Why Braceros?

Year Published: 1963

Creator: Wilding-Butler Division of Wilding Inc.

Format: 16mm

Color: B&W

Sound: sound

Description: This film was produced to justify the bracero program to the general public, especially American citizens in California who were threatened by the influx of workers over the border from Mexico. It expresses the viewpoint of agribusiness and large farmers. Good footage of agriculture in California, food production and food processing.; 03:00:00:16; CU of harvested wheat on the ground; Camera pans up to combine harvester then driver, looking behind him at wheat being harvested by machine; CU combine harvester, wheat coming in and out in a container, cut into small pieces; 03:00:55:25; CU of rows in a field, legs of a man walking in a row, harvesting by hand; 03:01:10:00; LS of a combine harvester with seven workers on it, one of them driving, the others are sorting potatoes (?); 03:01:33:10; LS field, workers bent over to plant seeds, mountains in the background; 03:01:57:11; CU branches, leaves, fruits of a citrus tree, man standing on a ladder picks fruits; LS citrus trees and other workers; MLS of a man emptying a bag of lemons in a box; LS of a man on top of a tree; 03:02:17:11; LS of a field with workers, bent over the ground, the field is muddy; LS of trucks in the background and workers with white cowboy hats putting things in boxes; LS field, camera pans over workers (very numerous); CU individual worker picking carrots and throwing them in a big tin drum; CU man picking cherries from a tree; CU hand picking lemons; 03:03:18:11; LS field with trenches and workers, superimposed "WHY BRACEROS?", then "Presented as a Public Service by COUNCIL OF CALIFORNIA GROWERS; 03:03:52:22; CU "farm placement service", office, woman behind the counter, a man (farmer) walks towards the offices behind the counter and takes his hat off; CU desk, two men talking; 03:04:23:12; MCU dark, saturated B/W image, man behind his desk, picks up the phone and dials a number; 03:04:26:15; CU shop window with writings on it "GROWERS FARM LABOR OFFICE" "REFERRAL SERVICE; 03:04:31:16; MCU woman in three-quarter profile behind her office desk, picks up the phone, talks, looks through her files in a distracted way; CU photograph of a field of potatoes which are ripe; CU photograph of a man loading potatoes out of container; VS, point of view shots of man with farm placement office's agent behind his desk; 03:05:40:13; CU of the agent's face, white background, lights a cigarette and is being interviewed; His face is serious and nervous, eyes down; 03:07:53:12; LS the farmer's Labor Recruiting Association's office; Director seated behind his desk, black thick mustache and short-sleeved shirt; White blinds in the background; A Mexican subordinate hands paper to the director, the director makes a telephone call; 03:11:36:27; LS street at night with circles of lamplight from street lamps, a white car runs in the street, camera pans the street, a bus is stopped with workers around; 03:11:56:24; LS in a vast Mexican camp, Braceros are spread out and then gather in a circle, around an older man in a suit (Mexican councelor) who is speaking; 03:13:08:27; LS small houses in wood, all identical, then canteen with table in the foreground and cooks in the background; Montage of various photographs; Braceros cured and inspected by doctor; Braceros eating while sitting in a field; Braceros in a shower, smiling; Braceros doing laundry; Braceros playing snooker, watching television; Braceros in the canteen, in a party with Mexican performer on the stage; Braceros in front of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe; Braceros discussing and laughing; 03:14:03:20; MCU Mexican councelor smiles and shakes the hand of Braceros around him; 03:14:19:29; LS old bus and Braceros step out of it with small parcels under the arm and bare feet; CU of sandals in a Braceros' hand, camera pans to trousers and bare feet; LS old bus being loaded (the deck is full of boxes/bags); Braceros step in the bus, one by one in line, dressed with western clothes; 03:15:31:22; VS field with braceros, trees with ladder; CU celery being picked and roots cutted off, then same scene with a salad, hands are covered with plastic gloves; 03:16:07:15; (factory); Overhead view of a assembly line, Anglo American women, dressed and wearing jewelry, plastic gloves, sorting fruits (oranges?); MLS of a woman, leaning her back on a container, looking in front of her at an assembly line carrying small boxes away; 03:16:24:14; (transportation industry); MLS two American men in front of boxes carried away automatically, they are supervising; LS of a truck, boxes piled on the ground; LS of a train carrying goods, a chain of mountains with cloudy sky in the background; LS of a ship in a harbor being loaded; 03:16:48:17; Aerial view of a highway with mountains in the background; 03:16:58:17; LS of a factory, woman supervising assembly line machines, with products filing off; CU of tins on an assembly line; CU oranges on an assembly line; MCU women with headcovers in front of a big container, sorting mussels(?); 03:17:37:09; VS Braceros harvesting; 03:18:10:19; LS of a building, sign reads "FOOD CENTER" "BAKERY", a man and woman, holding each other, walks from there towards camera, smiling; 03:18:12:03; Overhead view of supermarket interior, line of cashiers, crowded with trolleys; 03:18:20:17; VS of different type of industries (LS transporter's factory); LS field with bent Braceros; 03:18:30:11; Produced for Council of California Growers by Wilding-Butler Division, Wilding Inc., San Francisco; • 1:02:18- 1:17:24; Nice image of a man walking down a row of farmland harvesting by hand. We only see his legs and hands as he pulls the produce from the ground. He walks towards the camera and stops right in front of it to pick. At this point, we only see his hands and the dirt.; worth noting: Interesting shot of Mexican laborers bent over in a field picking produce.(1:40:98- 1:47:84); • 1:48:89- 2:05:00; Stoop Labor. Many men are hunched over in a field planting seeds. A farm house and the silhouette of mountains are behind them.; • 2:35:42- 2:50:20; Close up of "braceros" (Mexican field laborers) as they pick lettuce (or spinach) and place it in wooden boxes to be piled up on the back of a truck. They wear straw hats.; • 3:34:70- 3:59:25; Long shot of Mexican laborers walking up rows of crops stooping over and hand picking produce.; • 14:27:40- 14:35:27; Mexican laborers file off a bus at a work station/camp with their belongings.