Harlan county usa summary. Harlan County, USA 2022-10-16

Harlan county usa summary Rating: 8,6/10 1493 reviews

Harlan County USA is a 1976 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple that chronicles a coal miners' strike in Harlan County, Kentucky. The film follows the lives of the striking miners and their families as they struggle to stand up to the powerful coal company and fight for better wages and working conditions.

The film begins in 1973, when the miners at the Brookside Mine in Harlan County, Kentucky, went on strike to protest the low wages and poor working conditions at the mine. The company, Duke Power, refused to negotiate with the miners and instead hired non-union replacement workers, leading to violent confrontations between the two sides.

As the strike dragged on, the miners and their families faced numerous challenges, including harassment and intimidation from the coal company and the local authorities, who were largely supportive of the company. The miners were also struggling financially, as they had no income while on strike and were relying on donations from supporters to get by.

Despite these challenges, the miners remained determined to fight for their rights and improve their living and working conditions. The film shows the miners and their families standing up to the coal company and the local authorities, and it also highlights the role of women in the strike, as they played a key role in supporting and organizing their husbands and fathers.

In the end, the miners won their strike and secured a new contract with the coal company, which included significant wage increases and improved working conditions. However, the film also highlights the ongoing struggles of the miners and their families, as they continue to face economic and social challenges in their community.

Overall, Harlan County USA is a powerful and inspiring documentary that tells the story of a group of people who stood up for their rights and fought for change in the face of great adversity. It is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit, and it serves as a reminder of the importance of standing up for what you believe in. So, the Harlan County USA is a story of struggle, determination and victory of coal miners against the powerful coal company.

Harlan County Summary

harlan county usa summary

It was only after Jones passed that the miners finally got a contract drawn up between Duke Power Company and UMW. Summary: Criterion strikes again no pun intended with Harlan County USA. . Retrieved April 7, 2018. . The film received a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the aggregator site. .

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Harlan County, U.S.A. movie review (2006)

harlan county usa summary

Retrieved October 12, 2016. Meanwhile, in the streets of Harlan, the company hires armed goons to escort their scabs past the strikers. Harlan County was formed in 1819 from a part of Silas Harlan served under His fiance at the time of his death, Sarah Caldwell, married his brother James Harlan. . The 1920s, a decade of defeat for American workers everywhere, left the UMWA in a shambles.

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Review and analysis: Harlan County U.S.A.

harlan county usa summary

Arm's length is not director Barbara Kopple's style; she puts us right alongside these Kentucky miners and their families, striking Harlan County's Brookside mine in 1973 for the right to join the United Mine Workers of America UMW. The earliest surviving photographs of Appalachia taken in the mid-nineteenth century present the region as an island of otherness created by nature. Discussions of a no-strike clause as a possible item within a contract became the most contentious issue. . OPINION Over-all, I believe that the document is a highly essential piece that depicts the realities of one of the poorest working classes in the country- the coal miners.


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Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

harlan county usa summary

Surely some of the strikers and their families must be wondering if this organizing, and strike, is the right move. What makes the scene so difficult to watch and hear is not the visual image, however, but the words. The machine sounds start within the music and pour out of it, taking over the aural space before they fade into the sounds of nature. The revelation of this tragedy comes out of nowhere around the 80-minute mark. .

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Harlan County War

harlan county usa summary

No concessions were given by the mine operators and UMW membership plummeted. The New York Times. . 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. We see both men and women being put in jail for their efforts, but that does not deter them from the fight. Most of all, the strength of the film lies heavily on its moral authority Biskind n. The process of making a film about political activism was itself a form of political activism.

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Harlan County USA

harlan county usa summary

He says he seems to have lost his own ID cards. It develops, manufactures, and markets photographic and chemical products for both amateur and professional photographers. To get a contract. You might think that the workers winning their contract would be the finale, but it goes a little farther, as they strike and strike again for this and that. .

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Analysis of the documentary Harlan County, USA, Sample of Essays

harlan county usa summary

Striking miners in the coalfields of southern West Virginia forced the Republican governor to sign a bill that allowed compensation for black lung disease. Retrieved July 25, 2018. By the time Kopple began shooting in Harlan County, most people who watched television news programming had seen these kinds of Appalachian images. Joining the picket lines every daybearing witness, cameras turning full or empty they become a deterrent. . Harlan County Summary Harlan County is a documentary that tells the story of the Brookside miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. The theory implied that the French troops guided the Malian troops as thy learnt on their own.

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Harlan County, Kentucky

harlan county usa summary

On September 29, troops were dispatched on behalf of the miners for the first time in the Harlan County War, the governor referring to the beatings and harassment at the hands of the mine guards as "the worst reign of terror in the history of the county. As the camera pans in on a close-up of one of the younger miners, Kopple records her own voice. Appalshop films use direct cinema techniques but also often violate them with the inclusion of historical film footage, non-diegetic sound sound whose source does not exist within the film , and interviews, the kind of pragmatic mix of methods Kopple employs in Harlan County. The unique setting adds to why I like this film so much. .

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