Corn (film)
Encyclopedia
Corn is a 2004 drama
-thriller starring Jena Malone
about the dangers of genetically modified food
.
) sheep ranch to get her life together. She plans on keeping the baby, even though the father of the child, a politician, refuses to help her for fear of a scandal. Emily's mother died when she was young, and she has a very awkward relationship with her father.
Upon her arrival, Emily notices that her father's sheep are acting rather strangely; they appear to be viciously fighting over a weed that is the byproduct of their neighbor's corn
. That neighbor began growing corn when provided with a newly generated seed that was meant to be immune to all pesticide
s. The corn was altered genetically so it could grow with very little water so it could be used in otherwise barren places, such as parts of Africa
, to feed starving people.
After witnessing a lamb being born with only two legs, Emily decides to investigate this corn and its weed byproduct, and learns that it is an experiment in genetic engineering
. After hearing about the death of the newborn baby of a friend who regularly ate lamb, Emily realizes she has to do something to put a stop to this. Her efforts will entail standing up to the big corporation that is testing the corn, her employers, and ultimately, her father.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
-thriller starring Jena Malone
Jena Malone
Jena Malone is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina , and has appeared in films including Contact , Stepmom , Donnie Darko , Saved! , Into the Wild , and Sucker Punch .Malone is...
about the dangers of genetically modified food
Genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
.
Plot
Emily Rasmussen (Malone) drops out of college upon realizing that she is pregnant, and reluctantly returns to her stepfather's (Don HarveyDon Patrick Harvey
Donald Patrick Harvey II is an American actor and voice actor, known as Don Harvey.He was born and raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, the sixth of eight children. He started acting in high school. He did several shows before graduating and moving on to the University of Michigan where he studied...
) sheep ranch to get her life together. She plans on keeping the baby, even though the father of the child, a politician, refuses to help her for fear of a scandal. Emily's mother died when she was young, and she has a very awkward relationship with her father.
Upon her arrival, Emily notices that her father's sheep are acting rather strangely; they appear to be viciously fighting over a weed that is the byproduct of their neighbor's corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
. That neighbor began growing corn when provided with a newly generated seed that was meant to be immune to all pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s. The corn was altered genetically so it could grow with very little water so it could be used in otherwise barren places, such as parts of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, to feed starving people.
After witnessing a lamb being born with only two legs, Emily decides to investigate this corn and its weed byproduct, and learns that it is an experiment in genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
. After hearing about the death of the newborn baby of a friend who regularly ate lamb, Emily realizes she has to do something to put a stop to this. Her efforts will entail standing up to the big corporation that is testing the corn, her employers, and ultimately, her father.