The Matewan Crisis was a dramatic series of events that forever changed not only the Tug Valley, but coal unions throughout the states -United. This event was a wake-up call for people across the country, including policymakers, who realized that the current coal mining system could not survive in its current form. I think John Sayles did a very good job describing the events of the Matewan strike. However, Sayles' representation in West Virginia has some differences from Giardina's. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay I think John Sayles did a good job describing the events of the Matewan strike. He achieved this in particular by describing the racial differences that existed between the miners. I think this is often understated by those who discuss the mining wars, but I think John Sayles' film does a good job of showing how the coal company would use these racial differences to divide the miners. This is demonstrated by the conflicts between the white, Italian, and African-American miners in the film. Sayles' film also did a good job depicting the Baldwin-Felts officers' disregard for local authorities. It was common in this era for coal operators to have complete control over local authorities or to simply use their resources to weaken local authorities in order to achieve their agenda. I think this was well represented in Matewan, as Baldwin-Felts officers expected the mayor and Sheriff Sid Hatfield to accept the decisions of the coal operators. I think the confrontations in the film between Hatfield and the Baldwin-Felts agents show how much these beliefs meant to the local social structure in West Virginia at that time. These are things that John Sayles described well in his film. However, I think Sayles missed a few key aspects in his description of the Matewan crisis. One thing I don't think the film portrays very well is the relationship between the Paint and Cabin Creeks miners and the union leaders in Charleston. These two camps were often in conflict because their goals were somewhat different. The miners were looking for immediate help and change in the West Virginia area that would impact their lives. Union leaders, however, were more interested in the labor movement as a whole. This will sometimes lead them to neglect the mines of West Virginia in an attempt to strike a blow elsewhere. This caused a lot of resentment between miners and union leaders. This is an aspect of Matewan's crisis that I believe the film overlooked. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In my opinion, one of the most interesting aspects of the film and Matewan Crisis in general is the conflict between local sheriff Sid Hatfield and Officers Baldwin-Felts. I found this interesting because it seems fundamentally different from the usual interaction between local officials and coal company agents. For example, in the film, the union operator is shocked by the way Sid Hatfield "stands up to the corporate gun" when he stops the officers from evicting the miners from their homes. This shows how much control coal agents generally had over local authorities if they were able to force evictions without any resistance from the authorities.