Salt of the Earth in One Shot
Section One-Summary
Salt of the Earth (1953), a self-described photoplay, is narrated in the accented voice of a Mexican mine worker's wife, Esperanza. The story is set in a fictional New Mexico mining community however it is based on real events. The movie handles topics of gender, exploring the role of women in union activities and the battle for equality in their own homes while preserving the value of family and community in the struggle for equality. Topics of racism are confronted by the unconquerable hope of the miners and their wives. Essentially, white International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers representative Jencks and Mexican labor organizer Ramon try to force the mining company to discuss wages, safety issues in the mine, and equity in housing with white miners. Local law enforcement participates in the violence against the miners at the bidding of the mining company officials. Esperanza, our main character, finds herself struggling with her husband for union rights, racial equity, and fighting against her husband and the status quo for gender equity. The shot chosen for analysis is situated midway through the film. Esperanza, who is pregnant with her third child, goes into labor at the strike site as her husband begins to chase down two strike breakers; she fears violence and the reprisals from the white officers who have been waiting for a reason to further humiliate and harass the striking miners and their families. This is the opening shot of Esperanza's husband, Ramon, being handcuffed after a confrontation with the strikebreaker. This shot occurs 34 minutes and 9 seconds into the 1:32 minute long, black and white film. It is the opening shot of a 30 shot sequence.
Section Two:Shot Breakdown-Ramon handcuffed by two white officers after scab chase
Angle:Eye-level
Distance:Medium
Depth of Field:Shallow Focus
Camera Movement: STationary
Transition:Jump Cut
Section Three-Analysis
In this analysis, the wardrobe selection, the music, and the landscape come alive in the talented hands of directors and producers of Salt of the Earth. In one shot, we are allied with the Mexican worker, even as we see him being arrested. The wardrobe assigns class level and the music immediately tells us whose side we are on. The landscape is used along with camera angles and lighting to portray hierarchy and struggle. A closer look at the details of this one shot shows the resistance rhetoric of the movie.
Shot1:
Da Da Da Dummmmmm goes the music as this shot opens with Ramon Quintero being handcuffed. We are ready to experience this dreaded situation the sound clip has prepared us for. As Ramon is the person being arrested in this shot the viewer sides with him because the music is ominous and creates the feeling something bad is going to happen to him. Through the previous 33 minutes of the film, the viewer has come to sympathize with Ramon so the music sets us up for the action to come. The music sets the tone for the scene but the camera angle tells us a lot about the message the producers hoped to convey.
The camera is approximately waist-level, a medium distance shot, and angled upward. It captures an image of the two officers and Ramon against the grayed sky and an upward angled hill. Every aspect of the mise-en-scene compliments the struggle inherent in the situation Ramon was in. The hill and the upward angle impresses upon the viewer the uphill battle against authority Ramon faced. The officer staged to the left of Ramon is higher on the hill than Ramon and Ramon even higher than the officer on the right. This implies that though the authorities or establishment have a higher position, the struggle is still worth fighting because you could gain some ground. This potential for improvement upon one's situation is a main theme in the movie.
The distance in the shot gives a view from the waist up on the men. This allows us to feel we are close enough to actually see what is going on between them. We are given a good view of the faces in a shot at this distance usually and any deviation from a face view indicates a motive to be analyzed. While we are close enough to see, we are also distanced enough to not feel embroiled in the danger. This seems like an important choice so the viewer does not feel overly connected to the action. In this shot, the connection the viewer has to the scene is one of equivalence without solidarity. The viewer is shown enough to make an informed decision on the action but not so much as to overwhelm.
The importance of the hill and the upward angle are subtle because everything behind Ramon and the officers is slightly out of focus. The use of shallow focusing helps the viewer to understand the struggle ahead is unclear. The important action right now is the immediate peril Ramon is in, or perhaps the world is in. The hill's presence indicates hope but the blurry viewpoint indicates a future possibility that may be a long hard way off. Salt of the Earth allies the viewer with the mine workers subtly; shooting from the waist level also gives a sense of correlation between the viewer and what is happening onscreen. The camera position is second only to the wardrobe choices for the establishment of hierarchy and class in the movie.
The sides are clearly marked with the everyday clothing of the worker, Ramon, compared to that of the officers. Visible are the two white officers struggling with Ramon to get his hands into the handcuffs. The two officers flank Ramon and their faces are partially covered by the wide brimmed hats they wear as part of their neutral colored uniforms. Although, the film is in black and white the shading of the colors is apparent. The choice of officer's dress could have simply been indicative of the standard uniform for officers in the 1950s however, the wide brims do much in this shot to obscure the officers' faces; the suggestion is present that their faces should be obscured in shame of their actions. The officers' hats are also shaded a bit darker than their uniforms. This is important because we expect the good guys to wear the white or light colored hats and in this shot Ramon's hat is lighter. The neutral color in the officers' uniforms blends into the scenery of the New Mexico desert. The neutrality of their uniforms juxtaposed against the neutrality law enforcement officers are expected to show, but do not in this case, highlights the corruption of the officers.
The workers are better dressed than one would expect in a mining situation. Ramon's clothing appear sturdy; the working mining family would have generally been very dirty and their clothing thread bare and tattered. Ramon has a pen in the pocket of his shirt. Even though these miners are portrayed as very impoverished, their clothing are only lightly soiled and it gives them an elevation in class, as if to say they are not as lowly as one may think. In fact, not only are they not as lowly but they are not just laborers, these people think, write, and perhaps have a just cause.
Although the officers and strikers are at the same sight all day, the officers are clean and the workers have a thin veneer of dust covering them. This costuming choice shows the director wanted to portray the officers as clean outside but dirtied by their corrupt actions and the workers as touched by their circumstance but not sullied. The music ends as this shot ends, abruptly and we cut to the next shot. This transition leaves the images of the final handcuffing and the beginning of the next step of the journey to the imagination of the viewer.
In one shot, Salt of the Earth, convinces the viewer to champion the cause of the working man. The power of resistance rhetoric in film production is evident in this shot analysis. The themes of social consciousness are woven into the fabric of the movie as the worker's portrayed are woven into the fabric of a society that equates race with class.
Salt of the Earth (1953), a self-described photoplay, is narrated in the accented voice of a Mexican mine worker's wife, Esperanza. The story is set in a fictional New Mexico mining community however it is based on real events. The movie handles topics of gender, exploring the role of women in union activities and the battle for equality in their own homes while preserving the value of family and community in the struggle for equality. Topics of racism are confronted by the unconquerable hope of the miners and their wives. Essentially, white International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers representative Jencks and Mexican labor organizer Ramon try to force the mining company to discuss wages, safety issues in the mine, and equity in housing with white miners. Local law enforcement participates in the violence against the miners at the bidding of the mining company officials. Esperanza, our main character, finds herself struggling with her husband for union rights, racial equity, and fighting against her husband and the status quo for gender equity. The shot chosen for analysis is situated midway through the film. Esperanza, who is pregnant with her third child, goes into labor at the strike site as her husband begins to chase down two strike breakers; she fears violence and the reprisals from the white officers who have been waiting for a reason to further humiliate and harass the striking miners and their families. This is the opening shot of Esperanza's husband, Ramon, being handcuffed after a confrontation with the strikebreaker. This shot occurs 34 minutes and 9 seconds into the 1:32 minute long, black and white film. It is the opening shot of a 30 shot sequence.
Section Two:Shot Breakdown-Ramon handcuffed by two white officers after scab chase
Angle:Eye-level
Distance:Medium
Depth of Field:Shallow Focus
Camera Movement: STationary
Transition:Jump Cut
Section Three-Analysis
In this analysis, the wardrobe selection, the music, and the landscape come alive in the talented hands of directors and producers of Salt of the Earth. In one shot, we are allied with the Mexican worker, even as we see him being arrested. The wardrobe assigns class level and the music immediately tells us whose side we are on. The landscape is used along with camera angles and lighting to portray hierarchy and struggle. A closer look at the details of this one shot shows the resistance rhetoric of the movie.
Shot1:
Da Da Da Dummmmmm goes the music as this shot opens with Ramon Quintero being handcuffed. We are ready to experience this dreaded situation the sound clip has prepared us for. As Ramon is the person being arrested in this shot the viewer sides with him because the music is ominous and creates the feeling something bad is going to happen to him. Through the previous 33 minutes of the film, the viewer has come to sympathize with Ramon so the music sets us up for the action to come. The music sets the tone for the scene but the camera angle tells us a lot about the message the producers hoped to convey.
The camera is approximately waist-level, a medium distance shot, and angled upward. It captures an image of the two officers and Ramon against the grayed sky and an upward angled hill. Every aspect of the mise-en-scene compliments the struggle inherent in the situation Ramon was in. The hill and the upward angle impresses upon the viewer the uphill battle against authority Ramon faced. The officer staged to the left of Ramon is higher on the hill than Ramon and Ramon even higher than the officer on the right. This implies that though the authorities or establishment have a higher position, the struggle is still worth fighting because you could gain some ground. This potential for improvement upon one's situation is a main theme in the movie.
The distance in the shot gives a view from the waist up on the men. This allows us to feel we are close enough to actually see what is going on between them. We are given a good view of the faces in a shot at this distance usually and any deviation from a face view indicates a motive to be analyzed. While we are close enough to see, we are also distanced enough to not feel embroiled in the danger. This seems like an important choice so the viewer does not feel overly connected to the action. In this shot, the connection the viewer has to the scene is one of equivalence without solidarity. The viewer is shown enough to make an informed decision on the action but not so much as to overwhelm.
The importance of the hill and the upward angle are subtle because everything behind Ramon and the officers is slightly out of focus. The use of shallow focusing helps the viewer to understand the struggle ahead is unclear. The important action right now is the immediate peril Ramon is in, or perhaps the world is in. The hill's presence indicates hope but the blurry viewpoint indicates a future possibility that may be a long hard way off. Salt of the Earth allies the viewer with the mine workers subtly; shooting from the waist level also gives a sense of correlation between the viewer and what is happening onscreen. The camera position is second only to the wardrobe choices for the establishment of hierarchy and class in the movie.
The sides are clearly marked with the everyday clothing of the worker, Ramon, compared to that of the officers. Visible are the two white officers struggling with Ramon to get his hands into the handcuffs. The two officers flank Ramon and their faces are partially covered by the wide brimmed hats they wear as part of their neutral colored uniforms. Although, the film is in black and white the shading of the colors is apparent. The choice of officer's dress could have simply been indicative of the standard uniform for officers in the 1950s however, the wide brims do much in this shot to obscure the officers' faces; the suggestion is present that their faces should be obscured in shame of their actions. The officers' hats are also shaded a bit darker than their uniforms. This is important because we expect the good guys to wear the white or light colored hats and in this shot Ramon's hat is lighter. The neutral color in the officers' uniforms blends into the scenery of the New Mexico desert. The neutrality of their uniforms juxtaposed against the neutrality law enforcement officers are expected to show, but do not in this case, highlights the corruption of the officers.
The workers are better dressed than one would expect in a mining situation. Ramon's clothing appear sturdy; the working mining family would have generally been very dirty and their clothing thread bare and tattered. Ramon has a pen in the pocket of his shirt. Even though these miners are portrayed as very impoverished, their clothing are only lightly soiled and it gives them an elevation in class, as if to say they are not as lowly as one may think. In fact, not only are they not as lowly but they are not just laborers, these people think, write, and perhaps have a just cause.
Although the officers and strikers are at the same sight all day, the officers are clean and the workers have a thin veneer of dust covering them. This costuming choice shows the director wanted to portray the officers as clean outside but dirtied by their corrupt actions and the workers as touched by their circumstance but not sullied. The music ends as this shot ends, abruptly and we cut to the next shot. This transition leaves the images of the final handcuffing and the beginning of the next step of the journey to the imagination of the viewer.
In one shot, Salt of the Earth, convinces the viewer to champion the cause of the working man. The power of resistance rhetoric in film production is evident in this shot analysis. The themes of social consciousness are woven into the fabric of the movie as the worker's portrayed are woven into the fabric of a society that equates race with class.
posted by Krys @ 4:59 PM
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