Censorship and Salt

Salt of the Earth

              After watching Salt of the Earth, I found the film truly inspiring for women. The way they took on the roles of the strike in order to win the injustices that were put upon their families. Especially at a time when women’s rights were scoffed at and considered ridiculous by men.  This kind of film paved the way for women to be successful at work and at home. I believe this film was made before its time because it was not fully recognized by women in the US. It wasn’t until the social changes, including the feminist movement, that films like Salt of the Earth were recognized for empowering women.

             I feel that how the film portrayed good and evil was like black and white. It was obvious that the company was at fault for the treatment of their workers.  I wonder if there were small conferences about how to make changes to make it more equal and safer for the mine workers? It is hard for me to sympathize with big companies that are solely interested in higher profit at the expense of their workers. Though some may think that the portrayal of the strike was slanted too far in favor of the social workers to make it truly realistic, I believe that the portrayal was justified; in lieu of the social injustices dealing with workers and women occurring at that time.

This Film is Not Yet Rated

             This film is about the rating system of films that are distributed in the United States at public viewing. The documentary is directed by Kirby Dick and he has interviews with majority of filmmakers who have had problems with the MPAA ratings’ of their films. The content of their films in question by the MPAA deals with the distinctions between homosexual and heterosexual relations and the debate about violence versus sex in relation to the rating system. 

             I watched this film about a year ago and found it highly interesting in the way it raised questions on how the only system of rating films was unknown to the public. I never thought specifically how a film was rated in regards to specifics of language, sex scenes, and violence and how that ultimately turns into a cut and dry rating. 

            It’s interesting in how the prejudices of our society is reflected and justified in ratings because that is how some parents think.  If a parent does not want their child to see a film with sexual content why don’t they read about the film and make their own judgement not based on a group of parents that make the rating of the film for them.  I feel that this is a valid point made in the interview article with Kirby Dick. 

           The dangers of uncensored media could cause the validity of certain sources to be questioned and not considered useful information.  It would be difficult to decipher between what is actually true factually relevant information and what is made up.  It should come down to what you think personally is right and wrong and be able to judge between what you know is right and just.

Terminology:

Nefarious: (typically of an action or activity) wicked or criminal 

Vacuous: having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless