King Corn

King Corn (2007, Aaron Woolf)



After watching this wonderful documentary about corn, I quickly went to my pantry to discover the thesis of the movie is entirely correct. We are what we eat, and largely we as Americans eat corn. It's right there on the nutritional facts. Most everything I had either contained corn fed meat, corn products, or corn syrup. Even my lovely children, my three cats, are largely made of corn as their Science Diet and Purina contains ground yellow corn. King Corn presents the thesis that one of the reasons Americans are so fat is because of the high sugar/sweet and caloree content in corn which is used in almost all of the food we eat.
The documentary begins as lifelong friends Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis of Boston visit the doctor and discover that traces of corn can be found even in the makeup of their hair. Very perplexed by this, they get an idea for a documentary where they will plant an acre of corn in an Iowa farm and trace the corn from the farm to their hair in Boston.
The principal behind the documentary is a fascinating one and certainly the two filmmakers did their homework well. It was interesting to watch the two Boston kids go from not even knowing what a grain elevator is, to full fledge subsidized farmers. A few things work: mainly the interviews with farmers, cattlemen, an upty corn syrup company rep, and even Nixon's secretary of Ag, Earl Butz. Something that didn't vibe for me is the side bit about the boston kids tracing their roots to Iowa, though I reckon it is in step with the theme of something originating in Iowa and being transplanted through the world.
The first fourty minutes or so of the documentary is joyous as the two proud filmmakers watch their acre of corn grow, but as they discover what happens to that corn the documentary takes a turn for the frightening side as corn is responsible for a large part of what is wrong with America: obseity.
For example corn fed beef is much fattier and less healthy than beef 50 years ago which was largely grass and hay fed. Now meat is actually fat disguised as meat. It was shocking to know that these corn fed cattle would die if not butchered and therefore must be put on antibiotics. The government paying large industrial farmers money to grow huge crops is also a bit scary, but it's all in the name of cheap food. In a way I thought of Wal-Mart while watching this film. Basically the Wal-Mart effect but on agriculture.
King corn is a polemic call to arms against the corn industry, but it never seems too preachy. I enjoyed watching the repatriere between the two friends as they investigated king corn. The documentary suceeds with its goal and though I've never been proud to be from Iowa, this documentary doesn't do anything to help me change my direction.

Grade: A-

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Now if we could just use corn to fuel our cars.

That'll be the day.

And have you seen this doc?

Watch a double feature of this movie and Food Inc. and you'll never eat again.

If you've read Micheal Pollan's book "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals" the issues addressed in this movie will be more than familiar. The tone, however, is rather younger, more superficial, and lighter. Both are quite enjoyable, and highlight problems most folks would rather not think about. I'd suggest you read the book first, then watch the movie to get the aroma and visuals. It would also be nice if other "reviewers" would own up to a disclosure such as this one, now common and expected, for example, in reputable medical journals: I am not employed by, nor do I have any financial interest in, any of the industries discussed or affected by this movie.