Slaves of the Shuttle

Series

Series Name: Eve And Everybody’s Film Review

Issue

Issue No.

608

Date Released

26 Jan 1933

Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 5

Summary

NoS Summary - the rug-makers of San Miguel in Mexico.
British Pathe synopsis: "San Miguel is old Mexico at its best. No Spanish is spoken and there is no means of contact with the outside world. M/S of a crowded market place. Various shots of market traders. A woman kneels down on the ground as another woman fills her bag with grain or similar. "In San Miguel there is only one recognised profession. If a man is not a weaver he is nobody. The rug-maker washes his wool, while his wife does the family washing." M/S of a man standing in a river washing a basket of wool. L/S of the man washing the wool - very picturesque setting. He walks out of the water with his basket. M/S of him swinging his basket to and fro to extract the water. M/S from high angle of three women doing some washing by the edge of the water. Two young children sit in the river. "Carding and spinning are done by hand - exactly as they were done three centuries ago." M/S of two women (one elderly) carding and spinning wool in front of some large cacti. C/U of the elderly woman who is carding the wool. M/S of the woman spinning. "The weaver. His whole life is devoted to the only task he knows, making a "zarape" quickly and well." M/S of two weavers at work. Closer shot of one of the weavers who stands at a large loom passing the shuttle to and fro. "The shuttle - the sign of his trade - darts back and forth quicker than the eye can follow it!" C/U of his hands as he throws the shuttle through the wefts. "Hand sheared, hand spun and hand loomed, the wool that goes into a zarape is real wool, and the zarape is a real rug!" A rug is unrolled to show to the camera. It has a motif on it which resembles a swastica. "The weaver of the next generation." C/U of a little Mexican boy wearing a poncho and sombrero. C/U of the boy. He laughs and looks shy.

Keywords

Arts and crafts; Industry and manufacture

Locations

Mexico

Written sources

Pathe Inventory File Tin No.254
British Pathe Database 1997 Reference No.EP254
National Film Archive Catalogue

Credits:

Production Co.: British Pathe Ltd.

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