King Corn

Last night I got to see the whole of King Corn and to hear Ian Cheney respond to questions about it. Previously I had seen an abridged version and heard Curt Ellis do Q&A. Nothing but pleasure in both events.
It's wonderful as a piece of film-making and makes me want to see their other work. (Go to www.wickedelicate.com.)And it also pushes back against our contemporary political culture, so full of misrepresentations and acrimony. In King Corn there are two major interviews with people whose views are antithetical to Ian and Curt's--but the interviewees are treated respectfully, even empathically. Not only does this
aspect of the film make it deeper and more humane; it also makes it more persuasive. I'm tempted to show it to my students in relation to their choice of rhetorical strategies. Another achievement of King Corn is that even though it is topical and explores public issues that are hugely consequential, it is never shrill and always immensely entertaining. It's playful, for God's sake.