Silkwood's Working Class
[1] Before I begin, I would like to provide some information about where I'm coming from as I look at Silkwood. When I chose this film, I did so in a somewhat desperate attempt to avoid working on a film about war or a biographic film on a male historical figure. Alas, these are the types of films that tend to dominate the historic genre. I turned to Silkwood not as a film about the nuclear industry or a murder mystery, but rather a film about a woman -- not a glamorous woman, but a real woman with flaws. I wouldn't have chosen this film for the nuclear issue alone, as it is before my time and, at least at the onset of the project, I had no real understanding of what the nuclear industry was all about.
[2] Though it has been talked about as an anti-nuclear film, the nuclear theme is an underlying one. (A good question to ask is why this is NOT the main issue.) The way I look at Silkwood is the way many reviewers have; the central issue of this film is the story of the working class. I feel that I can comment legitimately on this issue, as the rural Pennsylvania town where I grew up is not too far from Silkwood's Oklahoma countryside (except geographically, of course). Some of the problems the Kerr-McGee workers have are familiar to me. For example, job security,
…show more content…
They are obedient to their bosses (see my scene analysis), powerless, and without mobility. But they are good, honest people at heart, even the sneering Carl ("Why are you so interested?") and the stern, religious Georgie. They will make sure the union is kept intact but don't want to fight the big fight for better conditions. They want to do what they feel is right, but not necessarily what is a "moral
Hairspray, a John Waters’ musical, demonstrates progressive messages about the expansion of race-based civil rights in the 1960s . Although this is typically the lens through which Hairspray is viewed, this is not the only significant societal shift portrayed in the film. The stories of Edna Turnblad and Velma Von Tussle illustrate the progressive shift of women from “old” gender roles such as being excluded from the workplace to “new” gender roles where women begin taking managerial positions.
In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.
Rebecca Harding Davis wrote “Life in the Iron Mills” in the mid-nineteenth century in part to raise awareness about working conditions in industrial mills. With the goal of presenting the reality of the mills’ environment and the lives of the mill workers, Davis employs vivid and concrete descriptions of the mills, the workers’ homes, and the workers themselves. Yet her story’s realism is not objective; Davis has a reformer’s agenda, and her word-pictures are colored accordingly. One theme that receives a particularly negative shading in the story is big business and the money associated with it. Davis uses this negative portrayal of money to emphasize the damage that the single-minded pursuit of wealth works upon the humanity of those who desire it.
[2] The Molly Maguires were one such labor voice, if perceived this way, one such tribe (both causally and ethnically), and one such milestone, active from the 1860’s to the 1870’s. It is this period in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal regions which the 1970 movie is based. Long before child labor laws, a minimum wage, suitable standards on working conditions, or any form of labor union (the first geographically encompassing the Pennsylvania coal region was the shabbily organized, often squabbling, General Council of the Workingmen’s Associations of the Anthracite Coal Fields founded on March 17, 1869 [Aurand 69]), the Molly Maguires were an active labor force, if one views them as such, or a marauding group of renegades, thugs, and Godless anarchists, if one is persuaded to perceive them in that light.
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
Rogan, Pamela. "Equine Assisted Therapy And Activities." Welcome to Harmony Farms -- Horses for the Handicapped. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. .
As the middle class began to further divide, those who grew in wealth became known as a banking/industrial class. Along with their sudden economic prosperity there came a desire for social transformation- an aspiration for new aristocracy. They carried their traditional middle class values into prominence with their accumulation of wealth. They sought to achieve a merit oriented Society rather than social climbing, for their children's sake, into the existing one based solely on birth. This hindered the new class from ever attaining Aristocratic Social acceptance for their new wealth and deemed them the nouveaux riche. Despite obvious disapproval from the Aristocracy the nouveaux riche continued their economic ascent through "personal contact [which] was a crucial element in filling posts" (Loftus 5). This dependence upon others for mounting economic standing was contrary to the middle class value of independence. This industrial class was forced to rely upon the connections, potentially aristocratic, in order to succeed. Loftus explains that middle-class values were carved out in these attempts to define a society based on merit rather than aristocratic privilege. However, the importance of cultural capital and social networks to success in the period implies that the rise of the middle-classes in the Victorian period saw the replacement of one set of privileges with another (Loftus 4). However the Nouveaux Riche failed to fully assimilate into aristocratic society due to lack of pedigree.
Eventually, the workers set aside their inhabitations and voted 373 to 427 in favor of the union. When asked, “What are you gonna do now?” Norma Rae said, “live – what else?” The question that the workers at the O.P. Henley Mill were faced with was not, where to work. They had the freedom to choose their employer. The workforce learned that they did not need to be trapped in an insufficient working environment and that by forming a union they could manipulate the parameters set by the Mill Company, to meet their requests.
This film is based on the real life story of Crystal Lee Sutton and her involvement with Ruben Warshovsky and the organization of the textile workers at the J.P. Stevens Company in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina (Labor Films). Sally Field plays the lead role of Norma Rae (Crystal Lee Sutton) fighting poor working conditions at O. P. Henley Company in 1978. This company is a southern textile mill, working with a union organizer to overcome pressure from management, implied dangers, and the struggle to organize her fellow employees. Although, the film is very entertaining, there are many examples of labor and management interactions including unfair labor practices by management, unfair labor practices by the union, and the procedural process of unionization process.
...ve-it” basis. Many of the workers were injured or killed in industrial accidents each year because of the unsafe conditions they worked in. men and women weren’t the only ones to work in the harsh conditions there was child labor they were used to move, clean, or fix large machines since they were so small and fit between the parts. The kids that worked were all under the age of fifteen, they missed air, sunshine, fresh air, play, and the chance to attend school and get an education.
Coal mining in the 1920s was extremely difficult job in which miners endured many challenges and hardships. The 1920’s safety was not on everyone’s mind. It was as if the miners were just tools to be used. The equipment the miners used was a marvel for its time, as it was just the start to a technological advancement. Miners faced hardships such as low wages, long hours, and the difficulty of the work conditions.
Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, is a disease that afflicts more than 4 million older citizens in the US. Alzheimer's is a degenerative neurological disorder that leads to impairments in memory, thinking and reasoning. AD is the most common cause of dementia in older people, and mainly affects people 65 and over. Within the last few years, there have been drugs that can temporarily treat the patients, but it remains a form of dementia that is irreversible. The disease is very hard on both the person who receives the diagnosis and on his or her family and friends. Aside from medical help, those affected by the diagnosis may want to consider counseling and support groups to help them cope.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, and this terminal, progressive brain disorder has no known cause or cure. Its greatest known risk factor is increasing age which is why is it is infamous for developing in the elderly, typically in ages 65 or over, however for the 5%(1) that develop Alzheimer’s in their 40s or 50s it is known as early Alzheimer’s. Because Alzheimer’s worsens over time, those with it tend to struggle with completing daily tasks especially elderly people. Given that there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, the treatments available slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. It is not known what causes Alzheimer's, however, those with Alzheimer's have been found to have abnormal amounts of protein (amyloid plaques) and fibres.(The amyloid plaques and fibres are found in regions of the brain where problem solving and thinking take place e.g The cerebrum.) Due to the unusual amounts of amyloid plaques and fibres, it reduces the effectiveness of healthy neurons and eventually, destroying them.
The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning signs of Alzheimer’s can be beneficial to both the patient and his family. Finally, once the patient has been diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s, a plan for treatment as well as providing the family and caregivers with a support system can help ease those involved through a very challenging, heartbreaking time.
In 1979, Caryl Churchill wrote a feminist play entitled Cloud Nine. It was the result of a workshop for the Joint Stock Theatre Group and was intended to be about sexual politics. Within the writing she included a myriad of different themes ranging from homosexuality and homophobia to female objectification and oppression. “Churchill clearly intended to raise questions of gender, sexual orientation, and race as ideological issues; she accomplished this largely by cross-dressing and role-doubling the actors, thereby alienating them from the characters they play.” (Worthen, 807) The play takes part in two acts; in the first we see Clive, his family, friends, and servants in a Victorian British Colony in Africa; the second act takes place in 1979 London, but only twenty-five years have passed for the family. The choice to contrast the Victorian and Modern era becomes vitally important when analyzing this text from a materialist feminist view; materialist feminism relies heavily on history. Cloud Nine is a materialist feminist play; within it one can find examples that support all the tenets of materialist feminism as outlined in the Feminism handout (Bryant-Bertail, 1).