Director: Barbara Kopple
Harlan County U.S.A. could have devolved into either poverty porn or agit-prop. It barely touches on the former - we briefly see that the subjects live without power or running water - but it veers awfully close to the latter. We're treated to conflicts between picketing workers and replacement workers. We're shown how striking union laborers are able to organize even in the face of real violence. We're shown how management can lie and deceive in order to maintain the status quo. It's not exactly a two sided film, but regardless, Harlan County U.S.A. is a powerful examination of the brutality that can exist and persist between labor and management. One wonders how these people and their children live today.
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