Matewan

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Matewan

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. This idea of union struck a cord with the company, and the conflict between employer and employee soon escalated into a battle. The laborers began to realize, in certain terms, that the Stone Mountain Coal Company is not simply a corporation but a feudal power. These townspeople were living in a capitalist country, but they were controlled by a feudal enterprise in Matewan, West Virginia. The coal mining business built a town that was then forced to rely on that company through monopoly control, bondage contract, and the organization of their production. Thus, the Stone Mountain Coal Company created a feudal monopoly over the town. The business had dominant control over all aspects of their laborer’s lives.

Stone Mountain Coal Company systematically established Matewan as a feudal society. In order for feudal society to be created, it is essential that a feudal lord exert monopoly control over resources. Stone Mountain exerted control over all of the economic resources in this town. First, since it was only coal company in the town, the business had possession of the existing natural resources. This exclusive ownership meant that Stone Mountain consequently became the sole source of income in the town. In a capitali...

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...alances. The workers began to feel disconnected and trapped, resulting in a poor morale. The company gained too much power and took advantage of the worker trapped by the circumstances created by the company. And rather than viewing their employees as valuable resources, the company came to regard them as an expendable material. A woman from the town shared that after an accident in the mine, the company could have sprayed down the walls of the mine to prevent further explosions. However, because it was too expensive, a measure that could have saved lives and prevented injury was not taken. These types of abuses of power are caused by a feudal economy. A boy at the end of “Matewan” stated: “We got as much help as we can stand.” The help that this town needed involved allowing them the economic choices that are supposedly supplied in a capitalist economy.

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