts, fears, fantasies and other sociocultural factors (Kellner, 2000). Whether audiences agree with that is another case, these films are reflective of what happened in those years. During the 1940s, WW2 was the main issue on the scene but there was also the issue with fascism. There was growing political opposition to Roosevelt and the New Deal, which in turn gave birth to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to find people who were apart of the Communist party (Neve, 2012). The

Salt is a raw material that is located below the surface. The salt deposits are dissolved in the water and then the brine is pumped and converted into salt crystals. When the brine is being boiled the liquid evaporates which leaves salt crystals and then they are later dried. A process like this takes about six weeks and can produce up to 45 tons per hour. After taking out all the scale buildup, only 75 percent of that salt is produced. Then we move to the round can production, which has two parallel high-speed production lines. There are 12 workers for each line and they break off into 2 identical lines. Each line can produce 9600 cans per hour. Because the production process has common procedures, workers on the line perform low-skilled, repetitive tasks that can be operated by 18 workers. These cans are in a shape of a cylinder with a top and bottom. The top part has a plastic pour spout and the cylinder is made from 2 sheets of chipboard. There is a two-step process in cutting the tub and first we cut it into long sections and then they are cut into can-sized pieces. The two sheets are glued together, which keeps the moisture out. The cans are then filled with salt and the pour spout is put in. The cans are then placed in pallets and shipped.