John Sayles Movie, Matewan :: Films Movies Essays

John Sayles' Movie, Matewan Writer and Director John Sayles movie Matewan, portrays the town of Matewan, West Virginia during their historic struggle out of feudalism in the 1920's. Because a single large company owned everything in Matewan, it was nearly impossible to rise out of the feudal relationship, especially since preaching the ideals of capitalism could easily result in losing all of one's property and material possessions. While feudalism can easily be written off as a economic and social structure of the past, this notion is easily proven false in Matewan; the people of Mingo County had no choice but to follow the orders of The Stone Mountain Coal Company. Hence, when the ideals of capitalism were introduced to the Matewan people by Joe Kinnehan they were stunned and shocked by what he was suggesting. Of course, The Stone Mountain Coal Company were more than shocked, they were outraged and adamant about not letting the workers of Matewan be part of any union. What do the feudal and capitalist economic systems represent? The Webster dictionary defines capitalism as, "an economic system characterized by open competition in a free market and by private or coperate ownership of the means of production and distribution." In Matewan, the idea of capitalism was first introduced by communist and union man himself, Joe Kinnehan. He urged the coal miners to realize the choices they could make and not to let a coal company make the decisions for them. He explained that this would entail all joining together and standing as one while demanding higher wages and better worker conditions. Not until the citizens of Matewan comprehend the feudal system they are living under, can they hope to change. The story of Matewan West Virginia portrays the struggle that an entire town underwent before they could release themselves from the grip of The Stone Mountain Coal Company. The coal miners of Matewan were bound in a feudal relationship and had no choice but to stay in it because The Stone Mountain Coal Company owned the entire town. Without continuing to work for the coal company, the residents of Matewan were sure to starve.