“Cinematic Depictions of Labor Actions in Appalachia”

This paper will examine cinematic depictions of three labor struggles: the 1920 Battle of Matewan in Mingo County, West Virginia; the 1973 Brookside Mine strike in Harlan County, Kentucky; and 1970s unionization at J. P. Stevens textile mill in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. While Roanoke Rapids is part of the Piedmont and not Appalachia, Norma Rae (1979, dir. Martin Ritt) shares features with dramatic re-enactments of the Battle of Matewan in Matewan (1987, dir. John Sayles) and the Brookside strike in Harlan County War (2000, dir. Tony Bill). One shared feature is foregrounding the necessity of unifying workers of diverse ethnicities. A second shared feature is considerable attention is paid to local leaders being mentored by outside organizers, even when those organizers are not based upon historical figures. This focus upon mentorship produces a tension between celebration of local figures and assertion of a regional hierarchy, whereby Appalachians and Southerners require assistance to achieve their aims. Since the mentors in each film are male, a gender hierarchy is also present in that women activists are depicted as needing the guidance of men. Dramatic re-enactments will be tempered by documentaries of the labor actions, including Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976, dir. Barbara Kopple). Finally, this paper interacts with the conference theme “Unity and Diversity, A New Appalachia” through attention to the shared struggles of workers of diverse ethnicities and cultures