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Norma Rae

Norma Rae

Drama · 1979

Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.

Movie details

Norma Rae

“The story of a woman with the courage to risk everything for what she believes is right.”

1979 Drama 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.3 / 10

13.4K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

91 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

61 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Norma Rae?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Martin Ritt

Written by

Irving Ravetch · Harriet Frank Jr.

Sally Field

Sally Field

Norma Rae

Ron Leibman

Ron Leibman

Reuben

Beau Bridges

Beau Bridges

Sonny

Pat Hingle

Pat Hingle

Vernon

Barbara Baxley

Barbara Baxley

Leona

Gail Strickland

Gail Strickland

Bonnie Mae

Morgan Paull

Morgan Paull

Wayne Billings

Court is in session

Put Norma Rae on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.