Revisiting Salt of the Earth (after the viewing)

I am one of those people who prefers to watch a movie without any preconceived idea of its content. In this manner, I am able to gather my own information and make my own inferences without any outside influence.

That being said, I feel as if my introduction to the film, Salt of the Earth (Biberman, 1954) was blemished, in a sense. I already had a detailed review and analysis of the film, thus I feel very apathetic or unmoved by its presentation.

It was all very redundant. Yes, the film was created to display corruption, injustice, gender equality issues, racism, etc. This was information I had already assessed. Now, all I had to do was watch the film unfold in its raw glory. I cannot say my perspective changed after the viewing. Perhaps because this is not a film that represents values that appeal to me.

True to its reputation, it created a whirlwind of controversy. I understand the important role it played in challenging the country's social norms. However, today, it is something I feel very out of touch with.

There were things in the film that bothered me. It was one of those cases where you can apply the quote, “Friend, how can you say, 'Let me take that speck out of your eye,' when you cannot see the log in your own?” The miners were all in a huff about their unjust treatment from the overhead when they, themselves, were regarding their own wives unfairly. To me, it was just a “he said/she said” argument that escalated to a federal level.

There are always two sides to a story. Is one ever more virtuous than the other?