Educational Media Reviews Online

A Song for Cesar explores the intersection between the arts (especially music) and the struggle of the United Farm Workers to improve their conditions. The documentary focuses on the individual artists involved with the movement, interviewing them to learn in their own words how they became involved and how they felt they contributed to it, attempting to capture their experience and emotions. The documentarians do not focus solely on Cesar Chavez, but rather show how his love for music inspired him to connect with the artists being interviewed and how together they affected the movement as a whole.

The film makes effective use of its subject matter, backing each segment with a full length song directly tied into the subject matter at hand, often while interviewing the author of the song. These segments are interspersed with footage, videos, artwork, and theater performances that directly show the inspiration for each piece. The overall effect is to create a tapestry of connections, showing how the music both was inspired by events and how it in turn inspired and connected the activists. While there is a general narrative flow to the piece, it is less focused on the major events themselves and more on the cultural output connected to those events. The underlying message of the film is about the importance of organizing to effect change, with an emphasis on how music and the arts in general can support those efforts.

Many different audiences could benefit from this film in a collection. For academic libraries, this has particular utility to historians (especially those focused on music) and music programs. For public libraries, this film has the potential to be of great interest to anyone involved in the labor movement, or for musicians looking for inspiration for how to use their talents for activism.

Awards:
Official Selection, Mill Valley Film Festival and DOC NYC

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