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Bisbee '17

Bisbee '17

2018

NR

Director

Robert Greene

Runtime

124 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

It’s 2017 in Bisbee, Arizona, an old copper-mining town just miles from the Mexican border. The town’s close-knit community prepares to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bisbee’s darkest hour: the infamous Bisbee Deportation of 1917, during which 1,200 striking miners were violently taken from their homes, banished to the middle of the desert, and left to die. Townspeople confront this violent, misunderstood past by staging dramatic recreations of the escalating strike. These dramatized scenes are based on subjective versions of the story and “directed,” in a sense, by residents with conflicting views of the event. Deeply personal segments torn from family history build toward a massive restaging of the deportation itself on the exact day of its 100th anniversary.

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

5.6/10

Fair

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Minimal

The film contains no explicit LGBTQ+ characters or non-heteronormative narratives. The focus remains strictly on the socioeconomic and ethnic tensions of the early 20th-century mining industry.

Gender Representation

Limited

The narrative is centered on male-dominated industrial mining and labor organizing environments. While historically accurate, the film does not provide significant agency to female characters within the primary labor conflict.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Excellent

The film excels by highlighting the Mexican-American workforce and the influence of the Mexican Revolution. This inclusion disrupts homogenized historical tropes and critiques the racialized nature of industrial exploitation.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Excellent

The documentary provides a robust critique of capitalism and state authority. It prioritizes the working-class struggle over traditional institutional myths, framing corporations as agents of systemic oppression.

Disability Representation

Minimal

There is no evidence within the film to assess the representation of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Strengths

  • Provides a sophisticated deconstruction of class and racial hierarchies through historical reenactment.
  • Highlights the essential role of the Mexican-American workforce in the Arizona borderlands.
  • Challenges traditional institutional myths by prioritizing the perspectives of marginalized workers.

Areas for Improvement

  • Lacks any explicit representation of LGBTQ+ characters or narratives.
  • Offers limited agency to female characters within the central labor conflict.
  • Does not address or represent physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

AI Analysis

Bisbee '17 is a sophisticated piece of historical revisionism that uses community reenactments to deconstruct power structures. It moves away from top-down narratives to explore the subjective experiences of class conflict and systemic violence. The film's primary strength lies in its intersectional approach to the Arizona borderlands. By centering the Mexican-American workforce, it challenges the traditional, sanitized versions of Western industrial history. However, the film is limited by its narrow focus on industrial labor. It lacks representation for LGBTQ+ identities and provides little space for female agency, reflecting the era's constraints without actively subverting them.

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