This paper critiques the film King Corn based on specified prompts
Overview
King Corn is a very insightful movie, which focuses on the crop species, corn. The makers of the film, two university students, embark on a journey to ascertain what they had discovered from a laboratory test. The filmmakers, while at the university had a test of the human hair to find out its composition. To their surprise, they found out that the main component of the human hair was corn. This was something that bewildered most other students at the university. Consequently, they embarked on a journey to their ancestral land in the state of Iowa. While at home, they decided to plan genetically modified corn so that they could understand it better. They were a given a piece of land to grow they crop and after seeking the necessary government intervention for subsidy and pooling resources from family and friends, they managed to grow corn an acre piece of land. The genetically modified corn they grew utilized heavy machinery, huge amounts of fertilizers and herbicides. When the time of harvest came and the crop was bought, they decided to monitor the corn from the time it left the grain elevator. The filmmakers were shocked by what they learned and humorously try their best to reveal that to the viewers, who are the American citizens.
The film’s argument and its position on the problem
The problem presented by the movie is that Americans have neglected the nourishment they get from the food they eat and turned to the feeding they get from the food. In other words, the nutritional value of food is no longer a problem to Americans—people just eat to get full. According to the issues presented by the filmmakers, the corn species of grain has become a “king” in the diet of many Americans. In fact, almost every piece of meal contains corn in it. The filmmakers say that the corn is grown for cattle, and high fructose corn syrup is a killer corn. In their hypotheses, they claim that this type of corn predisposes its consumers to diabetes and other health issues. Since the filmmakers argue from an experienced point of view, what they advance on great percentage. To further support their claims, they point out how the corn meant for cattle is further mixed with antibiotics so that it prevents notions from getting sick. Cattle are ruminants. Consuming acidic corn might make their stomachs become affected with a condition named acidosis. This explains why the antibiotic and other hormones are used as a remedy. Moreover, they also undertake the process of making high-fructose corn syrup. According to them, the process needs sulfuric acid and other chemicals.
The evidence the film presented to support the argument
Evaluation of the evidence
The evidence outlined in the film to support the argument is strong and supports the arguments of the filmmakers. It is true that most American cattle are fed with corn and when people consume beef from cattle fed with genetically modified corn, and then the corn gets into their system. Additionally, high fructose corn syrup and corn oil are made from corn and found in the hands of many consumers, modified corn in them. The fact that genetically modified corn is produced from a rigorous process that entails the use of heavy fertilizers and herbicides implies that the species in not good for human consumption. It could be an addition to the various health complications reported by it, indirect consumers. Americans want cheap food, which has forced the government to resort to cheap sources of getting money. The saying that, cheap is expensive, could be true since the Americans are buying the cheapness of corn with their lives.
The interview, the data presented and the Visuals
The film interviewed various personnel including politicians and other confessional American citizens whose lives had been mauled by obesity. The politicians were interviewed to get a good view of the agriculture sector in the United States among other policies that touch on corn production and distributions. The confessional citizens gave insight into their daily diet. The information from interviewees plus the data from the government adds up to support how corn was a problem to the lives of Americans. The visuals employed by the film are arresting. There is a high visual style utilized by Aaron Woolf, the movie director.
The film’s strongest point (s), its most surprising point (s and its greatest weakness
The films strongest point is in the way the filmmakers present their evidence. The storytelling was very good, and the interviews with the politicians and citizens were awesome since the message was passed in a very original way. The way the claims and pieces of evidence are interconnected from the start to the end is very convincing. The most surprising point of the film is when the viewers get to learn that the most common ingredient in their diets is corn. The other most surprising point is that the business corn farming is not beneficial as people think. The two main actors were shocked by the dismal returns from their produce. The greatest weakness of the movies is that it tries to point to genetically modified corn as the main cause of diabetes and other health issues in the United States. There are other several causes of diabetes which include inheritance and gestational. Therefore, the film fails to consider these as the potential causes.
Summarily, the paper has critiqued the movie, King Corn. It has explored the film's main arguments, the evidence presented by the filmmakers to support their claims and the authenticity of the evidence. It has also reviewed the data submitted in the movie and the strongest points as well as the surprising point and the weakest point of the movie. King Corn is a good and touching movie which tells the Americans blatantly that genetically corn is a king killer in their lives. Therefore, Americans should avoid it and reconsider their diets.
Reference
Woolf, A. (Director). (2007). King Corn [Motion Picture].
