"Why This Film?" Episode 15: Matewan (John Sayles, 1987) with Jack Ryan
Document Type
Audio
Publication Date
8-6-2026
Department 1
English
Abstract
In this episode of Why This Film?, Ron Moore and Jack Ryan discuss the major themes of Matewan (John Sayles, 1987). Please see the host's description of the film for more details:
"In 1920, a coal company brings in union organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his film debut) to a small West Virginia mining town, expecting he'll fail to unite a workforce deliberately kept divided — Black miners, Italian immigrants, and local Appalachian families all pitted against each other to keep wages low and solidarity impossible. Written and directed by John Sayles and shot by Haskell Wexler in stark, naturalistic light, Matewan builds slowly and deliberately toward the real massacre of 1920, a piece of American labor history most schools never teach. It's a western transplanted to Appalachia, a story about what solidarity actually costs, and one of the quietest, angriest films in the Criterion Collection."
Version
Version of Record
Recommended Citation
Moore, Ron, host, and Jack Ryan, guest speaker. Why This Film? Episode 15, "Matewan (1987, John Sayles) with Jack Ryan," August 6, 2026. Podcast, 77 min, 9 sec. https://whythisfilm.com/episodes/matewan.html.
