Composite Score: 86.33

Featuring: John L. Lewis, Carl Horn, Norman Yarborough, Logan Patterson, Houston Elmore, Phil Sparks, Florence Reece, Bazel Collins, Sudie Crusenberry, W.A. “Tony” Boyle, and Arnold Miller

Director: Barbara Kopple

Genres: Documentary, History

MPAA Rating: PG

Box Office: N/A

My take on Watching This Film:

                Harlan County U.S.A. is Barbara Kopple’s documentary about a miner strike in the 1970s in Kentucky in response to their employers rejecting a union contract that had been voted on by the miners. The film focuses on the various aspects of the strike, from the miners and their families to the company workers to the strike breakers to the politics involved behind the scenes in the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The sympathetic portrait of working-class Americans standing up to corporate America and political corruption won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and remains one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time.

                As it stands, the success of the documentary and of the strike stands as a reminder of the ways that the media and the public can work together to achieve victories against the ever-present, but not omnipotent, threat of government and corporate overreach. The bluegrass songs performed by citizens of Harlan County throughout the film serve as a poignant and catchy reminder of the roots of the struggles of working-class America, and really the global working class, that has very little to do with the anti-education, anti-woke stereotype that the demographic tends toward in a lot of circles (especially those in the Deep South) in the years since the 1980s. The camaraderie among the workers far outweighs any other political divides that might have existed between them, and even when disputes come up among the strikers in the documentary, they admirably put them aside to keep the strike and its goals at the fore of their discussions. It’s an inspiring film in this way, even if much of its subject matter – poverty, exploitation, and underrepresentation – tends toward the depressing. The film serves as a reminder of the importance of labor unions and collective bargaining in a world of corporate overreach and government that is increasingly in the pocket of said corporations.

                At the same time, there is a practical sense in which the film doesn’t really hold up, in that it addresses the hardships of coal mining on the miners but does little in the way of offering any alternatives to coal and coal mining, recognizing the cause of the problem without actually condemning it. In the modern era, we recognize the incredibly detrimental effects of coal mining and coal burning on the environment and on the people who live in proximity to it, but this documentary fails to address any of that concern beyond pointing out that miners with black lung were forced to go back to work because of the exploitative conditions of their work environment.

                What works for the film though, is the sentimental portrayal of the individuals, and the dedication to putting normal faces in central focus. The film features the strikers and their families far more prominently than it does the corporate bosses, the politicians, or even the union leaders, offering more relatable characters to the audience. Unfortunately, it jumps so often between these smaller players that we never fully get a chance to attach to any singular story or “character”, rather we’re forced to keep our focus on the idea of the strike over anything else. This method works to some extent, keeping you rooting for the strike, but it keeps the emotional impact to a minimum, which makes it more difficult for the film to fully resonate in the modern day. One miner or one family serving as the film’s throughline could give the whole thing just a bit more weight for modern audiences and engage a broader spectrum of watchers.

                Harlan County U.S.A. presents a hopeful and realistic look at the plight of laborers and unions in the United States, showcasing the potential efficacy of media in cooperation with the common person and earning a place of greatness in the process. The documentary loses some steam from a modern perspective simply from its lack of coherent emotional throughline to engage a broad audience, but its message remains just as resonant as ever. You can currently stream this film on Max if you’d like to check it out.