The Revolution WAS Televised - A Review of Salt of the Earth - by Shea Mullaney, Mass Media
Despite the immortal words of 1970s activist poet-musician Gil-Scott Heron, the revolution was televised-in 1954's Salt of the Earth. Based on an actual strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico and filmed using actual Union members, the film was blacklisted and banned by the US government during the 1950s Communist scare, which sought to root out 'un-American activities.'
The horrifying irony is that the film's content couldn't be more American: ethnic and gender equality, the right to work for a fair living wage and the rights to work and live in conditions that promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.