"Salt of the Earth" during the readings was portrayed as a cult film, and a collection of events that were seen as supportive of communism during the McCarthy era. It didn't help that the director, Michael Bieberman, himself had been question and imprisoned previously for the same involvement.
Imagine that. A film which is different and supportive of ideas that the government finds rebellious was blacklisted, and refused to be shown. It was heartbreaking to me to see that the revenue of the film was less than half of what was spent to make it. I find it honorable however that the Director, Producer, and Writer all three refused payment for their participation. It just goes to show how incredibly selfless and before its time that this film was. I personally feel that more films with that kind of passion should be made. Hollywood might have turned this film away, however it doesn't make it any less affective towards equality and the movement to better the lives of those who were involved. Based on the lives of real people and their stories, connects you with this idea that although it took many years, their tale was heard, and impacted many viewers.
I found it most interesting that this films influence in Czechoslovakia went from what the government though would confirm their decision to have a communistic government, to encouraging viewers to think that they too could have more from life like the americans in the film, causing the government to ban the film there as well.
Overall, I am very supportive of this film according to what I read, not so supportive however of the way the film was treated. I think that this film could have made a huge difference in our nations history, if it had been given the appropriate light to shine.
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