Norma Rae Movie Themes
Over the course of the last semester we have had the opportunity to watch various films all teaching a common theme. They each provide a female who shows strength and determination. Norma Rae (Martin Ritt) is about a young single mother who lives in a small town in North Carolina. Norma Rae works at a local textile factory with her family. Norma Rae and all the other workers have long hours, lousy working condition, and rotten pay. This all changes when Norma Rae meets Reuben Warshowsky, who is a New York union organizer. Norma Rae decides to join Reuben to start a union at her textile factory. Together Norma Rae and Reuben unionize the factory! This film spoke so powerfully to me because it shows that if you want something go and get it. Norma Rae was determined to make a change in the textile factory, even if it risks her own job and her family. She showed that women can do anything we put our minds to, just as good as men or even better!
Erin Brockovich (Steven …show more content…
Soderbergh) is about Erin Brockovich, who is an unemployed single mother until she meets Ed Masry. Mr. Masry hires her as a secretary. Erin Brockovich finds medical records places in a real estate file. She thinks this is very strange and investigates into it. Erin discovers that there has been a cover-up involving contaminated water in Hinkley, California. This contaminated water has been causing illnesses among the residents in the area, hence the medical records. PG&E has been paying doctors to tell members of Hinkley that their cancer and other illnesses has nothing to do with the chromium in the water. The families had no idea that this was a cover-up. Erin Brockovich found hundreds of people in Hinkley that were ill because of the contaminated water. In the end, the law firm sues PG&E and PG&E have to pay 333 million dollars to be distributed between seven hundred plaintiffs. The theme of the movie, Erin Brockovich (Steven Soderbergh) is empowerment. Erin Brockovich was looked down upon because of how she dressed and because she had children out of wedlock. Erin Brockovich was strong and did not let these comments get to her. Instead, she took that and helped hundreds of citizens in Hinkley, California. This movie also showed that even without a proper education, but with determination, anyone can be successful!
In the poem, “The Low Road” (Marge Piercy) it starts out with how “they” can take a person and torture them and how there is nothing that the person can do to stop them. It then talks about a couple fighting their way out of a group of people, and then three forming a “wedge”, a “dozen make a demonstration” and then finally “ten million, your own country.” This poem showed the many different ways of fighting back until you make the change the group wanted. The theme in this poem is that as a group, you can make a change! This poem spoke so powerfully to me because it is amazing to see that women are able to unite people to carry out one goal! This poem relates to our class discussions because we see famous feminists who start movements and then the next person comes around to contribute more, and so on.
Birth Control was a major topic that was talked about throughout this book. The pill went on the market in 1960, which gave women the comfort about planning their future. The pill reassures women that they would not get pregnant and they could finish college. Even college health services started to prescribe the pill for students who wanted them. The pill changed a lot in our society and the country as a whole. The number of pregnancies went down and people were getting married later in their lives.
Throughout this book, we watched the changes of the work/family divide. In the 1960s the role of a wife in the family was to cook and take care of the children. They were not supposed to work outside the home. But slowly this changed throughout the years. Although by the 1970s, women still were supposed to quit their work or take a break to take care of the children when they are young, women were now working outside the home. By the late 1980s the United States got used to the idea that women had to work to help support the family in this economy. The majority of women had two roles at the time: work and mother.
One woman in this novel stood out to me immensely.
Pauli Murray was an African-American lawyer who was hired at Yale University where she pursued her PhD. Pauli Murray was one of the four African-American students in her graduating class at Yale University. Murray wrote to President Roosevelt sharing that more needs to done for African-Americans in America. First Lady Roosevelt responded to Murray and saw that Murray was struggling to find a job, even though she graduated from one of the top universities in the country. Pauli Murray showed First Lady Roosevelt that females and minority races were struggling to find work. We have talked about men dominating the field of medicine and the title of PhD. Pauli Murray speaks to me because I hope to one day received my PhD. and Murray had the courage and determination to put her foot down and change history. Pauli Murrary was not the only one struggling. Women all over the United States were struggling to find work even coming out of an Ivy League
school.
Wage gaps were an important issue that came up many times while reading this book. Women were paid significantly less even in the 1980s. In the 1980s, a working woman made fifty cents for every dollar a man made! Men made twice as more than women for doing the same exact job. Fast-forward to 2012 and women still made only seventy-seven cents per a man's dollar. Even to this day, our society is staying “Equal work for equal pay.”
Title IX was passed in 1972, banned discrimination on the basis of sex in colleges that receive federal funds. Before Title IX, women were receiving little to none in college athletics. Boys’ team would flow to their games and slept in hotel rooms while the girls drove overnight and slept on mats in the gym to their events. Even for professional athletics the prize money was immensely different between men and women players. For a male winner it would be around thirteen thousand or more, but for females it would be around one thousand or less. After Title IX was passed, the number of girls playing sports in high school and college quintupled! Title IX has provided opportunities for women. Women now had the ability to attend universities through athletic scholarships. Title IX opened access up to law and medical school.
Fifteen years from now hopefully I will be out of medical school and have started my residency. But before I start my residency, I hope to serve in the Peace corps. I aim to help malnourished orphans in third world countries, with my medical knowledge. I hope that I become a geriatric doctor one day. I hope that in fifteen years I am taking care of the elderly and impacting their lives in positive ways. Hopefully I will be in Omaha, Nebraska at the University Nebraska Medical Center for my residency. To achieve my dreams, I will have to attend William Jewell College for four years, apply to medical school and get in, then attend medical school for four years and finally go on to residency for five to seven years. I hope that in fifteen years I am making an impact on the elderly or children in a third world country.
Erin Brockovich (Steven …show more content…
Soderbergh) is about Erin Brockovich, who is an unemployed single mother until she meets Ed Masry. Mr. Masry hires her as a secretary. Erin Brockovich finds medical records places in a real estate file. She thinks this is very strange and investigates into it. Erin discovers that there has been a cover-up involving contaminated water in Hinkley, California. This contaminated water has been causing illnesses among the residents in the area, hence the medical records. PG&E has been paying doctors to tell members of Hinkley that their cancer and other illnesses has nothing to do with the chromium in the water. The families had no idea that this was a cover-up. Erin Brockovich found hundreds of people in Hinkley that were ill because of the contaminated water. In the end, the law firm sues PG&E and PG&E have to pay 333 million dollars to be distributed between seven hundred plaintiffs. The theme of the movie, Erin Brockovich (Steven Soderbergh) is empowerment. Erin Brockovich was looked down upon because of how she dressed and because she had children out of wedlock. Erin Brockovich was strong and did not let these comments get to her. Instead, she took that and helped hundreds of citizens in Hinkley, California. This movie also showed that even without a proper education, but with determination, anyone can be successful!
In the poem, “The Low Road” (Marge Piercy) it starts out with how “they” can take a person and torture them and how there is nothing that the person can do to stop them. It then talks about a couple fighting their way out of a group of people, and then three forming a “wedge”, a “dozen make a demonstration” and then finally “ten million, your own country.” This poem showed the many different ways of fighting back until you make the change the group wanted. The theme in this poem is that as a group, you can make a change! This poem spoke so powerfully to me because it is amazing to see that women are able to unite people to carry out one goal! This poem relates to our class discussions because we see famous feminists who start movements and then the next person comes around to contribute more, and so on.
Birth Control was a major topic that was talked about throughout this book. The pill went on the market in 1960, which gave women the comfort about planning their future. The pill reassures women that they would not get pregnant and they could finish college. Even college health services started to prescribe the pill for students who wanted them. The pill changed a lot in our society and the country as a whole. The number of pregnancies went down and people were getting married later in their lives.
Throughout this book, we watched the changes of the work/family divide. In the 1960s the role of a wife in the family was to cook and take care of the children. They were not supposed to work outside the home. But slowly this changed throughout the years. Although by the 1970s, women still were supposed to quit their work or take a break to take care of the children when they are young, women were now working outside the home. By the late 1980s the United States got used to the idea that women had to work to help support the family in this economy. The majority of women had two roles at the time: work and mother.
One woman in this novel stood out to me immensely.
Pauli Murray was an African-American lawyer who was hired at Yale University where she pursued her PhD. Pauli Murray was one of the four African-American students in her graduating class at Yale University. Murray wrote to President Roosevelt sharing that more needs to done for African-Americans in America. First Lady Roosevelt responded to Murray and saw that Murray was struggling to find a job, even though she graduated from one of the top universities in the country. Pauli Murray showed First Lady Roosevelt that females and minority races were struggling to find work. We have talked about men dominating the field of medicine and the title of PhD. Pauli Murray speaks to me because I hope to one day received my PhD. and Murray had the courage and determination to put her foot down and change history. Pauli Murrary was not the only one struggling. Women all over the United States were struggling to find work even coming out of an Ivy League
school.
Wage gaps were an important issue that came up many times while reading this book. Women were paid significantly less even in the 1980s. In the 1980s, a working woman made fifty cents for every dollar a man made! Men made twice as more than women for doing the same exact job. Fast-forward to 2012 and women still made only seventy-seven cents per a man's dollar. Even to this day, our society is staying “Equal work for equal pay.”
Title IX was passed in 1972, banned discrimination on the basis of sex in colleges that receive federal funds. Before Title IX, women were receiving little to none in college athletics. Boys’ team would flow to their games and slept in hotel rooms while the girls drove overnight and slept on mats in the gym to their events. Even for professional athletics the prize money was immensely different between men and women players. For a male winner it would be around thirteen thousand or more, but for females it would be around one thousand or less. After Title IX was passed, the number of girls playing sports in high school and college quintupled! Title IX has provided opportunities for women. Women now had the ability to attend universities through athletic scholarships. Title IX opened access up to law and medical school.
Fifteen years from now hopefully I will be out of medical school and have started my residency. But before I start my residency, I hope to serve in the Peace corps. I aim to help malnourished orphans in third world countries, with my medical knowledge. I hope that I become a geriatric doctor one day. I hope that in fifteen years I am taking care of the elderly and impacting their lives in positive ways. Hopefully I will be in Omaha, Nebraska at the University Nebraska Medical Center for my residency. To achieve my dreams, I will have to attend William Jewell College for four years, apply to medical school and get in, then attend medical school for four years and finally go on to residency for five to seven years. I hope that in fifteen years I am making an impact on the elderly or children in a third world country.