Film series explores labor, industrialization issues
Date: 7/3/2012
July 4, 2012By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comHOLYOKE — Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and the Holyoke Heritage State Park will be presenting a series of films in July that address labor and economic issues.
Jon Weissman, the coordinator for Jobs with Justice explained to
Reminder Publications said the organization has presented one of the films before, but "really wanted to commit" to a series.
He said the management of the state park — whose exhibits detail the development of Holyoke as a planned industrial city — was interested in hosting the series of films.
Weissman believes as the future of Holyoke is changing with the construction of the Green High Speed Computing Center and these films provide "some resources" for a discussion of labor movements and globalization, among other topics.
The films will be presented free of charge at the park's visitor center, 221 Appleton St.
On July 10 at 7 p.m., Maynard Seider's "Farewell to Factory Towns?" will be screened. The documentary looks at how the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams has changed that one-time busy industrial community. Seider will conduct a question and answer period after the film.
A 60-year-old documentary about the strike of Chicano zinc miners of southwest New Mexico, "Salt of the Earth," will be shown at 6:45 p.m. on July 17. After the screening, former film editor Nina Kleinberg will speak about the struggles of the filmmakers to produce and distribute the film and the efforts to suppress it.
The final presentation will be on July 24 at 7 p.m. "The Lewis Hine Project" will relate the efforts of photographer Lewis Hine to document child labor in 1908 as part of a campaign to end the practice. Journalist and historian Joe Manning has identified more than 250 of the children in Hine's photos, interviewed their descendants, and told their stories. He will show some of the photos, tell the stories, and talk about the exciting process of searching for descendants, most of whom were not aware of the pictures.
For more information or to reserve a seat in advance, contact Jobs with Justice at 827-0301.
