The Salt Of The Earth Film Analysis

1. From Jason Johansen, Notes on Chicano Cinema, scholars of Chicana/o cinema used to identify the criteria of Chicana/o cinema as “films BY Chicanos, films FOR cinema, and films ABOUT Chicanos”. (Johansen 303) The Salt of the Earth, attempts to expand and challenge this criteria. It attempts to expand this definition because it is a film for and about Chicanas/os, it illustrates the struggles of actual events of Mexican Americans mining workers that took place in Zinc Town, New Mexico during world war two and a strike won because of the unity of all union workers and inspiring others to stand up for each other and continue the Chicano movement, hence for Chicanos. The movie attempts to challenge the criteria because it is a film directed and

Minorities are oppressed by the white majority, as they have been in power throughout history for a long time. Through self-knowledge one can attain the necessary tools needed to make judgments based on what they deserve. For example, to summarize a section from Delgado’s essay, “Minority children, living in small run down houses, with walls covered in graffiti and gang signs, will have fewer role models who attended college therefore are suppressed systematically. While white people on the other side of town may live in neat homes, take piano lessons, attend summer camps will more likely end up working at high-prestige jobs.” (Delgado 1537) Through self-knowledge and understanding their history and how it ended up that way, they can realize that there is, “Their poverty, lack of cultural capital, and statically low levels of achievement are products of years of systematic suppression” (Delgado 1538). Then those same minorities will realize that they are not the problem and then they can become part of the solution through