Analysis of the documentary Harlan County, USA Essay

I. SUMMARY OF FACTS The film’s central focus may be the real-life records of a reach stages by miners in the Brookside Mine against Fight it out Power Company, a sizable energy company in the United States, due to its alleged unjust labor procedures, dangerous operating conditions, and low income. It also shows the lack of response of the United Mine Staff of America (UWMA) towards plight of the workers. Essentially, film director and producer Barbara Kopple, together with her crew, put in years with the miners and their families portrayed and recorded their poor working and living conditions.

The girl followed all of them as they bounced back in front of the New York stock exchange and also evaluated miners afflicted with black chest disease or perhaps coalminer’s pneumoconiosis. The film also documented that primary source of discord between the business and the miners was the no-strike clause in the contract, that was eventually removed. Moreover, the film likewise showed how the company improved its profits by a lot more than 100 % while the miners only received a some per cent shell out increase� regardless of the 7 % increaese in the cost of living in the same yr.

Major factors also displayed in the documented include the frequency of country music, which includes more or less recently been one of the designs of the complete strike. Nevertheless , the most significant incidents shown in the documentary are the murders of two miners, Joseph Yablonski and his family, and Lawrence Jones. Their deaths at some point changed the tide to get the miners as the management finally a decided to arrange a bagain with them, stopping the hit. II. PROBLEMS 1 . What factors would have caused the organization to exploit the miners how they did?

2 . What were the likely social and economic elements that forced the miners to continue employed by the company prior to finally setting up a hit? 3. In what ways is the film a significant cultural work of genius and a great eye-opener to society? 3. DISCUSSION 1 . � Generally speaking, there are a number of things that come in to play with regard to the exploitation of miners in the film. � First is the individual factor as Duke Power Company is manage by individuals. Therefore , they can be prone to temptations, sin, and emotions, among many others.

In addition , the socio-economic status of the miners played a significant role in pushing their very own employers to use them. For instance , as proven in the documentary, the nearly of all of the miners are indigent. So after they were able to discover employment because coalminers, that they possibly observed it as a golden opportunity for them to make a living and enhance their conditions that is why they opted for work for the business without considering the unfair labor practices at that time. Seeing that the miners are seemingly wanting to find job, the company willingly exploited all of them by providing associated with dangerous functioning conditions and low wages.

In a way, it will even look that the miners were indebted to the business for rendering them with careers. 2 . Lower income is obviously one of the most significant economic factors that forced the miners to be employed by the the corporation. As proven in the film, the miners experienced some of the worst home for that pet. Almost of most do not have enough water and food, amongst other fundamental necessities.

Simply because they were in dire require of way to improve their lives, they willingly allowed themselves to be exploited so long as they are able to make a living (Biskind n. l. ). Yet , as represented in the documentary, the miners were unacquainted with the poor functioning conditions that awaited these people, which included the no reach clause inside their contracts, that was eventually taken off. However , in many ways, the miners felt the fact that clause in the contract at first meant that their particular place in the company is secure and there will hardly ever be any kind of need for them to stage a strike.

But eventually, they will realized that the strike eliminated them via influencing the labor procedures of the firm and this is why that they pushed because of its removal. three or more. The documented as a whole serves as an important social piece and an eye-opener mainly because in the painful fact that it depicted. Aside from the insolvent miners, the documentary also captured about film accurate events such as imprisoned strikers, rioters, assault, courtrooms, and in many cases murder. It is also said that the documentary a new more man side to it, because director Kopple took different risks by attending you see, the strikes and pickets and in addition interviewing the members from the miners and the families.

Apart from showing the unemployed of the miners, it also portrayed how people who have little to no education are abused and used by people who rank higher in society. Above all, the strength of the film is situated heavily upon its moral authority (Biskind n. l. ) since it will not simply portray heroes and villains, but simply the truth and the lessons to be learned from that. IV. JUDGMENT Over-all, I really believe that the doc is a extremely essential part that describes the realities of one with the poorest operating classes inside the country- the coal miners.

I am sure that most people, personally included, do not know the dangers that accompany the job such as black chest disease, which can be fatal. On the whole, I believe the fact that the film was effective in depicting how these coalminers risk their lives to ensure that the homes and businesses of thousands of People in america are supplied with electicity and electrical power and therefore, they more than ought to have, at the very least, safe working conditions, fair labor practices, and higher pay.