Join us on Friday, January 26 at the screening of The salt of the earth (Salt of the earth), a 1954 drama film made by a team of blacklisted Hollywood filmmakers, about the plight of exploited Mexican-American workers.
The salt of the earth (Herbert J. Biberman, 1954)
The salt of the earth tells the story of a group of Mexican-American miners and their fight to improve their working conditions and achieve equal pay with their non-Chicano colleagues. It is also the story of the miners' wives, who take the reins of the strike when their husbands receive a court order prohibiting them from continuing. They will be the ones who bravely maintain the protest, while they will be forced to take on the domestic chores of their homes. It is a plea in favor of collective resistance and the fight for dignity and change. It is a unique film, not only because of its subject matter, a strike led by Latino families in the United States in the 1950s, but also because of the complexity of its characters. The film brought three-dimensional and profound Mexican-American characters to the big screen, and put the working struggle of a group of miners at the forefront. However, the true heroines of the story are the miners' wives, led by Esperanza, played brilliantly by Rosaura Revueltas.
The film is directed by Herbert J. Biberman, produced by Paul Jarrico and written by Michael Wilson, all of whom were blacklisted at the time of its production. This was to be their great film project, when they still hoped to be able to overcome the fierce limitations imposed by the witch hunts in Hollywood. The truth is that the simple fact that they managed to complete the film is somewhat miraculous, considering the enormous difficulties they had to face: the hostility of Hollywood, government harassment, threats and violent acts by armed and violent locals. even the deportation of the film's star, Rosaura Revueltas. Despite all this, the result is a fascinating piece of cinema, independently produced, shot in the unique landscape of New Mexico, pro-labor rights and pro-communist; in addition to its multicultural and feminist character, before these terms were popular. It is currently a cult film and in 1992 the United States Library of Congress selected it for its National Film Registry.
Join us on Friday, January 26th for a screening of Salt of the earth, a 1954 drama film by a team of blacklisted Hollywood film-makers, about the plight of exploited Mexican-American workers.
Salt of the earth is a drama that follows a group of Mexican-American miners in their fight for improved safety conditions and pay equity with their Anglo-American counterparts. It is also the story of the miners' wives, who courageously step in when the union's picket line is met with a federal injunction, making the men take up domestic chores while the women picket. It is a story about community-based resistance and the struggle for dignity and change. It is a film unlike any other, not just because of its plot – centered around a strike led largely by Latino families in the 1950s – but also because of the depth of its characters. This film brought well-developed, three-dimensional Mexican-American characters to the big screen, as well as the plight of blue-collar workers. However, it is the women who share their lives who are the true heroines of the story, led by Esperanza, played by a magnificent Rosaura Revueltas.
The film was directed by Herbert J. Biberman, produced by Paul Jarrico, and written by Michael Wilson, all of whom were blacklisted at the time. This was their grand film project, made when they still had hopes of breaking through the fierce constraints of the Hollywood witch-hunt. It is nothing short of a miracle that it was completed considering the monumental odds it faced: Hollywood's hostility, government harassment, threats and interference by local, armed vigilantes, and the deportation of its star, Rosaura Revueltas. The result is a fascinating work of cinema, independently-produced, pro-labor and pro-Communism. It is multicultural and feminist in character, long before such terms were common, and it was shot on location in the rugged landscapes of New Mexico. It is now a cult movie and was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1992.