Matewan is without a doubt the movie that most influenced my politics. I think it should be mandatory viewing in all history classes across the land. It shows us they way it was and in many cases, still is, although not as intense. To most companies and corporations across America, we are nothing more than a tool to be used to make them money, and then discarded. This is obvious when you think about the decimation of our unions and their corresponding benefits and retirement plans.
Think about the way it is legal for a company like Bain Capital to take over a steel factory and drive it into bankruptcy, pausing only to raid the pension fund and pay its own executives huge multi-million dollar salaries. In the end, the employees are left with dramatically reduced pensions or no pension at all—even though they may have spent over 30 years of their life working for the company. But those who have student loans cannot bankrupt them, even if they cannot pay. What would you call such a system if not fascist?