Children of Labor (review)

mention a number ofimportant television productions, among them the drama on Harriet Tubman, The Autobiography of Jane Pittman, the documentary series Destination America (on Italians' Poles, the Irish, Welsh, and others), and the study ofthe Paciak family of Chicago (one ofPBS' Six American Families). These, along with more recent productions, including Que Pasa, USA? (a PBS series on Cubans) and such films as Rocky, Rocky II, Saturday Night Fever, and the first half ofDeerhunter suggest that all is not lost and that we ought not yet to give up on these media as vehicles for describing the mosaic qualities ofAmerican society without recourse to rigid, long-standing stereotypes. This volume, however, also reminds us that concerned individuals and groups will have to step up their vigilence and pressure to insure proper accountability by the various media, both in their hiring and depiction of ethnic group members. Elliott R. Barkan, California State College, San Bernadino FILM REVIEWS CHILDREN OF LABOR, 55 min., B&W, 1 6 mm, by Richard Boardman, Noel Buckner, Mary Dore and Al Gedicks, Distributed by C.A.L.A., 71 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703. The phenomenon ofnative American radicalism has often been overlooked in favor of European influences. But there were many native radicals, rock-ribbed American farmers and small-town folk, who stood proudly on the left. In Children of Labor, we get a glimpse ofthe Midwestern rural left, specifically the descendants of Finns who settled in Minnesota and the Midwestern farm country. With old footage and some probing live interviews, Children ofLabor provides a solid background into the nature and course ofpre-World War II radicalism. The Finns build a surprisingly active network of co-ops, socialist newspapers and youth camps, all deep Red in color and filled with untarnished idealism. It was a radical culture, not merely a preference on election day, and it nourished a generation. This film should be highly useful in classes on Modern American Social or Political History, and in any study ofrecent U.S. culture. It is clear, well organized, and well made technically. Highly recommended. pictures and ads 61 ...