Nov 25, 2020
When the podcast relaunched in December 2018, it did so with the goal of bringing new voices -- and therefore a wide range of movies -- to the forefront. That's certainly the case with this episode, which highlights the unjustly forgotten 1954 release Salt of the Earth. The movie has since fallen into the public domain and is available to watch on YouTube.
Rosa Parra of Latinx Lens joins the show to discuss why Salt of the Earth is such a vital part of cinema history. We'll discuss how the movie involved real-life miners in the production, why its feminist perspective is still progressive by today's standards, and whether the film suffers because it is not directed by a Latin filmmaker.
So fill out the blind spot you didn't even know you had by checking out director Herbert J. Biberman's Salt of the Earth.
SYNOPSIS
At New Mexico's Empire Zinc mine, Mexican-American workers protest the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages compared to their Anglo counterparts. Ramon Quintero (Juan Chacón) helps organize the strike but is similarly unfair to his pregnant wife, Esperanza (Rosaura Revueltas). When an injunction stops the men from protesting, however, the gender roles are reversed, and the women find themselves on the picket lines.
SHOW NOTES
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