The Wobblies | |
---|---|
Directed by | Steward Bird Deborah Shaffer |
Produced by | Steward Bird Deborah Shaffer |
Narrated by | Roger Nash Baldwin |
Cinematography | Judy Irola Sandi Sissel |
Edited by | Stewart Bird Peter Gessner Deborah Shaffer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Wobblies is a 1979 American documentary film directed by Steward Bird and Deborah Shaffer. The documentary is done as an oral history about the Industrial Workers of the World, nicknamed "Wobblies".
The Wobblies was directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer. Prior to making the film, Bird had co-wrote the play The Wobblies: The U.S. vs. Wm. D. Haywood, et al in the late 1970s, which was performed at the Hudson Guild Theatre in New York City. Several IWW organizers attended these performances. Shaffer, a friend of Bird, watched a performance one night and noticed old Wobblies in the audience. She went to Bird after the performance and suggested they should do a film about them. [1] Due to the late ages potential Wobblies members would be, the directors put out ads asking for members. They would end up interviewing twenty-six Wobblies, with nineteen of them making it into the film. [2]
Rip Torn and Geraldine Page did voiceover work for the documentary. [1]
The Wobblies' worldwide rights were acquired by Kino Lorber in late 2021, [1] releasing a 4K restoration on various video on demand platforms. [3]
Michael Blowen for The Boston Globe said the film conveyed the conviction and grace of the IWW with straightforward grace. [4]
In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [5]
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with industrial unionism, as it is a general union, subdivided between the various industries which employ its members. The philosophy and tactics of the IWW are described as "revolutionary industrial unionism", with ties to socialist, syndicalist, and anarchist labor movements.
Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips was an American labor organizer, folk singer, storyteller and poet. He described the struggles of labor unions and the power of direct action, self-identifying as an anarchist. He often promoted the Industrial Workers of the World in his music, actions, and words.
The Atomic Cafe is a 1982 American documentary film directed by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty. It is a compilation of clips from newsreels, military training films, and other footage produced in the United States early in the Cold War on the subject of nuclear warfare. Without any narration, the footage is edited and presented in a manner to demonstrate how misinformation and propaganda was used by the U.S. government and popular culture to ease fears about nuclear weapons among the American public.
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Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, such as documentary films, classic and rarely seen films from earlier periods in the history of cinema, and world cinema. In addition to theatrical distribution, Kino Lorber releases films in the home entertainment market and has its own streaming services for its digital library.
The Centralia Tragedy, also known as the Centralia Conspiracy and the Armistice Day Riot, was a violent and bloody incident that occurred in Centralia, Washington, on November 11, 1919, during a parade celebrating the first anniversary of Armistice Day. The conflict between the American Legion and Industrial Workers of the World members resulted in six deaths, others being wounded, multiple prison terms, and an ongoing and especially bitter dispute over the motivations and events that precipitated the event. Both Centralia and the neighboring town of Chehalis had a large number of World War I veterans, with robust chapters of the Legion and many IWW members, some of whom were also war veterans.
Nathan Wesley Everest was an American member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a World War I era veteran. He was lynched during the Centralia Massacre after killing Dale Hubbard in what the union called self-defense, though the American Legion called it murder.
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The American Labor Union (ALU) was a radical labor organization launched as the Western Labor Union (WLU) in 1898. The organization was established by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in an effort to build a federation of trade unions in the aftermath of the failed Leadville Miners' Strike of 1896. The group changed its name from WLU to the more familiar ALU moniker in 1902 at its fifth annual convention. The group had a peak membership of about 43,000 — of which 27,000 were members of the WFM. The ALU was a precursor to the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), established in 1905, which effectively terminated it.
Wobbly lingo is a collection of technical language, jargon, and historic slang used by the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the Wobblies, for more than a century. Many Wobbly terms derive from or are coextensive with hobo expressions used through the 1940s.
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is a union of wage workers which was formed in Chicago in 1905. The IWW experienced a number of divisions and splits during its early history.
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