On The Waterfront & Blue Collar

Hollywood has often used its capacity as a producer of popular entertainment to address political and ideological concerns (Neve, 1995). During the 1940s and 1950, and throughout the Cold War to the present, Hollywood often turned its attention to such matters as the struggles of organized labor and, alternatively, the corruption that was becoming evident in the labor movement. Two films û Elia Kazan's 1954 On the Waterfront and Paul Schrader's 1997 Blue Collar û will be discussed in this brief report. Though significantly different in their style and approach to union politics, both films offer insight into union activity and corruption or malfeasance.

Kazan's film, On the Waterfront, adopts a moral tone regarding informing on one's union bossesû whistleblowing, as it is now known û and on the dangers inherent in work on the rough-and-tumble docks of New York City and other ports (Wakeman, 1988). The conflict in the film centers on Terry Malloy's determination to remedy some of the corruption he sees around him on the docks; Malloy, encouraged by his girlfriend (whose brother was killed by the union mob bosses for demanding better work conditions and representation) and his priest, decides to inform on the union leaders to a crime commission. As Wakeman (1988) has pointed out, this film was very much a representation of Kazan's own moral posture regarding informing on one's colleagues.

. . .
sperate dependency in which they find themselves. What these two films do depict that is common, however, is a portrait of the labor movement that does not ennoble the movement simply because it represented the working classes. Schrecker (2000), in describing the attacks made by McCarthy on organized labor during his infamous "Red Hunt," notes that it was the leftist elements within labor that were under attack. It would be later still before the U.S. Congress began to examine questions regarding union corruption and criminal activity. Kazan and Schrader, in their very different films (given that the former is a melodrama and the latter a black comedy), have presented audiences with unique insights into organized labor and its leadership. Both films, though fictionalized and dramatized, help audiences to understand the scope of labor's influence and the ways in which labor has at times failed to deliver on its promises to its members and to society as a whole. References Canby, V. (2003). Movie review: Blue Collar. The New York Times. Available at http://movies2.nytimes.com. Herrington, P. (2003). Review: Blue Collar. Available at www.filmvault.com/filmvault/memphis/b/bluecolalr1.html. Lopate, P. (2002). Rev
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sleeptite Pajama, Blue Collar, Miss Jones, Pajama Game, Communist Party, Terry Malloy's, Granted Kazan's, Paul Johnson, Jerry Smokey, Coast Schrader's, devil miss, devil miss jones, miss jones, organized labor, wakeman 1988, schrecker 2000, blue collar, pajama game, labor management, herrington 2003, neve 1995, mccarthyism organized labor, organized labor fifty, labor fifty lost, 2000 mccarthyism organized,
Approximate Word count = 2442
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

More Essays on On The Waterfront & Blue Collar