Role Of Women In The Movie Salt Of The Earth

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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

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