Sunday April 10th 2016, Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Norma Rae, 1970. Directed by Martin Ritt, 114 minutes. In English with English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film begin at 9pm. Free admission.
Man, few films will show how the world has changed since the 70s than this gutsy drama. Once upon a time there were things called unions. They were formed by collectives of workers who risked their jobs for the benefit of all. Today the word ‘union’ is a pretty negative one, and they have all but vanished from the social map… but at the same time salaries in the western world are at their lowest since the ’80s, worker’s rights have been all but totally eliminated, while corporations are reporting record profits.
In a bold career-changing move, actress Sally Fields stars as a textile worker in North Carolina, who bucks the damn system and throws her life on the line. Why? Because she believes in something, and refuses to be a slave. But that’s a pretty big decision. Despite what the mainstream media tells us, most of the people who have exposed the American dream as a fraud have been attacked, blacklisted, denounced, blackballed, imprisoned, assassinated, victims of smear campaigns, and erased from social history (just as thoroughly as in any so-called communist regime). Our 20th century history is a shambles, a mess. Why? Because the real motivators of change, whether they were fighting for black power, gay rights or even unions, have been banished from the history books.
So this is a film about a normal person who decides to fight back. And its not Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson… it’s a woman. And once again we have a big film with a powerful message, that sneaked in through the Hollywood door at the end of the 70s – the kind of film that would be impossible today. Sally Fields gives a walloping performance, and it won her an academy award for best actress. The bittersweet theme music is by Jennifer Warnes, which picked up the Oscar for best song.
This will be a high-definition transfer.
Doors open at 20:30. Intro and film start at 21.00.
Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, film begins at 9pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net
