Birth of a Notion: labor union

Sunday, March 02, 2014

It Goes Like It Goes

"Bless the child of the workin' man
She knows too soon who she is
And bless the hands of a workin' man
He knows his soul is his."

David Shire and Norman Gimbel
"It Goes Like It Goes"

Everyone knows that iconic scene when Sally Field (as Norma Rae) holds up the sign that says "UNION" for everyone in the plant to see — and, one by one, the machines are shut off.

The movie was inspired by a real person, Crystal Lee Sutton, in North Carolina. That scene with the sign really happened, too.

Apparently, the filmmakers felt no need to alter the facts. Well, Sutton's name was different, and so was the name of the union organizer who recruited her.

No question about it. "Norma Rae" was an inspiring story. The American Film Institute ranked it 16th among the inspirational movies and Norma Rae 15th among movies' heroic characters.

It was a career changer for Field. She originally made her name on TV programs, then made mostly lightweight movies during her transition to the big screen (the exception was probably her performance in a made–for–TV production about a woman with multiple personalities).

She might have gone on making endless "Smokey and the Bandit" movies and struggling to shake the yoke of typecasting if not for being cast as Norma Rae. The role established Field as a legitimate dramatic actress — she won the Oscar for Best Actress. She went on to win another Best Actress Oscar five years later, then was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mary Lincoln in "Lincoln."

Her work in "Norma Rae" was powerful, made even more powerful, perhaps, because it seemed so unexpected coming from the girl who had been TV's Gidget and the Flying Nun.

But it has often been pointed out to me that truth really is stranger than fiction.

"Forget it! I'm stayin' right where I am. It's gonna take you and the police department and the fire department and the National Guard to get me outta here!"

Norma Rae (Sally Field)

The movie also won an Oscar for Best Song — "It Goes Like It Goes" — which I have long thought was one of the best movie songs to be honored with an Oscar.

It was a fine tribute to those who have fought to improve conditions for America's workers. By and large, I felt good about the casting, too. Ron Leibman, as union organizer Reuben, was the kind of guy I would want on my side in any conflict.

It was hard not to like Reuben. He was nothing if not sincere, especially when it came time to say goodbye to Norma Rae.

"Under the circumstances, best wishes hardly seem enough," he told her. "Thanks are in order. Thank you for your companionship, for your stamina, your horse sense and 101 laughs. I also enjoyed looking at your shining hair and your shining face."

They made a great on–screen team, but I don't think they've been in any other movies together. That's a pity.

Leibman didn't get an Oscar nomination, which was a shame, but perhaps there simply was no other way. It's hard to imagine which nominee he might have replaced in either the very crowded Best Actor field or the nearly as packed Best Supporting Actor field.

I was less impressed with Beau Bridges as Norma Rae's husband, whose most significant on–screen time came when he complained about Norma Rae's absence from the home. While I was less than blown away by Bridges' performance, I have to say that his character showed the all–too–human (albeit frequently less than admirable) trait of jealousy when he assumed that his wife's involvement in the unionizing of her shop was because she was attracted to Reuben.

Perhaps that said everything that really needed to be said about him. It was, after all, during the time that the events that were re–created in the movie actually happened that the real Norma Rae and her husband divorced. Bridges came off as being rather selfish, although that might have been inevitable, given that the movie portrayed Norma Rae as being on a mission. Maybe she was, but it was easy to see where her work on behalf of the union created issues in her home life.

Of course, the story was told mostly from Norma Rae's point of view — hence the title.

And, typically, the story of activism is self–sacrifice.

Even when she died, Sutton's story was one of taking a back seat to others. Because of the deaths of more prominent folks — actor Patrick Swayze and former Carter press secretary Jody Powell — around the same time in September 2009, word of Sutton's death was withheld for a few days.

But her story lives on in "Norma Rae."

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Was 'Silkwood' Snubbed?

Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep): You think I contaminated myself? You think I did that?

Mace Hurley (Bruce McGill): I think you'd do just about anything to shut down this plant.

"Silkwood," which was released in the theaters 30 years ago today, was a story about three ordinary — and flawed — people caught in an extraordinary situation at a plutonium plant in Oklahoma.

Meryl Streep played Karen Silkwood, a plant worker and a labor union activist. Her boyfriend Drew was played by Kurt Russell; he also worked at the plant. Cher (yes, that Cher) played Dolly, a lesbian and a roommate of Karen's and Drew's. Dolly worked at the plant as well.

The first part of the movie dealt with their day–to–day lives — Karen, for instance, was involved in a clash with her former common–law husband over time with their children. Drew and Dolly tried to be as supportive as possible. Working at the plant was a humdrum job, like any other humdrum job. The only real difference, as far as they were concerned, was that this job required workers to handle hazardous material, but the workers believed the risk was minimized, that they were protected by all the precautions their employers had taken.

But as the movie went on, it was established that the plant had taken on a large contract — and it had fallen behind. To make up for lost ground and lost time, the company was requiring employees to work long hours — and Karen, who had recently become active in the labor union, was convinced that the company was falsifying documents and cutting all kinds of corners, making conditions truly hazardous for the workers.

In spite of the precautions that were in place, she and others had been contaminated during the course of their work. This was expected to a certain extent but not at either the rate or level they were seeing. That alone was suspicious, but Silkwood, in the course of her investigation, uncovered evidence of other abuses as well — so Silkwood became a whistleblower and agreed to meet a New York Times reporter with the evidence she had gathered. She never made the appointment. She died in a car accident. No documents were found with her body.

I thought that the acting was terrific, and I was pleased to learn that critic Roger Ebert felt the same way. "It's a little amazing," he wrote, "that established movie stars like Streep, Russell and Cher could disappear so completely into the everyday lives of these characters."

Amazing but true. Long before the end of the movie, I stopped being conscious of who the actors were and became aware only of who their characters were and the plight they faced.

Director Mike Nichols ("The Graduate") probably had his own ideas of why Silkwood died, and he didn't spare the company, but he left the door open for other conclusions as well. Nearly 40 years after Silkwood's death, much of it remains shrouded in mystery.

Maybe the subject matter was a little too hot to handle for Oscar voters in those days. "Silkwood" got five Oscar nominations but zero wins.

"Silkwood" was just one of the movies for which Streep has earned an Academy Award nomination. Everyone knew how talented she was when "Silkwood" premiered. She had received four Oscar nominations already and had won two statuettes (but she wouldn't win another one until 2011).

Her co–star, Cher, also was nominated. It was her first, but she wouldn't win until she was nominated a second time.

Nichols' directing received a third Oscar nomination — and, for the second time, someone else took home the award.

"Silkwood" wasn't nominated for Best Picture, either. Was it snubbed? I don't know. I've seen "Terms of Endearment," the Best Picture winner 30 years ago, and I thought it was good.

It just wasn't as important as "Silkwood."