Matewan
John Sayles’ Matewan is a brilliant drama set detailing the conflict between coal miners and anti-union forces in 1920. Though the movie is fictional, it is based squarely on the bitter and often bloody dispute that entrenched coal miners and operators against each other for more than 20 years. One of the major problems was that coal was becoming less and less profitable to mine, and it was the workers that were absorbing the market shortfalls. Worker abuse was unhindered by much government interference, and any inspectors that were sent to the mines were often paid off by the coal operators to ignore gross safety hazards. Something had to change, and this is where Sayles’ story of conflict begins. Contrasting dark and light, violence versus peaceful disobedience, evil against good, Sayles created war in Matewan. Through sound, cinematography, and mise en scene the film develops the embattled characters and the surrounding revolution. The exposition really establishes the mood of the film. It begins by following a coughing coal miner, covered in black soot, as he crawls around in damp dark mountain shafts. The miner is setting explosives and using verbal warnings to spread the word that dynami
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3137
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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