Norma Rae - Extra Credit PDF

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Lani Komatsu 11/13/17 CRN 71098 Extra Credit Norma Rae Norma Rae, based off the life of Crystal Lee Sutton, touches on gender roles and sexism that existed in the 1970s. The issues discussed in the film can still be seen today, decades later. Sally Field plays the role of Norma Rae and Beau Bridges portrays Norma Rae’s husband, Sonny. Although Norma Rae presented important issues in society, I did not like the film. The storyline was boring and revealed obvious flaws in society that the audience was supposed to be shocked by. As a woman, none of the so-called shocking moments were a surprise to me. I experience the sexism Norma Rae faced and so it was not a hard concept for me to grasp when she was also facing the same issues. The film also featured scenes of domestic violence and the expectations women in society have. Norma Rae is looked down upon because she is a single mother (in the beginning of the film) and is seen by the townspeople as promiscuous. This adheres to the general notion of society that is is shameful of a woman to have sexual encounters with men one is not married to. There is an explicit scene in which Norma Rae is slapped in the face and another implicit one in which violence, possibly sexual, is implied. This expressed to the audience some of the fear and thoughts a woman experiences in her everyday life. When Norma is trying to rally the townspeople together for the union, the town folks ignore her. She has to use people’s expectations of her to her advantage. For example, she related cooking/taking care of her children as a way of bridging the conversation about the union to other people. Norma Rae is expected to take care of her children, cook, clean, etc. and when she does not her husband takes his anger out on her. By the end of the movie when the

husband does some of these tasks, he expects to be congratulated and praised for being an adult and taking care of his children. I’m glad that this film touched on these topics, because although they were obvious to me they might not be for someone else. It is interesting how women’s issues from decades ago are still seen in present day. The film’s choice of music and the way in which the shots looked influenced the meaning and understanding of the film. I would not recommend this film. There are plenty of other films that portray the same important issues discussed, but in a more entertaining and effective way. The film tries to cover the issues nonunionized workers have and the damage it caused while also trying to explore the issues of a woman in the 70s. The film did not efficiently present both topics, only half of both topics were portrayed. It spoon fed the audience what it wanted the audience to get out of viewing the film, that it was boring to watch....