Educational Media Reviews Online

While many may be familiar with the history of coal production in the United States, particularly its origins in the Appalachian region, those outside of these areas may not be aware of the environmental and humanitarian crises stemming from corporate takeovers within the industry. In the past few years, Hollywood movies, along with other works, have begun to shed light on these unpopular issues. Devil Put the Coal in the Ground is a documentary which adds to the conversation, detailing the history of coal production in West Virginia and the current state of coal mining towns. The documentary does this by interviewing people still living in these towns, those who had a connection to coal mining through relatives, lawyers, activists, and more.

Through these interviews, viewers learn about the growth of coal mining in West Virginia in the early 1900s to its decline in the 1970s. As large corporations infiltrated towns, they not only displaced coal miners from their jobs but also contaminated water sources with chemical dumping and razed over 5,000 acres of mountains. Interviewees paint a picture of their harsh reality, where the once-promised prosperity of coal has diminished, leaving many West Virginians impoverished, battling substance abuse due to rampant drug distribution, and grappling with alarming rates of cancer due to pollution and contamination. Furthermore, these towns seem to face little possibility of revival, as the lack of infrastructure, pollution, poor educational systems, and other facets of abandonment discourage relocation to the area.

Devil Put the Coal in the Ground is a unique addition to work on this subject due to its use of personal narratives and its ability to tie together all related topics - mountaintop removal, corporations such as DuPont, decline of the coal industry, the opioid epidemic, and more. As such, the film is effective in helping viewers understand how one problem led to another, and how easily the lives of people were uprooted. The filmmakers encourage viewers to not take these stories as isolated incidents, but to think of the documentary as a warning about how similar occurrences can happen, or may have already happened, to other places in the country. The film also serves as a fire alarm, urging the need for the revitalization of West Virginia and its people, and highlighting the state's natural beauty, history, and importance.

Though slightly unstructured at times, the documentary is well-done and sends a critical message. Therefore, Devil Put the Coal in the Ground is recommended for advanced high school classes and college courses such as environmental studies. With a runtime of slightly over an hour, the film could easily be shown in classes or incorporated into a lesson plan. It will allow learners to understand how quickly environments and human lives can be impacted with lasting consequences.

Awards:
2022 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, Audience Award - Best Feature Film; 2022 Glimerglass Film Days, Audience Choice Award - Best Feature Film; 2022 Green Film Festival of San Francisco, Jury Award - Best Feature Film; 2022 Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Best of Fest; 2022 Queen City Film Festival, Best Appalachian Feature Film

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