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Throughout American history, countless immigrants have struggled to fit into the ideal standards of U.S. society in order to create a better life for themselves and their families. The violence and unfair treatment that immigrants were faced with, ultimately led them to change their identities and stray away from their traditional culture to assimilate to societal expectations. Salt of the Earth (1954) is a film that portrays the struggles of Mexican American miners and their families in Zinc Town, New Mexico. The movie centers around Esperanza Quintero and her family’s involvement in the strikes that called for higher wages and just treatment of Mexican American laborers. The film shows the transformation of Esperanza from a passive bystander to one of the major figures in the protest movement. She ends the movie realizing the significance of maintaining Mexican culture as well as standing up for the rights of her Mexican American community. Throughout history, men are often portrayed as the main mode of change, however, women have also played a major role in transforming society. Mexican American women had a vital role in redefining what it meant to be Mexican American, specifically Mexican American women while perpetuating Mexican culture for future generations.
In countless societies, women are often portrayed as submissive and thus unproblematic because they are unwilling to speak out for injustice. Due to this stereotype, women in the past did not have a major presence in economic, social, or political decisions. They were mainly confined to the household and were responsible for caring for the family while being obedient to their husbands. As a result of these confinements, women often felt that they did not have the power to make a true change in society, because often times their opinions did not hold much weight. At the beginning of the film, Esperanza fit well into this passive stereotype. She was initially against her husband, Ramon, from standing in the strikes because she did not want him to put his life at risk. She also had a sense of hopelessness in which she felt that even if the miners were to protest, their opinions would not be heard and there would be worse consequences. Despite her efforts to stop Ramon from protesting, Esperanza’s wants did not have an influence on his actions. During the time of Esperanza, women did not even have any major influences in their households. They were often seen as inferior to men and thus would have to follow what their husbands said and passively support their actions.
Although Salt of the Earth, showed Esperanza as a submissive wife, it also showed her transformation to a strong and outspoken who ultimately went against her husband’s wishes to fight for her own beliefs. As the movie progressed, the miners were no longer able to stand and picket due to the passing of the Taft-Hartley Act, which allowed law enforcement to place miners in jail if they decided to continue in the protests. In order to protect their husbands, Esperanza and the wives of the other miners decided to stand in their husband’s place. This shows a drastic change in Esperanza’s character, from the beginning in which she wanted nothing to do with the strikes. Esperanza ultimately stood up against her husband’s wishes to fight for her ideals, similar to how he ignored her wishes. By doing so, she was able to break down the gender norms that once confined her from speaking out against injustice. She also saw the importance of fighting for the rights of her community, especially because Mexican American laborers played and major role in supporting the U.S. economy. Esperanza was able to become a leader, providing guidance to the other women and standing as a model for the younger Mexican American women generation to stand up for what they feel is right.
A similar transformation of identity occurred to Olga Talamante. In “De Campesina an Internacionalista: A Journey of Encuentros y Desencuentros,” she describes her experiences through activism and how she saw injustice at a very young age. Although she saw these injustices she did not make major strides in her activism until after college. Through her experiences in numerous different protest movements in the U.S. and overseas, she was able to see the similarities of oppression that immigrants face. Talamante also learned the importance of educating others in not only realizing how they were oppressed and mistreated but also how to stand up for these injustices. She also encouraged the Chicana and Latina scholarship through her involvement in the Chicana Latina Foundation as well as supporting LGBT rights with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF). Mexican American women like Esperanza and Olga, not only wanted to break down the barriers that prevented them from making major changes in society, but they also wanted to encourage other women to stand up for what they believed in despite how others viewed them.
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