Norma Rae
This is the story about the struggle to achieve the American Dream despite facing very steep barriers. In this story, Norma Rae is a single mom working in a textile mill. She is facing prejudice against women and she is facing poverty despite working hard in unhealthy conditions. She decides to take a stand to unionize the mill and this becomes a very dangerous decision.
Before Viewing
1. What is a textile mill?
2. What is a union? What do unions do? Why are they needed?
3. What is a double-standard?
Scene 1: Main Titles
What images do we see as the main titles are presented? What do they images suggest about the movie?
Scene 2: Deal for a little while
What is happening to Norma’s mother who works in the mill? How do the bosses react?
Scene 3: The Union Organizer
Who comes to the door at Norma’s house? What does he want? How does Norma’s father treat him?
Scene 4: A New Friend
Norma is going out to meet a man. What do we learn about the man she meets? What does Norma tell him? How does he react to this?
Norma makes a new friend. What personal question does she ask him? How do we know that Norma has been taught to be prejudiced against people like him?
Scene 5: Another Union Guy
Rueben, the union organizer, hands out information while people are going to work. What kind of reception does he get? What does Norma tell him about his pamphlets?
Scene 6: A Promotion
Norma gets a promotion. What is her new job? Will this make her more or less popular among the other workers? Why do you think she got the promotion?
Scene 7: The Ball Game
Norma talks to the father of one of her children. Do you think he has been a responsible father?
Scene 8: Sonny Webster
Norma is measuring Sonny’s work productivity as part of her new job. How does he respond?
Scene 9: One of these days
Norma’s dad misses the times when she was a little girl and he could treat her and protect her. Do you think he still wants to think of her as his “little girl”?
Scene 10: Back on the Line
How does Norma’s dad respond to the way Norma is doing her new job? What does she say?
Scene 11: Sonny’s Offer
What does Sonny ask Norma to do?
Scene 12: What a union is
Rueben meets with a few workers to tell them about the union. What is his personal story?
Scene 13: The inspection
What is Rueben inspecting the workplace for? What does he find? What kind of cooperation does he get from the management of the mill?
Scene 14: Joining up
How did Norma Rae’s pastor react to her request to use the church for a union meeting where black and white folks might meet together? Why does she think the church should help? What was her pastor’s response? What are some of the stories that the workers share?
Scene 15: The new organizer
Who volunteers to help Rueben organize the workers in the union.
Scene 16: Things move slowly
Not many workers are eager to sign up for the union. Why do you think this is? Do you think they are happy about how much money they make and how they are treated by the mill and the working conditions there? Do you think they have been well informed about what unions do?
Scene 17: The back roads
Norma Rae gets Rueben out in the country in search for workers to join the union. Why is she a good ally to have? What knowledge does she have that Rueben doesn’t?
Scene 18: This is the life
Rueben goes for a swim in the river. We hear him talk about growing up in New York City. What are some of the differences? What did they do when he was a kid to cool down on a hot summer day? How is this similar to country life?
Scene 19: Domestic problems
Sonny is getting mad at Norma Rae because the laundry hasn’t been done, the dishes haven’t been done and they need to get groceries. Are men capable of doing these things? Why do you think he expects Norma Rae to be his servant? Is this fair?
Scene 20: Books
Norma Rae asks about the books that Rueben likes to read. She borrows a book by Dylan Thomas and says she will “give it a try.” Do you think Norma Rae’s interest in books might be a sign of a growing personal confidence – that she IS somebody. How might low literacy skills affect the confidence of a person?
Scene 21: A stretchout
A “stretch out” is when the company reduces the hours for workers by making their shifts shorter and by increasing the number of shifts. This makes life much harder for workers. Do you think management’s decision to “stretch out” worker hours is related to the union organizing efforts? How so? What makes you think that some workers blame Rueben for this?
Scene 22: A death in the family
Norma Rae’s father is having a heart attack at work. What does the manager tell him when he wants to leave the worksite?
Scene 23: Our own Mother Jones
Find out who Mother Jones was and what she did.
Scene 24: Ugly rumors
Rueben gets a visit from two national union executives. What is their concern and how does he respond? Do you think any man has stood up for Norma Rae like this in the past?
Scene 25: Things get mean
A fight breaks out when a group of whites beat up a Black worker. This race vs. race is a strategy by management for breaking any union organizing. Explain how this strategy works.
Scene 26: A woman alone
Norma Rae gets in trouble for copying down information from a “race baiting” poster at work. She responds by standing on a table or platform with a sign that says “union” on it. How do the other workers respond?
Scene 27: Under arrest
What effect do you think the sheriff and management were hoping to have on Norma Rae by arresting her and making her spend time jail?
Scene 28: I’m a jailbird
Norma Rae goes home, gets her kids out of bed, and talks to them. What does she talk to them about? Why do you think she told them what she did? How does telling them protect them?
Scene 29: Sonny’s promise
Sonny is hurt that Norma Rae called Rueben instead of him to get out of jail. Despite this, he makes a promise to her. What is that promise?
Scene 30: Union!
How does the vote for the union go? Is it close?
Scene 31: Reuben’s farewell
Reuben is heading back to New York. Do you think he will miss Norma Rae? Do you think the union will survive without him?
Scene 32: End titles
What images do we see during the end titles? How do these images help the viewer feel the movie has come to an end? How does this scene create an emotional impact for the viewer?