Laura did an excellent job on presenting this documentary. The main theme I thought was clearly explained through the pictures and the way Laura presented it. What I understood the main point of the documentary was, is to explore how corn is involved with America’s diet and how it is used other than in food. Also, I understood that government policies and changes in farming in general have driven down the corn so that much use of corn in America’s food supply has risen dramatically. Laura showed that the main purpose of Ian and Curt making this video was to show how much farming with corn has changed. I thought the general pacing of the broadcast was very easy to follow and understand. There was no problem with the volume and could hear everything Laura said clearly. I felt that Laura was very prepared for the broadcast because she did not stumble over words and looked like she knew what she was explaining during the video. Laura, the broadcaster, seemed very informed and confident. I could tell she was prepared and practiced what she would say before she actually taped the video. The great usage of pictures and the live corn made it so much more interesting to watch. She was informed about the graphs and pictures that she used which and explained them well which made me assume that she did research to make sure she was saying the right numbers. Two important facts or arguments Laura provided was how corn is used other than high fructose corn syrup. She informs us that 32% is usually exported out of the country and converted to ethanol for fuel and how a portion is used for sweeteners and 50% is used for feed with animals. Also, another argument was how big corporate farms are pushing out smaller farms because there needs to be an increase in efficiency. I interpreted this as corn is growing at such a demand, corporations are doing whatever they can do get the amount of corn that they need. The film sounded very interesting and I feel I would go watch it. Because it is so recent and relevant to my life, it would be interesting to watch the whole thing. Some things that came across at its strengths is that the documentary shows how well the American Farm communities are growing and how efficient they are becoming. Also, another strength is that it shows how the current policy involving subsidies pay farmers to grow crops and how it makes corn now profitable. Some of the weaknesses that came across were that the documentary did not explain what caused the problem of using high fructose corn syrup for everything and how bias it is that the increase of corn in America’s diet is bad. It shows how corn syrup is bad but it does not show if that is the root of diet problem in America. Other information that I think was noteworthy communities have been made around this corn based industry and that any change would be destructive. By living in a neighborhood without lots of land, I sometimes forget about those states that provide most of my favorite foods like meat. Also, I thought it was interesting that corn now is not really edible and is mainly used for feeding or that it must be processed. Overall, I though Laura did an excellent job in presenting King Corn from the use of pictures to her explanation about the corn industry in general.
The main theme of this documentary was to show corn in the American's diet and that policies are in place by the government and farming methods have driven down the price of corn increasing the intake by the American people. This was very clear and it was the first thing that Laura said. Corn is mainly found in the average American diet through high fructose corn syrup. The two men who the film follows planted an acre of corn, and an important fact that I learned from this was that 32% of those 10,000 pounds of corn will be exported out of the country or changed into ethanol. I did not realize how much corn an acre of land can actually produce. I also thought it was very interesting that over 50% of the corn produced is used for animal food. Another interesting argument that Laura talked about in her film was that The Us government used to pay farmers not to grow crops. I knew that this was a tactic used during the Great Depression to try and raise the prices of crops, but I did not know that this was still a policy in place in the Post Great Depression era. I also did not know that, without a government subsidy, corn would not be able to be grown profitably because the price of corn has been driven down by the excess of it in the market. Laura's pacing is phenomenal. I had no trouble understanding what she was trying to say. She was very easy to understand and her review was very easy to follow. The volume of the review was also very good. I had no problem hearing something Laura had to say. I could also tell that she was very well prepared because of her good pacing and volume. She did not stumble, and her review was very well written. Laura seemed very informed about her documentary. She understood what happened. She also seemed very confident. She did not have any awkward pauses in her review and she spoke very well. One weakness in the documentary that I got from the review is that the film was extremely biased in its opinion that corn is the root of many of America's current health problems. The film only gave the opinion that it was bad for people, and it did not present any opposing facts and viewpoints. However, this was also a strength of the documentary because it was very informative in the terms of corn and its effects on health. It seems that the documentary was a good way to learn about the problems that corn has caused people. This film sounded very interesting. I always hear about the problems that high fructose corn syrup, but I never hear about why it is so bad and how it affects me. I would definitely watch this documentary because I feel like I would learn a lot about the corn industry. I think it is important to know where our food comes from and how that food affects us because health is very important. I think Laura's video was incredible. She used very good graphics and I really liked how she had a title page and a credits page. This made her documentary review seem very professional. I really enjoyed watching her video, and I hope to see King Corn one day. Great job Laura!!
Laura did an excellent job on presenting this documentary. The main theme I thought was clearly explained through the pictures and the way Laura presented it. What I understood the main point of the documentary was, is to explore how corn is involved with America’s diet and how it is used other than in food. Also, I understood that government policies and changes in farming in general have driven down the corn so that much use of corn in America’s food supply has risen dramatically. Laura showed that the main purpose of Ian and Curt making this video was to show how much farming with corn has changed. I thought the general pacing of the broadcast was very easy to follow and understand. There was no problem with the volume and could hear everything Laura said clearly. I felt that Laura was very prepared for the broadcast because she did not stumble over words and looked like she knew what she was explaining during the video. Laura, the broadcaster, seemed very informed and confident. I could tell she was prepared and practiced what she would say before she actually taped the video. The great usage of pictures and the live corn made it so much more interesting to watch. She was informed about the graphs and pictures that she used which and explained them well which made me assume that she did research to make sure she was saying the right numbers. Two important facts or arguments Laura provided was how corn is used other than high fructose corn syrup. She informs us that 32% is usually exported out of the country and converted to ethanol for fuel and how a portion is used for sweeteners and 50% is used for feed with animals. Also, another argument was how big corporate farms are pushing out smaller farms because there needs to be an increase in efficiency. I interpreted this as corn is growing at such a demand, corporations are doing whatever they can do get the amount of corn that they need. The film sounded very interesting and I feel I would go watch it. Because it is so recent and relevant to my life, it would be interesting to watch the whole thing. Some things that came across at its strengths is that the documentary shows how well the American Farm communities are growing and how efficient they are becoming. Also, another strength is that it shows how the current policy involving subsidies pay farmers to grow crops and how it makes corn now profitable. Some of the weaknesses that came across were that the documentary did not explain what caused the problem of using high fructose corn syrup for everything and how bias it is that the increase of corn in America’s diet is bad. It shows how corn syrup is bad but it does not show if that is the root of diet problem in America. Other information that I think was noteworthy communities have been made around this corn based industry and that any change would be destructive. By living in a neighborhood without lots of land, I sometimes forget about those states that provide most of my favorite foods like meat. Also, I thought it was interesting that corn now is not really edible and is mainly used for feeding or that it must be processed. Overall, I though Laura did an excellent job in presenting King Corn from the use of pictures to her explanation about the corn industry in general.
ReplyDeleteThe main theme of this documentary was to show corn in the American's diet and that policies are in place by the government and farming methods have driven down the price of corn increasing the intake by the American people. This was very clear and it was the first thing that Laura said. Corn is mainly found in the average American diet through high fructose corn syrup. The two men who the film follows planted an acre of corn, and an important fact that I learned from this was that 32% of those 10,000 pounds of corn will be exported out of the country or changed into ethanol. I did not realize how much corn an acre of land can actually produce. I also thought it was very interesting that over 50% of the corn produced is used for animal food. Another interesting argument that Laura talked about in her film was that The Us government used to pay farmers not to grow crops. I knew that this was a tactic used during the Great Depression to try and raise the prices of crops, but I did not know that this was still a policy in place in the Post Great Depression era. I also did not know that, without a government subsidy, corn would not be able to be grown profitably because the price of corn has been driven down by the excess of it in the market. Laura's pacing is phenomenal. I had no trouble understanding what she was trying to say. She was very easy to understand and her review was very easy to follow. The volume of the review was also very good. I had no problem hearing something Laura had to say. I could also tell that she was very well prepared because of her good pacing and volume. She did not stumble, and her review was very well written. Laura seemed very informed about her documentary. She understood what happened. She also seemed very confident. She did not have any awkward pauses in her review and she spoke very well. One weakness in the documentary that I got from the review is that the film was extremely biased in its opinion that corn is the root of many of America's current health problems. The film only gave the opinion that it was bad for people, and it did not present any opposing facts and viewpoints. However, this was also a strength of the documentary because it was very informative in the terms of corn and its effects on health. It seems that the documentary was a good way to learn about the problems that corn has caused people. This film sounded very interesting. I always hear about the problems that high fructose corn syrup, but I never hear about why it is so bad and how it affects me. I would definitely watch this documentary because I feel like I would learn a lot about the corn industry. I think it is important to know where our food comes from and how that food affects us because health is very important. I think Laura's video was incredible. She used very good graphics and I really liked how she had a title page and a credits page. This made her documentary review seem very professional. I really enjoyed watching her video, and I hope to see King Corn one day. Great job Laura!!
ReplyDelete