In Harlan County, USA by Barbara Kopple, the film explores the Brookside mining strike of 1973 in Harlan County and shares the history of the mining people of the area. Kopple follows the story of the strike as it turns from protests to residual violence, and provides input from the County people on their perspectives throughout the documentary. The narrative of Harlan County places the viewer as a looker through the lens of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and specifically the strikers of Brookside mine workers. The film elevates the viewer's experience through documentary form and stylistic characteristics similar to ethnographic film. Harlan County shares multiple characteristics that may categorize itself as a documentary with ethnographic quantities through modes of direct cinema, immersive …show more content…
Additionally, the linear structure of this sequence places the UWMA meeting as the subject of the camera and brings the viewers to the attention of the old man discussing the life of Lawrence Jones. This scene demonstrates that the subject is not Kopple illustrating a narrative for Harlan County, but Harlan County illustrating a narrative for its own story and Kopple filming to record the events of the Brookside strike. In this way, there is a connection to ethnography because of the observation of events. In this case, the viewers observing and Kopple documenting the strike is similar to the way that ethnographers observe and document cultures. Furthermore, the use of immersive storytelling integrates the viewers into the culture of Harlan and amongst the townspeople of the Miner community. This stylistic characteristic within the documentary film helps create a relationship between the viewers and the characters on screen. Kopple intends to document the story of Harlan and how the strike has changed the community over