Matewan Essay - 1726 Words

Matewan The citizens of Matewan, a coal -mining town in West Virginia lived amidst a feudalistic class process. One may think of medieval times in connection with feudalism, but the film â€Å"Matewan† directed by John Sayles was based on historical events that took place in 1920. The feudal lord was not a European king, and the serfs were not farming his land. Nevertheless, feudalism existed in this southern town, as the workers did not have the ability to choose their employer. Unlike Capitalism, the members of Matewan could not go out into the free labor market and choose the businesses for which they wished to work. The Stone Mountain Coal Company made choice nonexistent and in doing so gained feudal power over the employees.†¦show more content†¦Due to the monopolistic control by the coal company, perfect competition didn’t exist in Matewan. Businesses were not competing to gain workers, as there was only one source of employment for the inhabitants. One member of the town said, â€Å"If you ain’t with the company, there ain’t no work.† Because of the lack of competition, the employer does not have the need to market their establishment to a potential workforce or maintain desirable working conditions. Poor working conditions are sometimes a characteristic of a feudalistic class process, but certainly not the main trait. The absence of choice is the focal point of feudalism. For example, The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair contains graphic descriptions of miserable working conditions in the meat packing industry. While the immigrants worked for a meager wage under hideous conditions and were often abused, the main character in the story had other options for employment within the town. Albeit, the other options may not have been desirable ones, but they existed. His ability to choose is what makes the class process in The Jungle capitalistic as opposed to the existence of feudalism in Matewan. The workers for the Stone Mountain Coal Company were not paid in currency that could be used outside of Matewan; they were paid in company script that could be used only in Stone Mountain owned establishments. By the time the company hadShow MoreRelated`` Storming Heaven `` As Well As By John Sayles s Movie, Matewan1534 Words   |  7 Pagesstill hold true. If you push people into an unpleasant enough position, eventually they are going to fight back. It is just our nature. Examples of this can be seen in Denise Giardina’s novel, Storming Heaven; as well as, in John Sayles’s movie, Matewan. Both plots tell stories of the Appalachian miners and their fights against the overwhelming coal companies. On the surface, we can see that the stories revolve around themes of injustice. The coal companies take everything they can from the minersRead More Matewan Essays1281 Words   |  6 PagesMatewan Ignorance promotes fear. The Stone Mountain Coal Company exploits the ignorance of its employees to maintain power in Matewan. Keeping Matewan’s residents fearful of their future, fearful of change and fearful for their lives, the Stone Mountain Coal Company retains absolute control over the town of Matewan. Controlling all four social and cultural processes at work in Matewan, the company is able to extract the fear, work, and â€Å"loyalty† they desire out of their workers. They areRead MoreEssay about Matewan1256 Words   |  6 PagesMatewan In the film, Matewan, director John Sayles paints a 1920’s picture of a small, West Virginia coal-mining town. Over the course of the film, this seemingly American Township reveals itself as the site of feudal hardship for its citizens. The Stone Mountain Coal Company was the sole employer in Matewan. The company’s laborers struggled for autonomy and for freedom from the company’s grasp. The ideal method for this achieving such autonomy was organization of a union. ThisRead MoreBattle of Blair Mountain1437 Words   |  6 Pagesask him to get out of the servants’ quarters.† Because of this cruel and spiteful method of prohibiting unionization, UMWA set up tent colonies to house the homeless miners and their families. On May 19, 1920, 12 Baldwin-Felts agents arrived in Matewan, including Lee Felts who met up with his brother Albert Felts who was already located in the area. The afternoon of their arrival, the Felts brothers along with 11 of their men headed to Stone Mountain Coal Company property and began evicting familiesRead MoreEssay on Matewan and Norma Rae922 Words   |  4 PagesMatewan and Norma Rae Theoretically, the characters of both Matewan, and Norma Rae take part in a capitalistic society. In both situations the people are partaking in a form of labor market, where they are selling their time and energy. However, the town of Matewan, governed by the Stone Mountain Coal Companies monopoly on the land and businesses, and isolated by distance and limited technology, as fallen into a feudalistic condition. Despite the fact that Norma Raes small hometown of AlabamaRead MoreEssay on The Economic Structure of Matewan1293 Words   |  6 PagesThe Economic Structure of Matewan The film Matewan, written and directed by John Sayles, depicts the small rural townof 1920s Mingo County, West Virginia as a society undergoing complete social unrest, a result of clashing ideals and economic systems. The film is an illustration of how different social systems come to be so intertwined that they cannot be defined independently of one another. Unfortunately for the people of Matewan, the feudalistic economic system imposed on them by theRead MoreMovie Reflection1301 Words   |  6 Pagesthis reflective paper, I will be talking about the two movies: Matewan and On the Waterfront. I will tell you how each of these movies made me feel while I was watching them. Also, I will talk about how they relate to our HR book. Another thing that I will mention are the different acts and how the outcomes would’ve been different if they would have been in act at this time. The first movie I will be talking about is Matewan. Matewan is a movie about the mines in Mingo County, WV. In the beginningRead More Norma Rae Essay1517 Words   |  7 Pagesenvironmental and cultural processes all played a part in the workers struggle to form an effective union. Unlike the film, Matewan, in which the coal miners worked under feudal control, the employees of the O.P. Henley Mill worked amidst a Capitalistic Economy. The key difference between the two, is that the inhabitants of the town of Matewan did not have other choices of employment and the characters in Norma Rae had the ability to go into the free labor market and be active participantsRead MoreAnalysis Of Watching John Sayles Film2695 Words   |  11 Pagesdisappointing to see how he abandons his community without even saying anything to them, which to me makes him selfish and a hypocrite for not staying true to his word of god. In the contrary, John Sayles illustrates a formalistic society in the film, Matewan. Matewan is a mining town in West Virginia controlled by the Stone Mountain Cole Company. The company creates much of its labor opportunity in town, providing positions for inadequate laborers as miners so like that they did not pay them the money theyRead MoreEssay on Feudalism and Capitalism3836 Words   |  16 Pageseconomic theory or set of theories (which can be contradictory), to teach particular theories (including economic theories), and to provide an objective for analysis using economic theory. (Professor Gabriel) It is with this in mind that the films of Matewan and Norma Rae are of importance to us when analyzing the concepts of feudalism and capitalism, because they are films that contain in them examples from these two types of economic systems. While the concept of unions is prevalent in both films