Local Vs. National

Reading about the local control of crops versus national interests influencing them and the struggle of corn growers reminds me of a documentary I love called Harlan County, USA about coal mining and the absolutely destructive nature of union breaking. Hearing how difficult it is to maintain a farm that feeds your family without caving to enormous outside influences is essentially the theme of this amazing, award-winning documentary and the universality of such a theme. Ordinary citizens have had an uphill battle against the men upstairs since agriculture was deemed lucrative and caste systems determined that some will work and others will simply collect. The film is at times frighteningly tense and a happy ending is almost never guaranteed (and even a happy ending on screen does not mean unconditional good times for the protagonists, of which there are too many to count). Everyone lives and dies by the actions depicted here and lives are truly at stake. This is documentary film-making at its most incisive and relevant.