Curator's Statement
Film is one of the most democratic arts. As German critic Walter Benjamin observed in his seminal 1936 essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, cinema dispenses with the "aura" of the unique work of art destined for elite connoisseurship. For the audience, there is no single "authentic" copy of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. Royals and workers, presidents and unemployed investment bankers see copies and one copy should be as good as another. Where reactionaries saw mass media as a looming threat to great culture, Benjamin welcomed it, arguing that the mass distribution of film, especially, would open the door to new content and eventually unlock art’s political potential.
This exhibition of film posters and stills represents a wide range of Hollywood, independent and foreign films that incorporate workplace and organizing themes. In some ways, Benjamin’s prediction looks sustainable. Many of the films presented here have, in fact, helped bring public attention to important stories about worker safety, the exploitation of immigrant workers, impediments to achieving union recognition and other important issues. Many, but certainly not all, are also exceptional works of art.
In the process of selecting films for representation in the exhibition, one major theme quickly emerged: the celebration of the working class hero. The movies love heroes, and in many of these films, especially Hollywood’s, the plot boils down to an individual’s battle with a hostile system, rather than true collective action. In that way, the depiction of workers shares a heritage with filmland’s other rugged individualists—the cowboy, the secret agent, the detective, the lonely genius, for example.
Nonetheless, it’s a near miracle that some of these films were produced by business corporations. The profit motive surely plays a part (Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich, for example, were box office hits). And the power and progressive politics of stars (Meryl Streep and Jane Fonda) and directors (Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh) have been key factors in moving working class hero scripts through a system that otherwise might not be sympathetic. It’s also worth noting that for Hollywood divas, a good working class hero film has become, if not de rigueur, a seemingly reliable route to the Academy. The number of best actress and best supporting actress Oscars and nominations represented here is extraordinary. Sissy Spacek, Julia Roberts and Sally Field won the top prize; Meryl Streep and Charlize Theron were nominated; and Frances McDormand and Cher were Oscar candidates for supporting roles.
Though Hollywood has lionized working class heroes, its treatment of unions has not always been so kind. For example, there’s corruption in On the Waterfront’s dockworkers’ union. In Cradle Will Rock, an otherwise solidly progressive film, the union is rule bound and resistant to change. However, it would be hard to argue that filmmakers have gone out of their way to disparage unions. Certainly, governments and business corporations consistently receive rougher treatment: one dimensional portrayals as greedy, power-lusting, secretive enterprises that our heroes must overcome.
Most of the contemporary movies here are independent and foreign projects that have attracted distribution by virtue of their sheer quality (and the growing influence of festivals to get them off the ground). Not surprisingly, these films take a more nuanced view of the workplace. Indicative of the profound economic shifts experienced by workers in the last 40 years, layoffs have been a major theme. Mondays in the Sun, Hula Girls, The Full Monty and The Navigators all depict workers coping with closing factories and mines, declining job security, outsourcing and privatization.
Still, the real complexity of organizing and collective bargaining mainly eludes the camera. The grit, drama and intensity of organizing campaigns and strikes is brought to life only in a few, most notably Herbert Biberman’s Salt of the Earth (perhaps the most remarkable labor film ever made) and Barbara Kopple’s documentary, Harlan County U.S.A.
By any measure, cinema is still in its infancy—the industry is only slightly more than 100 years old. Without question, though, film has made major strides in the honest depiction of the lives and struggles of working people. The appeal of the working class hero is here to stay.
Rex Weil
The exhibition was organized by Rex Weil, an artist, independent curator, writer and educator living and working in Washington, D.C. Weil teaches art theory and criticism at the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a contributing editor at ARTnews.
Bibliography
Benjamin, Walter, Illuminations: Essay and Reflections (Shocken Books, New York, 1969)
For information on these films and more, good references are:
