A Labor Day movie two months early - Norma Rae

7/5/13 Norma Rae, Best Actress, Best Original Song, 1979

I suppose had I could have planned this better, I would have waited for Labor Day weekend to watch this because I'm always searching for themes (speaking of which, keep an eye out for another 'flashback' to movies already watched), but carpe diem and all. Sally Field is Norma Rae, a worker in a cotton mill in North Carolina who gets very intrigued by a union organizer Reuben Warshowsky played by Ron Liebman,a Jewish union organizer no less. This is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton. Norma Rae is feisty, independent and can generally be a pain in the butt to management, her parents, and anyone else she encounters. She's my kind of woman! The movie looks at a period of union history that happened in my lifetime, it was less than 25 years ago, and seems a little hard to believe that people worked under those conditions for those wages. It also gives a glimpse into the racial and gender dynamics at the time. While the motivation for the movie is the fight to unionize, it really is a look at the growth and education of Norma Rae, and her fight for what she believes in - her family and friends. Sally Field won her first Oscar for her portrayal of Norma Rae, and it was a pretty impressive field of actresses, Jane Fonda, Jill Clayburgh, Bette Midler and Marsha Mason. I thought she was great, and I highly recommend the movie. In addition to the Best Actress award, the movie won for the Best Original Song, It Goes Like it Goes, and I have to say 'WHAT?'. I'm mildly confused as to how a movie like The Rose did not yield one song? I had not heard of most of the nominated songs, except for Looking through the Eyes of Love from Ice Castles and The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie. No contest - The Rainbow Connection hands down. 1979 was a strange year.