Documentaries: Harlan County USA, dir. Barbara Koppel

The Wiz RECOMMENDS Harlan County USA Harlan County USA is activist filmmaking done right. Now, the film may not have been designed to be an activist film piece, but those who desire to do this should watch and learn from this film. A lot of activist based documentaries spend a lot of time trying to convince you to their side, making arguments to their cause. A lot of these types of documentaries just talk to you about how wrong it is and why they needed it. Harlan County USA just...shows you. It shows the state of the coal miners and their lives, it shows what they are up against and shows what they do to get what they feel they deserve. The film also feels incredibly authentic in it's rustic, dirty feel whether it's in the mines or in the rural streets. Honestly, there's really not much more to say about Harlan County USA except this: You want to convince someone that unionizing is a good thing? Have them watch this. And that's the greatest amount of praise you can give to a documentary like this.