Harlan County, USA

There’s an old adage, which you may have heard before about pressure. If you want to know what you have with a lump of coal, you subject it to immense pressure. That pressure will do one of two things. It either crumbles and turns to dust or it thrives and turns into a diamond. In 1976 a film crew descended upon a coal town in Kentucky where coal workers were striking for fair treatment. While put under immense pressure from the coal company, the resulting film and our subject today shows just how brilliantly the workers' strong will shone like a diamond.

So if you’re like me and you enjoy film and the impact and emotions they convey, then grab a glass of your preferred liquid and join me for the next little while. For me, that’s a glass of bourbon from our friends at Buffalo Trace in Kentucky. So sit back, relax, and letMs talk about the love of film. Welcome to Glazed Cinema.

Today's subject is a documentary about events of a labor dispute that took place in Kentucky, called The Brookside Strike. The Brookside Strike began when the coal miners of Duke Power Company wanted to join the The United Mine Workers of America or UMWA, but were met with resistence from the Duke Power. Resident coal miners were looking for fair pay, retirement funding, and job security among other things. The workers along with their families took to the picket line shortly after a settlement wasn't reached and vowed to stop working until their demands were met. During this time Barabara Kopple and her film crew joined the cause, capturing an important moment in history. A fight for labor and human rights in place called...Harlan County USA.

One of the most interesting things about this film is that it happened by accident, though I suppose you could also call it fate. The crew were in Ohio filming a documentary about the race for the Presidency of the United Line Workers. They had put in about eight months to a year's worth of work to that project when news reached them of a strike nearby. The strike was just beginning to fester in Harlan County, Kentucky. This happened to be pretty close by so the crew traveled there to see if they could start filming.

Due to the fact that this trip was almost tangential in nature, nobody really knew what they were getting into. They arrived at dawn, just as the sun rose over the hills of the valley to a sight of police officers and picketers. Mrs, Kopple puts this into frame perfectly in an interview, stating,

"Everybody there carried guns and the first morning we were there a guy had a shootout with another guy and the next day I saw him riding around with a sign on his truck that said 38's ain't shit...and I knew I was in for a rough ride."

They decided to stay and those striking were cautious about this film crew from New York. It wasn’t until striking up conversation that they found the cameras were on their side. After that the crew was welcomed with open arms. Throughout the course of filming Barbara stayed with the residents in their homes and got to know them. This undoubtedly aided in the film’s atmosphere of empathy and care toward the coal workers and their families.

This all made me wonder…what is coal? I thought it was a fragile and flammable rock. In my research however, I found out otherwise. What I did know about coal is that it consists of a lot of carbon, but that just comes from the Earth right? Turns out…yes and no. Apparently, coal originates from a conglomeration of plants, fungi, bacteria, and moisture. This organic meld translates to additives to carbon like arsenic, sulfur, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen among other things. So, remember that adage about coal turning into diamonds? Well diamonds come from pure carbon, so given coal's many impurities, it makes it impossible for coal to make diamonds despite the pressure and heat it’s succumbed to. I thought that was interesting to learn what coal is and a bit more about its makeup.

I’m really happy that I was able to watch this film and understand more about this time and place in history. I say that because I found this film almost by accident. Now, stick with me on this sidebar, I swear we’ll get back on track shortly. Just keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle and we’ll be alright. 

I love most genres of music, but I particularly love metal. I like my metal dark and murky with some hair on it. My favorite variety of metal is black metal and for a while I had a goal of discovering one black metal from each country possible. When looking inward at America I discovered a lot of interesting bands and takes. Within that search I discovered an album that would inadvertently introduce me to our subject today. It was an album titled "Kentucky", and was the debut effort of a band called Panopticon. 

Kentucky has a fantastic cover which features an image of a golden gray overcast sky over green hills and trees. Overlaying this photo of nature is a translucent image of a coal miner and a small boy, appearing almost like ghosts. It's a beautiful album with a lot of different sounds and emotional depth, communicated through great music. The overarching theme of the album is the coal industry of Kentucky and the abuse the companies laid bear to the workers and the land. 

On some songs there is spoken word interweaving the music and it's through the messaging of the album using this historical spoken word that got me curious. At that time I had heard stories of coal companies and physical effects miners encountered like blacklung, but what I was hearing was new. A direct perspective by those affected. In the album there were mentions of Harlan County and I wanted to know more about what the band was speaking about and bringing attention to. So, after doing a quick Google search of Harlan County I discovered our subject today. In order to learn more, I pressed play on the documentary.

There are archival bits of spoken word on numerous songs on the album, but the one on “Black Soot and Red Blood” I find particularly poignant. Not just in terms of content, but to illustrate the consistent behavior shown by the coal companies. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the spoken word found throughout the album came directly from Harlan County USA and it was gratifying to put images and faces to the words. If you're a fan of black metal or just curious, Kentucky is a brilliantly layered, wonderfully moving, and beautiful album. I have to thank Panopticon for peaking my curiosity about this moment in time and this documentary.

The film was a harrowing effort by those striking against the coal company and for the crew, recording the action. During the course of shooting they were harassed, threatened, beaten, and shot at. Through it all, the brave men and women stood their ground and never faltered. They took up arms and made sure that the company knew they wouldn’t back down until their demands were met. 

Some were arrested and put in jail for defending themselves against the authorities assaulting them.

In the courtroom scene, the court would not allow the film crew to enter to film or record sound. To get the footage they captured, a remkte microphone was placed on Bessie while she was inside to capture the audio. At the same time, the cinematographer stood outside the room with the door slightly ajar to film what action he could. The result is a grainy visual of a courtroom scene, but without the daring of this attempt we would've never been able to witness this moment of the strike.

Every person in the strike was heroic, but the women of the town…the wives, sisters, and mothers are exceptional. During the protest they banned together and protested alongside the men. I find their attitudes and resolve extremely heroic and inspiring. It takes a lot of courage and gusto to stand up for what they believe in, despite the danger or consequences. One woman among them however, stands out among them. An outspoken mother and wife, named Lois Scott.

Lois is a person of morals and principles, willing to fight for those wronged by the unjust. Her voice is resounding and powerful, inspiring the other women to continue on and stay the course. She is the voice of reason and the voice of the protest in several instances. She is a role model to be certain. I was drawn to her energy and aura and she really inspired me.

One of my favorite scenes is when we see picketers in New York City. We see oil workers on the sidewalk with signs hanging in front and back of them with messaging, i forming passersby of their cause. They don hard hats and one of them is speaking with a police officer. The oil worker is wearing a hidden microphone and through it we get to hear their conversation. The police officer is shocked to hear about their pay and explains that what the worker thinks is good pay really isn't. I chose a point in this sequence as the hint for this episode. It's a great moment in the film and the ahot almost looks like it could be a painting, I think it's really striking...pun very much intended. The scene is a great look at two totally different worlds colliding and comparing notes.

In the end, the strike lasted 13 long months and left four dead and several injured or arrested. Harlan County USA packs quite the experience within its 103 minute duration. If you like documentaries or historical films, I highly recommend pressing play on this impactful experience...I don’t think you'll be disappointed.

If you'd like to watch Harlan County USA for yourself you can find it on two streaming services at the time of this recording. For your viewing pleasure, you can find it on The Criterion Channel. The Criterion Channel is a streaming service of tremendous value for any film fan and offers pricing options of $10.99 per month or $99 per year, which is what I chose to do. 

You can also find it on HBO Max. HBO Max is a streaming service with a diverse catalog of great TV and Film options and includes pricing options of either $9.99 per month with ads or $14.99 per month ad-free. 

Hopefully this great documentary comes around to other streaming services in the future. It's too important a historical document to be cast away from services like these.

If you like this podcast tell your friends and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Each week there will be new content including hints about episodes before they air. If you'd like to learn more about the podcast visit our website at glazedcinema.com. There you'll find more info about the show and a place to submit ideas for future episodes. For film fans who are hearing impaired, the blog page on our website features each episode in written form as well. As always, thanks for listening and I hope to see you next time with another beverage and another fine film on Glazed Cinema.