A Review of 2003 update of “Working Stiffs, Union Mains, Reds and Riffraff” by Tom NanielloWhile planning the first WV LaborDay Film Festival for the Paden City Eagle’s Club that took place over Labor Day weekend in 2005, I found the original version of this book very useful. The original describes 150 films. This new one describes 350 and includes labor films from around the world.
One of the most useful descriptions in the first edition is for “Sit Down and Fight: Walter Reuther and the Rise of the Auto Workers’
Union,” the documentary on WV native son Walter Reuther. The 1993 film was shown on PBS and sat onthe state library’s shelf unused for a decade. Thanks to this unique filmography I learned all about the production, principal figures, and sources of print info on the subject.
The new edition has a nice list of films about “miners and mining” that includes many Appalshop films. He also has short essays on the different kinds of labor film categories – documentaries, films of migrant labor, peckerwood and white trash films, British social realism I: Angry Young Men and BSR II: Ken Loach, Italian neorealist, and African films. The book also includes a chronology of labor films and websites for the distributors. I enjoyed the chronology of the history of labor films, noting that it includes films by WV native son Pare Lorentz. It lists feature films made in the
U.S., non-U.S. features, and documentaries. The timeline includes one of the first films I worked on – “
Angel
City” (1980) about West Virginians traveling to
Florida, only to end up in a migrant labor camp where they had to cooperate with black workers to gain their respect. “Office Space” (1999) is included rightfully – it has become a cult film and truly captures the madness of workers trapped in cubicles like no film before or since. “Northern Lights” (1979) has a full description. Jude Binder, the WV artist who recently completed her own great film, “Field of Flowers” called me recently, telling me that she thought it was her favorite film. Unfortunately, it is not available on VHS or DVD.
Of special interest to me is that two films by Luis Bunuel, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, are included – “Land Without Bread” (1932) and “Los Olvidados.”(1950) Both films along with his first, “Andalusian Dog” would have to make a list of the most intense films ever made. Neither film deals directly with laborbut to understand poverty, they are still amongst the best ever made. “Bread” has the most pitiful scene, showing a mule being stung to death – for real – and “Olvidados” is about the street children of
Mexico. I once saw a woman weep uncontrollably for half an hour after the film. I stayed in the back of the auditorium, paralyzed by such a strong reaction.
Tony Buba, a friend from
Pittsburgh, has three films included – “Lightning Over Braddock,” “Voices from A Steel Town” and “Struggles in Steel.”
There are some problems with the compilation. The author states in his “Introduction” that not all of the films are available – some were broadcast on television and never made available for sale. One of the landmark major laborfilms not described is also one of the greatest – Joris Iven’s and Henri Storck’s “Misere au Borinage (Misery in the Borinage) (1934). I screened it several years ago as part of the South Charleston Belgium Festival, not having seen it in 20 years. Its power showing the horrors of life in
Belgium’s coalfields during the Great Depression cannot be overestimated. (Unfortunately, I do not know of a VHS or DVD source. I presented a 16 mm print bought in the 1980s from a defunct film distributor.) I wish that the book had an index so that a person could search for films, say, on labor in
West Virginia.
Some of the films I most would like to see include Ken Loach’s film, “The Price of Coal” (1977) and “Seacoal” (1985). Paging through the book, I realize that despite showing films since 1972 there are many labor films I still have not seen. I have something to look forward to in the coming years – given that there is some kind of access.
Here is a list of recent films on labor I compiled for Counterpoise magazine for its fall labor edition listed by date.
Who Needs Sleep
2006, 78 min. Haskell Wexler & Lisa Leeman,
In 1997, after working a typical 19-hour day ona film set, assistant cameraman Brent Hershman fell asleep behind the wheel, crashed his car, and died. Deeply disturbed by his colleague’s preventable death, Oscar-winning cinematographer director and activist Haskell Wexler (Matewan) made this powerful and personal documentary essay on our quality of life which shows how sleep deprivation and long work hours are a lethal combination.
Access: http://www.whoneedssleep.net/Site/Welcom…
Harlan County, USA
2006 (1976, DVD) 103 mins. Criterion
Barbara Kopple came to Appalachia to study at
Morris
Harvey
College –now the
University of
Charleston. While starting a film about Arnold Miller and the Miners for Democracy Movement a strike became very intense at the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June 1973. Kopple shows the history of coal mining – the many deaths, the conflicts, and for the first time in this film – the role women played in a strike. Dave Morris, Hazel Dickens, and other Appalachian musicians provide the music for the film. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1977 and has become a landmark film, influencing the entire field of filmmaking. A docu-drama version starring Holly Hunter was made in 2000 called “
Harlan
County
War.” The film was restored and premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Extras onthe DVD include an update,”The Making of Harlan County USA,” out-takes, and interviews with Hazel Dickens and John Sayles. Access: Amazon.com and other sources.
North Country
2005 126 mins. Warner Brothers
Charlize Theron was nominated for an Oscar as best actress for playing Josey Aimes, a
Minnesota
Iron
Range worker who just wants to work to support herself and her children. Based ona true story of a woman who stood up against sexism and won the first class action lawsuit against a company for sexual harassment. Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson and Sean Bean star with her, McDormand also receiving an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. Directed by Niki Caro of “Whale Rider” fame. Filmed on location in Northern Minnesota and
New Mexico. Access: Amazon.com and other DVD retailers
Bubble
2005 73 mins. Magnolia Entertainment
Steven Soderbergh, best known for directing “Erin Brokovich” and the “Ocean’s Eleven” remakes, came to Parkersburg to make the first of several low-budget, digital films. It tells the story of several workers in a doll factory who lead conventional lives. Tensions lead to an unexpected murder. The DVD includes deleted scenes, a film on the making of it in Parkersburg and Belpre, Ohio, across the
Ohio River where a famous doll factory once existed. This is the first Hollywood-based feature film ever released on the same day at theaters, on DVD, and on pay cable. Access: Amazon.com
Coal Camp Blues, Coalfield Struggle
2003 55 mins. Jim McGee
Jim McGee made this film about Carl Rutherford, a well-known coal field musician and activist. He was active in the grass roots group, Big Creek People in Action (BCPIA), based in
McDowell
County. As a musician he is known as a Buck Owens style singer, writing his own songs about coal mines and life. Archival footage and historical photographs are used to illustrate his songs. Also featured is Frani Patton, director of BCPIA. To learn more about
Rutherford, visit his website at - http://www.geocities.com/carl_rutherford… . Access –Cost is $ 21. Send check or money order to – Jim McGee,
40204
The Last Campaign
107 mins. 2005 Wayne Ewing Productions
A unique documentary that combines footage from Mr. Ewing’s first film, If Elected (1972) that profiled WV politician Warren McGraw’s Raleigh County race against coalmine owner Tracy Hylton with footage of McGraw’s primary and general election races in 2004. The overwhelming power of corporate money in contemporary elections is shown. McGraw beat Hylton when he was outspent 10 to 1. In 2004 he lost when he was outspent 100 to 1. These funds were spent airing the meanest attack ads in American political history. Access: http://www.thelastcampaign.com
The Kingmaker – Don Blankenship
30 mins. WVPBS
Reporter Anna Sale narrated this investigation of Don Blankenship, the president of Massey Energy. Blankenship told the
Charlestonpress he considered the report to be balanced. Others think that it is not accurate because the damage he has done to the environment and workers’ health is minimized. He is best known for financing the campaign against Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw in fall 2004, spending millions of dollars. (This is shown in detail in Wayne Ewing’s film, “The Last Campaign.”) Blankenship is best known for buying union mine companies, shutting them, and re-opening them as non-union. Appalshop footage of his early days is used, and various supporters present positive opinions about his management style and his contributions to southern WV communities. Various reporters and detractors are also interviewed. The fact that he even threatened to sue WVPBS is noted. Access: WVPBS, $25, Debbie Oleska 1- 888-596-9729.
Labor in the Mountains
2005 55 mins. WVU Institute for Labor Studies and Research
This film tells the history of labor in
West Virginia from the viewpoint of a retired worker who lived through much of that history. A grandfather answers questions about labor unions from his teen-age granddaughter. The video is divided into two parts of roughly the same length. The first part is introduced by the grandfather as he attempts to explain what labor unions are, and how they came into being in
West Virginia. This part begins with the role of union workers in support of the formation of the state during the Civil War, goes through the Great Uprising and General Strike in 1877, and into the story of coal miners and their struggles for justice and fair treatment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the rise of the United Mine Workers of America. It then shifts to the challenges faced by workers in other industries in the state as they also organized.
The second part involves interviews from a range of current labor leaders who comment on how organized labor essentially built the middle-class in
West Virginiathrough organizing and collective bargaining, in coal and other basic industries. They discuss how workers achieved both economic and political power through their unions. With the arrival of deindustrialization and the considerable loss of industrial jobs in
West Virginia, organized labor has shifted much of its base into service-providing jobs and into the public sector at the state and local government levels. The interviewed leaders discuss these trends and end with comments on their concerns about the challenges facing working families in
West Virginia in the immediate future.
Harry E, Lester, recently retired director of United Steel Workers of America District 2 and who is originally from
Bud, WV, in the state’s southern coalfields, plays the grandfather. His real life granddaughter, Elizabeth Lester, plays herself in the video. It may be the first history of labor for children ever put on film. Access: Available as VHS or DVD, $5 from Laborin the Mountains Foundation, ILSR/WVU, 719 Knapp Hall,
Morgantown WV
26506.
Workingman’s Death
122 mins. Lotus and Quinte Film
German filmmaker Michael Glawwoger travels the world to show the difficult lives of women and men who work with their hands. The five places he visits are – Ukrainecoalminers, both women and men; sulphur workers in Indonesia; slaughterhouse workers in
Nigeria; Pakistani welders who cut apart giant ships; and Chinese steel workers. No actual deaths of workers are shown, but the misery and difficulties of working in our supposed Information Age economy are shown with heart and beauty.
Good website at - http://www.workingmansdeath.com/ Access: Seventh Art Releasing - http://www.7thart.com/joomla/.
Waging A Living
2005 85 mins. Filmakers Library
More than 30 million Americans, one in four workers, are stuck in jobs that pay less than the federal poverty level for a family of four. This film chronicles the day-to-day battles of four low-wage earners struggling to make work pay their bills. Shot over a three-year period in the northeast and
California, it captures the dreams, frustrations and accomplishments of a diverse group of people who strain to live from paycheck to paycheck. The four people are a 51-year-old certified nursing assistant in New Jersey who is supporting her three children and two grandchildren; a 42-year-old security guard whose $12 per hour job barely covers his modest living expenses and his rent for a single room occupancy hotel in a blighted neighborhood in San Francisco; a 36-year-old single mother of five living in Freeport, New York who is a college student, worker and mother, making $8.25 per hour; and a 41-year-old mother of three living in southern New Jersey. She had a very comfortable middle class life until she started going through a bitter divorce. The only job she could find was a waitress position paying $2.13 per hour plus tips. Access: http://filmakers.com/indivs/wagingliving…
Nalini By Day, Nancy by Night
2005 27 minutes Women Make Movies
Award-winning film about outsourcing telephone service call jobs from the US to
India.
The filmmaker, a woman from India living in the
US, explores issues of identity, globalization, and capitalism. Access: Woman Make Moviesat http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c68…
Maid in America
2004 58 mins. Women Make Movies
They clean other people’s homes and raise other families’ children—often leaving their own families behind. This film is about the lives of three Latina immigrants working as nannies and housekeepers in
Los Angeles, three of the nearly 100,000 domestic workers living in that city today. The issue of worker’s rights is introduced in the film through Dynamic Workers, a collective of women who have formed their own business to provide job security and benefits, and Domestic Workers Association, a support organization providing information and advocacy. Access: http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c66…
A Greatly Overlooked Labor History Film
Germinal
158 minutes
Gerard Depardieu plays the role of Toussaint Maheu from the film version of Emile Zola’s landmark bookby the same name. He attempts to organize the coal miners to resist exploitation by the owners. The novel was one of the first to properly, using the finest art and understanding, to show the lives of working men and women. The film version was not shown widely, perhaps due to its theme and also its length. John Sayles film “Matewan” is not based onthis novel/film, but has many similarities. There were earlier versions including a British mini-series in 1970, and films in 1963, and 1913. Access: Used VHA copies available at Amazon.com, etc.
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