Norma Rae/Die Bleierne Zeit: A comparative discussion
In plot summary, the movies "Norma Rae" and "Die Bleierne Zeit" appear to be very similar: They have a feminist perspective, both have females as protagonists. Both deal with the misery of people towards their social conditions. But, once one takes a closer look at each movie, it becomes apparent that each film takes place in a distinctive, but different, social condition. "Norma Rae" describes a democratic, capitalist society in Alabama Milltown whereas "Die Bleierne Zeit" describes a socialist situation, during the time of Nazi rule in Germany. I chose "Norma Rae" and "Die Bleierne Zeit" for comparative discussion because these two movies are close to reality, they are inspired from people. "Norma Rae" is a lively, but dependable, widow and mother in an Alabama Milltown. Like her father, her mother and most of her friends, she is employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions, spinning and weaving cloth as the days go by without much apparent purpose. Her "nothing special" life changes when she and her coworkers meet Reuben, a dedicated, smart-mouthed labor organizer down from New York to teach the Henley crew about solidarity in a place where workers and owners alike think "union" and "trouble" are synonymous.
"Norma Rae", was released in 1979. Has direction of Martin Ritt. Norma Rae finds Sally Field cast in the title role, a minimum wage worker in a dingy cotton mill in an Alabama Milltown. The role is especially nice because it is a true story about a woman who took a stand against her employers who violated labor law regulations The manufacturers were so flagrant in their violations that when Norma Rae's father had arm pain, and asked for a break. He was made to wait. Actually the pain in the arm was a heart attack that killed him later. The factory has taken too much of a toll on the health of Norma Rae's family for her to ignore the appalling working conditions. After hearing a speech by New York union organizer Reuben (played by Ron Leibman), Norma Rae decides to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes dissension at home when Norma Rae's husband Sonny (played by Beau Bridges) assumes that her activism is a result of a romance between herself and Reuben. Reuben and Norma had a great relationship in the movie. She appeared to be falling for him, as she stated:" he is in my head." But nothing really happened between the two of them besides the hard work of the unionization of the mill. Despite the pressure brought to bear by Management, Norma Rae successfully orchestrates a shutdown of the mill, resulting in victory for the union and capitulation to its demands. "Norma Rae" received wide acclamation. As a matter of fact Sally Field won her first Oscar for her performance in this movie. "Norma Rae" was not only intellectually stimulating but was also cinematographically superior as it won the following awards: The two movies "Norma Rae" and "Die Bleierne Zeit" end in different notes. "Norma Rae
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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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