Coal, Conflict, and Community

Abstract

This final chapter juxtaposes film portrayals of coal mining communities on both sides of the Atlantic and the generational impulses to escape them or not. No aspect of Appalachia’s social and economic character has generated of a comparison than have the coalfields of central Appalachia and those of South Wales. A strong sense of community has been a vital element of the coal culture that evolved in both regions. The social and economic hardships inherent in coal mining communities have produced some of the most effective and realistic screen depictions of Appalachia and its people over the course of the twentieth century, Inscoe argues. The primary drama in which the films engage takes place more above ground than below, making communities and households their central framing devices. The few films set in Appalachian coal towns are more recent (the 1980s and 1990s) and are built on a much older and richer tradition of British-based or produced films set in the UK’s own coal country. The three films discussed in this chapter—The Stars Look Down (1940), The Proud Valley (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Matewan (1987), Coal Minder’s Daughter (1990), October Sky (1999)—embrace multiple tones both positive and negative.