The rhapsodic film King Coal blurs the lines of documentary and memorializes the coal culture that has shaped AppalachiaThe film-maker Elaine McMillion Sheldon grew up roving around West Virginia.
Like many children of Appalachia, her world was shaped by coal – her father worked for a mining company, and the family moved to seven coal fields in 12 years for his job.
Her brother became a fourth-generation miner.
“Everybody in my community worked in the coal mines,” she said.
“If you were going to stay there and work, if you weren’t a doctor or a lawyer, that’s what you did.”It wasn’t until she studied abroad as an undergraduate and asked people what they did for work that she realized the totalizing extent of coal.
“Not everywhere has a king,” said Sheldon.
“Not everywhere is completely dominated by this industry that controls everything from our rituals to the ways we live our life.
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