• Gabriel Arellano 5/01/10 Period 1 Economics During the late 1970s, an employed woman with low minimum wages and poor working conditions revolutionizes the right for better working conditions and becomes involved in labor union activities. Her name was Norma Rae. Norma Rae is the story of a woman who works in a cotton mill factory and struggles to fend off the problems and dangers in her workspace; In the beginning of the film, one of the workers appears to be deaf. This is due to excessive loud noises and later in the film, a man who has arm pains has a heart attack. Norma Rae is an Alabama small town textile mill worker and single mother of three, living with her parents. She has had in the past a series of relationships with men, sometimes married, who have mistreated her; then as the story progresses, she meets and marries Sonny. Her life is quite ordinary until Reuben, a union worker from New York, comes to her mill and tries to unionize its labor force. He persuades Norma Rae to head up the cause at her mill, resulting in severe conflict with management and potential conflict in her own relationship with husband, Sonny. In the process of unionizing, the more she worked, the less time she spends with her family which causes a conflict between her and her husband. She had also received threats and was eventually fired but before she left the workplace, she proudly hangs up a cardboard sign that said, “UNION”. As her employees look and see, they start to turn off the machines. After being recruited to the police station, she breaks down and loses hope. But despite the pressure brought upon her, she and Reuben work together once again to regain the votes of the election from townspeople and eventually in the end, Norma Rae successfully wins the election (despite that more than 300 had voted against it) resulting in victory for the union. Norma and Reuben say goodbye to each other as Reuben prepares to leave back home. So rarely have we seen movies that focus on the impact of employment rights and labor unions that applies for us as of today’s economy. Sally Fields plays the title character, Norma Rae. We see her fear, her disgust, her anger at the mill's treatment of its employees, and the passion she has for what she believes in. After being captivated by a New Yorker Reuben’s speech, she is awakened to the possibilities of life, and, what's more, everything that is wrong with the mill that seems to suck the energy and hope from those who stand there day after day trying to earn an honest dollar. The greatest strength of the film is in one particular scene, perhaps the most famous, when Norma stands on top while holding a sign that simply said, “UNION”. What I liked about the movie was the characters. Each one was superbly well written. Sally Fields and Ron Leibman did an outstanding job. I loved their personalities. Sally plays a character who slowly evolves from an aimless girl into a mature woman who finds a depth and strength that helps her take control of her life and find the confidence to lead which was the “power” she never knew she had and it was all thanks to Reuben, played by Ron, the assertive union organizer from New York who awakens Norma's intellect and propels her into uncharted territory by helping her and guiding her in the ways of what is right and what should be done. In other words, she became independent. Meanwhile, Beau Bridges as Norma Rae's gentle and often erratic, understanding dependent husband stands by his woman despite his not completely comprehending or appreciating the changes that are underway in his wife's character. The only thing I didn’t like however, although it isn’t highly relevant, was the southern accent. Particularly because it was quite difficult to understand thoroughly what they were saying. But despite this, the dialogue was understandable. This is a human story; A tale of real courage, determination, and human will. It doesn't sell politics or make out that unions are the answer to everything; instead it shows through a great story arc and shows that one person's moral compass can make a difference. One of my favorites scenes was the one following Norma Rae's arrest, in which she returns exhaustedly home from prison at night, awakens her three sleeping kids, informs them that their “Mama's a jailbird” and that they're going to be hearing all kinds of stories about her. She admits that she made mistakes, tells each child who his or her father is, and gives each a photo of their dad which she had tucked away. All parents must face that at some point their children will come to realize their mom or dad isn't perfect, and nowhere is this more dramatically shown than in this particular scene from Norma Rae.

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