Thomas Frank’s 2004 best-seller What’s the Matter with Kansas? is an essential volume in American history and sociology, tracking the transformation of Kansas from an outpost of populist radicalism to a bastion of hard-core conservatism. In this film on the same topic, made with the author, filmmakers Laura Cohen and Joe Winston discover the rich complexity of contemporary Kansas, where unforgettable characters and their stories shed new light on our nation’s political divide. Acclaimed across the political spectrum – and featuring rare footage of controversial, assassinated abortion doctor George Tiller – the film What’s the Matter with Kansas?, like its source book, is a contemporary classic.
“I’ve rarely seen a documentary quite like it. It has a point to make but no ax to grind.”
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“While it addresses clearly the fractures in Kansas’ body politic, it is the rare political documentary in which no one is labeled the enemy…unusually straightforward…feels like the truth…a refreshing breeze.”
- George Lang, The Oklahoman
“No matter what your own position is, the results at some point will make you angry at somebody interviewed, but that’s the mark of a good documentary.”
- Time Out New York
Taking the audience into the heart of Middle America, What’s the Matter with Kansas?” follows the lives of two conservative Kansas families. Their fortunes suddenly and precipitously decline; their candidates lose elections; their church splinters over its controversial pastor, moves to an amusement park, and when that fails, becomes a makeshift congregation at a Best Western Motel. Meanwhile, an idealistic Kansas farmer revives the state’s progressive tradition, and takes his message to Washington, D.C.
Praise for the book:
“The best political book of the year.”
– Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
“Frank is a formidable controversialist-imagine Michael Moore with a trained brain and an intellectual conscience.”
-George F. Will, The Washington Post
“Brilliant.”
-Barbara Ehrenreich, The New York Times
Sku: CP09
