Women In The Film Salt Of The Earth

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The film “Salt of the Earth” (1954) is a brilliant and prophetic film that was based on the actual events that took place during the strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico (Baker 22). What makes this film so remarkable is that it was produced in the 1950’s when women were not respected as equals. Most films of the 1950’s show women as merely appendages or side-kicks to men—not expected to have aspirations of their own. Women, at the time, were expected to be the ideal housewife, maintaining the home and caring for their husbands and children. Even the films and television shows of the 1950’s were made to reinforce the inferior position of women. “Salt of the Earth” was also extraordinary in that it advanced the struggles of…show more content…
“Salt of the Earth” manages to show the plight of the Mexican Americans who work in the mines and the dangers that they endured. While we have seen miner’s plights in other movies, “Salt of the Earth” stands out as it gently intersects the issues of the women and the racial issues. It manages to show the stubborn male point of view by showing the male union members and husbands who are not willing to give the women their rightful respect and voice. It is a testament to the great skill of the writer, director and producers how they handled these complex and pervasive issues of gender, equality and racism in the 1950’s, all in one movie. They showed the quiet power of a revolution brewing among the sisterhood of the Mexican wives. These women spoke for all women of the 1950’s when they wanted basic human rights like clean water and to have their voices head. They were upset and victimized, but they were strong and in their combined strength and community they were able to have their voices heard and they supported their men but also led the way for equality and better conditions for all the families working in the
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