Harlan County, USA
By Barbara Kopple
In the 1970s, documentaries were not on the top of the film world. This was the age of the blockbuster films, so only a handful of documentaries were released theatrically. This film was lucky enough to be seen by a wide audience, largely in part thanks to its distributor, Cinema 5. They got the movie out to more people, and it was actually quite a successful film.
In 1972, the Brookside Miners of Eastern Kentucky went on strike to protest against low wages and miner safety. They wanted to form a Union, which would be known as the United Mine Workers of America, but the Duke Power Company would not sign the standard contract. Barbara Kopple decided to document this momentus event and spent 18 months in Harlan County, Kentucky filming over 200 mining families. Her chronology is a little unorthodox for documentaries at this time. The film starts in 1973 when the strike started, but then Kopple backtracks in the film and goes into a scene about the 1968 incident in which a mine collapsed and 72 men were trapped. The major focus of the film though is the picketing that occurred in 1972. These events led to one death, many shootings, and violent bitterness toward authority figures. It is a powerful film that documents the lives of these miners as well as their family members who are equally as pivotal in changing their circumstances. In this way, the film is an example of a social documentary.
The director, Barbara Kopple, worked as an apprentice in American cinema verite with Albert and David Maysles, which you can find traces of in her later films. This film however is a deviation from that, with her rejection of the fly on the wall impartiality. During the late 70s, this new paradigm of documentaries was breaking through. This format was a mixture of direct interviews and archival footage. This was intended to bring history “to life.”
This film has been criticized though as being highly impartial. One of the miner’s wives is quoted as saying, “They Say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals.” I think that this statement is also true of Kopple as a filmmaker. She is clearly one sided, and only showing the miner’s point of view. All of the scenes involving the government or Duke Power Company negotiations have been editing in such a way to make they out as the bad guys. She used juxtaposition editing styles to counterpoint everything that they are saying. Also, when she interviews people, she does not disguise her subjectivity at all because you can hear her talking in some of the dialogue scenes. Do you think that this is an example of self-reflexivity? She is not using a typical first person voice-over narration, but she is clearly involved in all the events that are unfolding onscreen. Which tactic do you think is better when making a one-sided subjective documentary?
The wives of this film play a major role in the strikes. Feminism was a growing movement during the mid 1970s, and one of the goals of feminism at this time was to document the lives of ordinary women. The women portrayed in HC USA are very strong and passionate, and that is definitely shown here. They take on domestic roles while all this is going on, as well as leadership roles. They organize picket lines, form support committees, and confront the violent nature of the “scabs.” There is one scene in particular that stands out to me.
Deviation from verite in sound design- working class muscial anthems had a highly emotional impact.
As for the aftermath, three months after the contract was signed at Brookside, the national coal contract expired. So, after the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA) and the UMW failed to reach an agreement and on November 12, 1974, the 120,000 Union Miners went back on strike. After 3 weeks they reached a tentative agreement, but during July and August of 1975, 100,000 protested against company abuse of grievance procedures. The next year, 1976 in July, they protested the courts interference with labor management relations. Since the film ends in this bittersweet way, it almost is asking for a call to arms from the citizens of Kentucky. Their fight is not over, there is still a lot of progress that needs to happen.
After she finished filming, Kopple claims that fragments of the film were used as organizing and fundraising tools throughout the coal mining community. The film contains very pro-union arguments as well as basically a how to manual on how to strike against your employer.
This film has been held with critical acclaim. It won Best Feature Documentary in 1976 at the Academy Awards. This is one of two Academy Awards for Barbara Kopple, the other being for American Dream. The Library of Congress also inducted this documentary into the National Film Registry in 1990. Then, in 2005, Sundance Film Festival honoredHarlan County, USAon its 30thanniversary by introducing it into the Sundance collection. At the event, there was a panel discussion with Kopple and Hart Perry, as well as the director and Hazel Dickens. Film critic Roger Ebert moderated the panel. Kopple also brought current Utah miners with her to discuss current working conditions and hardships.
