King Corn (film)
King Corn | |
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Directed by | Aaron Woolf |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Distributed by | Balcony Releasing |
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Running time | 88 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
King Corn is a documentary film released in October 2007 that follows college friends Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis (directed by Aaron Woolf) as they move from Boston to Greene, Iowa to grow and farm an acre of corn. Coincidentally, the trip also takes them back to where both of their families have roots. In the process, Cheney and Ellis examine the trend of increased corn production and its effects on American society, highlighting the role of government subsidies in encouraging the huge amount of corn grown. Furthermore, by studying the food economy through the history of corn in America, the two realize most foods contain corn in some form.[2]
The film shows how industrialization in corn has all but eliminated the image of the
Production
Cheney and Ellis were inspired to create the film out of embarrassment—they were college graduates with no knowledge of where their food came from or how it was made. For Woolf, the film presented a new opportunity, one where he could "get [his] hands dirty." One of the biggest challenges the trio faced was raising money for the independent film. They found that people were largely bored with the concept of the film and did not understand their intent. Another obstacle was the stop-animations, which were very time-consuming. A particular issue for Woolf during filming was the shyness of his co-stars, both of whom did not want to be on camera for the first six months of filming.[4]
In retrospect, the trio would have liked to include footage about the environmental consequences of industrial farming. They recall watching as the fertilizer and chemicals they used seeped into the stream neighboring their acre. Climate change is an accompanying issue they regret they were unable to discuss as well.[4]
Critical reception
"King Corn" showed at several film festivals and ultimately aired on PBS's Independent Lens series. By presenting their film on public television, Cheney and Ellis hoped to drastically increase viewership. When Cheney and Ellis showed the film in Greene, Iowa, it received a great reception. The film inspired many locals to take action. On a wider scale, the film has received numerous positive reviews from The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other prominent media outlets. The film, which has been deemed “a deceptively intelligent new entry in the regular-Joe documentary genre” by The Salon, was praised for its subtle criticism of the over production and industrialization of corn in America. Although the film is critical of certain aspects of the production of corn in Iowa, such as
See also
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
- The Jungle
- A Place at the Table
- Super Size Me
- Sicko
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
References
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
- ^ a b Bledsoe, Bob; Butz, Earl L.; Cheney, Dawn; Cheney, Ian (2009-04-25), King Corn, retrieved 2017-04-17
- PMID 20219526.
- ^ a b "Independent Lens . KING CORN . The Making Of | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
- ^ http://www.kingcorn.net/the-film/reviews Review
- ^ King Corn, retrieved 2017-04-11
External links
- Official website
- King Corn at IMDb
- King Corn site for PBS
- King Corn at AllMovie
- King Corn at Rotten Tomatoes