The Economic Structure of Matewan

    The film Matewan, written and directed by John Sayles, depicts the small rural townof 1920's Mingo County, West Virginia as a society undergoing complete social unrest, a result of clashing ideals and economic systems.  The film is an illustration of how different social systems come to be so intertwined that they cannot be defined independently of one another.  Unfortunately for the people of Matewan, the feudalistic economic system imposed on them by the Stone Mountain Coal Company has come to dominate every facet of their existence, including their political system, their cultural identities, and even the environment in which they live.  In order to try and take back control of their lives, the citizens of Matewan look to break free of the feudal system that binds them to the company and introduce the freedoms of capitalism into their social vocabulary.
    In order to understand the unrest created and represented in Matewan, one must first understand the inherent differences of the two economic systems on dispaly in the film.  An economic system is defined and can be understood through a series of questions that attempt to determine the relationships surrounding the production, distribution, and control over resources.  These queries include: How do you gain access to materials useful inproduction?  How do you get people to perform labor?  How is the labor and production controlled and monitored?  How do you get the products to the consumer?  And finally, who gets the surplus?  In  feudalistic economic society, a worker has the freedom to choose to work, but he does not have a choice in who he works for.  (As a result, he may be forced to work out of the basic human need to survive).  A capitalistic economic society offers the worker not only the freedom to choose to work or not work, but also the freedom to choose his employer.  The citiznes of the Matewan mining community were told that they were living in a democratic and therefore capitalist economic society, but their experience in the town burdened them with a much different realiy.
    While we may not thinkof feudalism as an economic system that survived much past Medieval times, the reality of the social situation in Matewan during the 1920's can lead us to no other conclusion than that feudalism was able to hold its grip on a much more contemporary society.  In Matewan, the Stone Mountain Coal Company ruled supreme, creating what is known as a monopoly.  They owned everything in the county; the only source of employment, the houses, the land, even the currency, known as company scrip, which citizens used to purchase items in the only store in town- the company store.  The citizens of Matewan were drawn to work for the Stone Mountain Coal Company because of the promises that were made to them: housing, decent employment with the possibilityof job advancement, and a decent community in which to live.  We see these promises in action as they draw new workers to the mountain in the early portion of the film.  The African-American (and Italian) workers hired to replace the striking miners were lured to the mountain only to discover that they would be indebted to the company from the very beginning.  They had to pay for their trip, their rent, even their showers out of thier first company paycheck.  The scrip that they were allowed to keep to purchase things such as food and furniture was only good in the company store.  If they were caught trying to purchase items with anything other than company scrip, they risked termination from the company.  Immediately upon arrival, the African-Americans were bound to the company, with no alternatives available to them.  As the innkeeper in the film said, "If you don't work for the company, there ain't no work."
    In order to police the feudalistic society it created, the company made the people feel as if they had more political autonomy by allowing them to hire their own Sheriff and Mayor.  While these two individuals were representative of local authority, they were truly laboring under figurehead titles, as all the authoritative power was wielded by the company.  When the worker strike took effect and talk of a Union was underway, the company brought in "regulators," hired guns from the Baldwin Phelps Agency.  While the men brought in to "keep the peace" an enforce company policy and obedience appeared chivalrous and honorable, it was soon revealed that they were cold-hearted power-hungry individuals, willing to use any force necessary to get the job done.  The two principal Baldwin Phelps agents, Griggsey and Hicks, dressed in their finest attire proceeded to torment the striking ciiznes and their cohorts.  We first see them as they are talking to Bridey-Mae at the train station.  They seem enticing at first, but their  true nature is revealed when they call Bridey-Mae "mountain trash" upon their departure from the scene.  Hicks and Griggsey acted out the roles of feudal knights in the company's oppressing feudalistic economic system.
    As Griggsey and Hicks push their way through the town, we are able to see the true extent of the company's power in the town of Matewan.  They are able to weasel thier way into the inn, sqeezing out union organizer Joe Kenehan, by proclaiming thier ties to the company.  Rather than face any trouble with the company, the innkeeper reluctantly had to oblidge to their request.
    The ability of the company to continually oppress the workers of Matewan demonstrates the lack of freedom that the workers actually had.  How could one classify the economic situation of Matewan as capitalist when the citizens are granted no choice and are not even allowed to organize and lobby for their own rights?  Capitalism incorporates not only freedom, but also competition among markets to try and entice a more skilled and motivated labor force.  Without the presence of competition at Matewan, the company's monopoly is solidified, allowing them to do just about anything to their workers.  Afterall, where else have the workers got to turn?  Their only escape from the company's grip is to flee to the mountains.  However, this flight leaves them virtually penniless, dependent upon the forest for their survival, and looked don upon by the rest of the members of the community.  Otherwise, their lives are dependent on the company's provisions.
    Social structures depicted in the film not only look upon the class distinction  between the miners and the mountain folk, but also between the established coal miners and the newly hired African-American and Italian "scabs."  These groups were regarded with apprehension and disdain as can be seen not only when the African-Americans first arrive in Matewan to afce an angry white mob, but also in the camp set up by the community.  Each group seems to live amongst their own kind, eating thier own food and playing thier own music.  As time goes by, however, the individual groups begin to blend ogether forming one cohesive pro-union unit.  The company's attempts to "divide and conquer" are squashed as all the worker share the same plight.
    As the citizens of Matewan attempt to break free of their feudal chains, they are not only attempting to change their economic situation, but also their current social state as well.  Rebelling against the all-powerful Stone Mountain Coal Company, the workers are fighting against a socially and culturally accepted norm- a feudal economic system professed as "right" and "just" by their oppressor.  The clash between the company and the striking, pro-union workers is but one historical conflict that attempted to bring about positive social change.  As the miners struggle to break free from thier economic oppression and form a union, they push forward a preferred economic state of capitalism.