Salt of the Earth

In the film Salt of the Earth, viewers are able to analyze the historical significance behind the film. Through the production of film, producers have the ability and oppotunity to incorporate real life events and/or issues. However, not everyone will approve of the film or feel that it is appropriate to air.
In the 1954 film, Salt of the Earth, during American Cinema in the Postwar Era, Herbert J. Biberman produces a film on Mexican -American miners who go on a job strike in a New Mexico town. This film is based on an actual strike. Biberman, unable to produce films in Hollywood, his crew and him looked for worthy social issues to put on a screen independently. The film attempts to retrieve and construct particular everyday-life condition. As we see in the beginning of the film, Esperanza (the wife of a miner) hanging her clean, wet clothes outside the home. We also see her in side the house as the usual 'house wife', cleaning, cooking for the family and ironing her husband's clothes, and taking care of the kids at home. Keeping in mind that she is expecting a child shortly.
Her husband, Ramon is a miner at the Empire Zinc Mine and his duty as a father and husband is to provide financial stability.



How does this film convey the passage of 'time'?
Esperanza i a great example; she has patience. Towards the beginning of the film she complains to Ramon that she struggles to get hot water to cook and bathe. While the Anglo miners' have hot running water at their homes. This is when the dilemma began. A group of women, some who were also wives of miners, decide to picket outside the mine for more sanitary conditions. The women do not give up and continue to do this for a while.



We also see 'time' in the jail cell, when the women start to chant for milk. Esperanza had given birth to her third child even when the sheriff refused to call a doctor. The new-born was not drinking the milk provided by the station so that is why the women began to chant. Time was a virtue to them and they were not going to stop until the received the proper milk the new born needed. This also applies to the right of women.
Decision making was also an aspect of the film as well as change. The women attending the union meeting, demanding plumbing and sanitation for their homes. However, the men see no point in the women right to vote or even voice their opinion. Of course the man end up with the last say during the discussion.

Esperanza has dignity and determination to win.

Indeed this film is an early treatment of feminism, because the wives instead of approving with their husbands, they play a different role in the strike; against their husbands wishes. In this film the women are the aggressive ones. They stepped up to the plate and did what 'men' were only allowed to do. The roles then switch in the film. While the women are held in prison along with Esperanza, her husband Ramon taker her role as 'house wife'. He begins to do the housework and realizes the validity of the womens complaints. The greatest vistory for the workers and the families is the realization that prejudice and poor treatment are conditions that are not always imposed by other forces. The ending of the film shows the determination of the people.

Religion

I was born into the Roman Catholic religion. I was very much affiliated within the church during my younger years. I was baptized, did my Holy Communion and confirmation at St. Pius V in the Bronx. I became a member of a group called “The Daughters of Mary” then soon took the role of Vice President of the group. After, during my teenage years I became a member of the Youth Group. I can continue to mention many more events in which I took part in the Catholic Church. I liked to think of “Pius” as my second home. My God parents who were devoted Catholics were the ones who influenced my mother into the religion. From the moment I was baptized until my senior year in High School, I was also devoted to the church. My first paying job was as a receptionist of the church Rectory. I still feel a great connection with the religion, mother Mary, father, son and Holy Spirit. However, I must confess I have distant myself from the church. I no longer attend holy mass on Sundays, confession on Saturday, I don’t even remember the last time I took the holy Eucharist. My mother tells me that I have drifted and have forgotten about the church and God. But I feel that I continue to grow closer to God each day, I will always have faith.

Has it become less strict over time?
Well from my experience I feel that the Catholic religion has become less strict. Or maybe I think it has because I am unaware of what is going on. The majority of society calls themselves catholic but some do not practice the religion. Ex. Attend church or follow the Ten Commandments.
I attended a private catholic high school for girls where we were required to take religion courses, “Old Testament and New Testament.” I feel that being a part of this religious body made it strict for the students to participate and practice the religion.

Is it active in politics?
When I think of politics and religion, abortion comes to mind and the words of the late Pope John Paul II, "To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom...” There is an on going controversy whether Catholic politicians, governors, and congressmen who are “pro-choice” are allowed to take communion, the responsibility of Catholic politicians, Catholic voters, and bishops to support Church teaching. The idea of abortion is not supported by the Catholic Church.

Was it founded by a charismatic leader?
After some research it is sad that early Catholicism came to be organized under five patriarchs, the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. The next major rift within Catholicism was in the 11th century. Doctrinal disputes, conflicts between methods of Church government, and perhaps the evolution of separate rites and practices, precipitated a split in AD 1054 that divided the Catholic Church once again, this time between a "West" and an "East". The next major rift within Catholicism was in the 11th century. Doctrinal disputes, conflicts between methods of Church government, and perhaps the evolution of separate rites and practices, precipitated a split in AD 1054 that divided the Catholic Church once again, this time between a "West" and an "East".

Ruth Bernhard

Ruth Bernhard’s diverse photographic style has left a distinct impression and inspiration throughout the world of art. Her images of the human body in rare and often nude form captivated emotions and expressions that other photographers failed to pick up in their film. I was introduced to Ruth Bernhard’s work while taking a History of Photography class at Manhattanville, which inspired most of my photography work.

Ruth Bernhard once said “I became a photographer by accident, after I came to the United States. When I arrived in 1927, I had no job, no profession, and no money. My father supported me while I learned English, but in 1929, he announced that it was time for me to have a job. An acquaintance by the name of Ralph Steiner, who worked for the magazine The Delineator, was looking for a darkroom assistant. That is where I learned to be a photographer. However, the job itself was very uninteresting. After six months I was fired. I used the ninety dollars I received as severance pay to purchase an 8 x 10 view camera, a tripod, and other darkroom equipment. With only pennies left, I purchased straws and Lifesavers at the dime store, which became the inspiration for my first two photographs”.[i] The photograph was titled “Lifesaver” (1930), light reflected towards the right side of the pieces of the candy creating shadows that resembled tires.

Another one of my favorite images is of Bernhard’s first nude photograph inspired while shooting a large metal bowl for a Museum of Modern Art catalogue. There on from this one object Bernhard had an idea, she asked a friend who was a dancer to curl up in a large bowl like a baby in a womb. This photograph was titled “Embryo” (1934) the pale figure of the woman huddled in the bowl against a shadowy background. Bernhard explained how this photograph can be recognized as the beginning/birth of her career in a different artistic direction. “I was always interested in the shapes. The sexy part never occurred to me”. [ii] All of Bernhard’s photographs are in black and white using gelatin silver prints. It is a paper that is covered with gelatin which consists of light sensitive silver salts. This type of print was developed in the 1870’s used for the first time in Joseph Nicephore Niepce photograph titled “View from the window at Gras”. This print soon replaced the albumen prints because they were more stable, easier to produce and did not turn yellow. Generally, all black and white photographs are produced with gelatin silver prints.[iii]
Another well known photograph of Bernhard is titled “Horizontal” (1962), which is by far one of my favorite, it is of a female placed in a prostrate position in a cardboard box. All of her photographs are simple and carefully posed. She was very specific with how she wanted the subjects to be placed. Other similar photographs consisting of nude models are “Perspective II” (1967), of a female model lying on her side. Bernhard uses the light so that only have of the models body is shown creating a distinctive shape. This next photograph consist of two nude female models titled “Two Forms” (1963), both models have similar body shape.

I have attached the websites where you can find more information regarding Ruth Bernhard and her work.

[i] Ruth Bernhard “Ruth Bernhard: Known and Unknown,” 1997, The Chronicles of Ecuation, 24 Nov. 2007 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdwebindex=8&did=13939568&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1196312561&clientId=10763

[ii] “Happy Birthday Ruth” 2003, Women In Photography International, 24 Nov. 2007<http://womeninphotography.org/ruthbernhardAA.html>

[iii] “Lifesavers” year not listed, Photography: Soulcatcher Studio: Ruth Bernhard: Lifesavers, 1930, 28 Nov. 2007<http://www.soulcatcherstudio.com/exhibitions/favorites/bernhard_Is.html

Social Phenomena

I tried this excercise today and figured i'd share it with you.
Think about different social phenomena that you generally perceive as natural in your everyday life. Pick one and discuss alternative ways your daily life might proceed if this element had been different through out history.

-Greeting friends and close relatives with a kiss in the cheek
- Better education, better job
- Eating spagetti with a fork
- Cereal with milk
- Crying due to death or when something really hurts emotionally or physically.
- Wearing black at a funeral
- Wearing a white dress for your wedding
- Writing with your right hand
- Wearing gloves, hat, scarf during the winter season.
- Rural neighborhood safer/ Urban neighborhood dangerous.

The act of crying is natural to me, whether it's crying at a funeral, your mother punishing you as a child, falling and breaking a bone or simply because love hurts. Crying due to all these reasons are normal and natural to my everyday life. If the act of tears didn't exist a lot of things would change. For example, at a funeral wearing white or bright colors, laughing rather than crying. If instead of laughing at a joke during a comedy skit everyone cried. Just the thought of it doesn't seem right to me. I guess it's because society is use to connecting tears primarily with sadness and laughter with joy. However, some people may say, "I'm crying because I am happy, 'tears of joy." For example, the birth of a child, or crying at a wedding or your wedding because you're marrying the person of your dreams.

Nonetheless, the majority of the time when someone cries it is usually because of something bad and when someone laugh it's because of something good that happened to them. As for me, I am a very emotional person so I cry even for the little things in life. Not being able to under any circumstance would be bazaar.

Higher Education

I Reviewed the statistics on educational levels in the United States that appear on the National Center for Education Statistics Web site, and then took a look at the historical summary of U.S. job categories available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ftp site.


First of we know that earlier in the years not that many people had a college degree. They were able to work with no credentials. Now a day attaining a college degree means getting a better job. The reason for this is that jobs became more demanding throughout the years requiring every prospective candidate to have credentials. However, not every employer’s demands are the same. Depending on the job position some only require a high school diploma other required a bachelor’s degree or higher. Usually those who have a master’s degree or PhD tend to have more advantage over those who don’t.

The truth of the matter is that sometimes race plays a big role in getting hired for a position. It’s about being better than the other applicant, a competition. A simple example would be between a white man and a black man; both went to top colleges and have great credentials. Most of the time the white man ends up getting the position just because he’s white. I may be wrong but it still happens in some cases.

Moreover, due to the rise of higher education people are less likely going to apply to manufacturing jobs. One would think that they would since it doesn’t require a college degree but the idea of having a college degree makes them feel powerful, capable of attaining a better position (CEO of a company for example).
Speaking from my own personal experience, I’m the first in my family to graduate college and attain a bachelor’s degree. To my mother that is the ultimate, she pushed my sister and I to go to college and get a good job. I will never forget her words, “I don’t want my girls to end up like me, a housekeeper”. So now you can imagine the pressure that my sister and I feel to better ourselves. The truth is I don’t know what I will be doing after college. I feel so overwhelmed just thinking of how many other students are graduating this year and looking for a job. It scares me. My ideal career is working for a broadcast news channel but I’m not certain that it will happen at least not yet. I’m currently working for the ALDO shoes company and remember telling one of my co-workers that I did not want to continue working at ALDO after graduation. From the looks of it, I might just be.
The book also came across another interesting topic whether education was important, “do schools matter?” I know someone who didn’t get a college degree and works for PBS. That makes me feel lousy. Is that fair? I guess sometimes it’s also who you know, “networking” and previous work experience.

Overall, education and job demands are going to keep rising. With everyone attaining credentials, employers will then increase the job requirements in order to distinguish applicants.

T'ai Chi

When people think about T’ai Chi, they automatically see it as a method for relaxation and meditation rather than martial arts. From my personal experience I first learned about t’ai chi during my Intro to World Religions class lecture. There I learned that the practical exercises of Tai Chi are also situated in a wider philosophical context of Taoism. During this exercise people are trying to aim for the ‘chi’ and its circulation within the body, if achieved it is believed that the health and vitality of the person are enhanced. This could be the reason why it is compared to nature, life force energy; it flows through the veins of the earth giving birth to trees, mountains, etc the same way it enhances the health and vitality of a person. Together T’ai chi means the heavenly heavens, you can’t measure chi or Tao (Dao) but you can feel it and sense it.

At the time that I was just learning about T’ai Chi, I didn’t know exactly what it looked like and how to practice the sets of movements. Further on, I was able to see a video where I saw this particular exercise. I remember seeing a large group of people in a park moving slowly in unison through a series of “dance like” movements, at least that’s what it seemed to me. I remember thinking to myself how it looked “easy” but then they explained that it could take up to 30 years or more to actually perfect the movements and gain the ‘chi’. Regardless, of how long it took I wanted to give it a try. Now that I’m actually learning T’ai chi, it’s not as easy as it looks.

It takes time, practice and dedication to actually remember all the sets’ of movements. The slow and fluid movements of tai chi require concentration, co-ordination and balance. Nevertheless, I must say that it benefits in terms of correcting movement patterns, poor postural and alignment which can contribute to tension or injury. In my case, one specific primary area of physical tension/injury is my right ankle. I sprained my ankle to a third degree meaning I was very close to fracturing my ankle. Due to this, sometimes it’s difficult to maintain balance on my right ankle. It almost feels like something is pinning it down to the floor. In order to alleviate the tension I move slowly side to side to release some weight from the injured ankle. I realize the more I do this, the less it hurts the next time I try the same movement. Also, I try to cultivate a sense of tranquility and calmness, executing any tension in my body. I feel that the more I practice the movements, the less I think about “what comes next? Or how my feet should be aligned?”

Overall, T’ai chi has helped me reduce tension, stress and the ability to deal with difficult situations. Whenever I feel overwhelmed I do a set of movements taking me to a clearer and relaxed mind. It has also helped me improve my breathing not only during class but with outside activities as well. Not to mention at the end of every class I feel a sense of strength in my arms but mainly in my leg muscles. I would recommend any one to try it out, there’s nothing to lose.

Culture

Think about the multiple uses of the concept culture.

I kept a journal for three days and documented in which the concept of culture comes up in my day-to-day life.

Day 1: This assignment made me realize some things I ate during lunch time that people normally wouldn’t eat. I saw it as “normal” until my friend pointed it out. After my meal I usually grab a plate of cucumbers and shower them with hot sauce, lemon juice and salt. My group of friends all come from a different background and some do not understand why I eat my cucumbers that way. One of my friends is half Ecuadorian and Mexican, her and I have a field day with the cucumbers. Eating cucumbers like that is part of our culture. I remember growing up eating a bowl of spicy, juicy and salty cucumbers instead of potato chips. Some of my non Hispanic friends have tried it but cannot deal with the spiciness.

Day 2: Today I went home and realized that I am more connected to my culture when I am there. Home made food is a great example. There is nothing better than going home to eat some home made, Latin dish. We all eat together as a family and pray before we eat. Most of the time when I'm home I only speak Spanish and watch “tele-novelas”, soap-opera with my mother. When I go to bed I have to give my mother a kiss goodnight and receive her blessing and vice versa. In other words, with her index and thumb finger she caresses my forehead with the sign of the cross (father, son and Holy Spirit) and ending with a kiss on her hand and mouth. Oh yes, did I forget to mention my mother and I do not kiss on the cheek. Growing up my sister and I were taught to kiss our mother on the lips. Without this good night blessing I can not go to sleep. I remember when I first moved on campus the first few weeks were difficult because my mother wasn’t around to kiss good night. I now call her to wish her a good night.

Day 3: I honestly can not think of anything else that I do in which the concept of culture comes up. When I am back at school my routine is always the same but overall I feel that I, myself represent culture. The way I speak, how I interact with people, what I wear, what I eat, how I think, my values and the music I listen to are all a part of culture. Culture is both implicit and explicit. Explicit being the rules and norms of this society and implicit are the things that our parents never had to teach us but what we learn through observation. Example for me it would be dancing salsa, how to cook, do laundry and wash the dishes.

Celebrating my 15 birthday is a part of my culture also known as “quinceañera.” Here in the United States they celebrate “sweet 16.” Instead of the usual cake and family get together, the parents organize this big event in celebration of the transition from a child to a young lady. Not only to we celebrate at a reception but we also have a mass ceremony. Here we receive the reverends blessings.
I just realized that even my name is a concept of culture, the history behind it and why my mother named me Tatiana. She combined her name, Ana with her best friend’s name, Taña and made Tatiana. Little did she know that Tatiana is a Russian name. :o)

*The girl's name Tatiana \t(a)-tia-na\ is pronounced tah-sh'-AHN-ah. It is of Russian and Latin origin. Feminine form of Tatius, a Roman family clan name.