Blood on the Mountain

Studio: Abramorama
Directed by Mari-Lynn Evans and Jordan Freeman

Nov 17, 2016 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

Our nation’s industry was built on the fuel extracted from the coal mines of West Virginia. Since the 19^th century, coal has become entwined in the very identity of many Americans living in the Mountain State, whose families have for generations dedicated their lives to the removal of the state’s most valuable resource. The coal industry’s steady decline – due to contemporary environmental concerns and the rising expense of getting at the coal buried deeper and deeper within the mountains, among other factors – and what’s to be done about it remains a hot button issue to this day, particularly to those communities whose entire economy (and continued existence) has been intrinsically linked to the coal mines for more than a century.

To its benefit, Blood on the Mountain doesn’t dwell on the debate over coal’s continuing viability but instead focuses on the decades of injustices endured by coal miners and their families. While the dangers of coal mining are practically common knowledge by now – from the risk of disasters such as collapse or tunnel fires, to the long-lingering impact dust inhalation has on those who work in it day in and day out – Blood on the Mountain trains its lens on just how much of it is the fault of gross negligence at the top of the corporate food chain (or in some cases, unscrupulous union leaders), and their frequent disregard for the people digging in the trenches. The documentary tells the roughly chronological story of corruption in the coal industry, and the emerging pattern of disaster and death followed by cover-up is eye-opening – particularly to viewers outside of the Midwest, where these issues don’t make the news nearly as often as they should.

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