Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon
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| Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon | |
|---|---|
 The movie poster for Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon. |
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| Produced by | Peter Richardson |
| Starring | Steve Lowther
director= Peter Richardson music= Debra Arlyn distributor= Bicoastal Films |
| Release date(s) | January 20, 2006 |
| Running time | 72 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon is a 2006 documentary film produced and directed by Peter Richardson. It was filmed in the city of Philomath, Oregon. The film made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2006.
[edit] Synopsis
This documentary depicts a vivid example of America's current culture war. It shows a rural community (Philomath, OR) that is making a large transition from one being a dominant force through an 'old time' profession, the timber industry, to one that is dominated by professionals and techies, the 'information age'. This is shown by the drastic decline of lumber mills in the area. In 1980, there were twelve mills around Philomath but twenty-five years later there are only two. The largest employers are no longer the lumber mills but Oregon State University in Corvallis, which is about 6 miles from Philomath, and a Hewlett-Packard center that repairs calculators and other small electronic devices.
The roots of this community goes back to a man named Rex Clemens, who lived from 1901 to 1985. He was actually a high school dropout that became wealth through the lumber business. Due to his welath, Clemems setup a foundation in 1958 and this foundation helped support school functions, construction, and progress while also providing a four year scholarship to anybody that graduated from Philomath High School.
After several decades, other people started immigrating to the area and a new school superintendent was hired from Chicago named Dr. Terry Kneisler. He began to ask students to use critical thinking for living in the world today. Many new things were brought in from these ideas and thinking. The environmental aspects of logging were being questioned, the school's dress code was reformed, a Gay-Straight Alliance group for students was discussed, and the school's mascot 'Warriors' was challenged as well.
Many people who had lived here for years, some all their lives, begin to object to this thinking and these changes. Three of these people happened to be Rex Clemen's nephews, who are now in charge of the foundation their uncle setup. Steve Lowther, one of the nephews, led the traditionalist in their battle against Dr. Kneisler and the new wave. After the two sides have multiples disagreements and conflicts Lowther finally tell the school board that Kneisler or the foundation must go.
Lowther finally amends the foundation so that students who come from timber, agricultural, or mining families are eligible for the scholarships. The students must also go on to pursue a career related to one of these fields of work.
The film includes all of this within itself. The film also shows aspects and opinions from citizens on both sides of the debate. The film maker allows each opinion to be heard and tries to keep the film from becoming as one-sided as possible.
[edit] External links
- Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon, official site
- Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon at the Internet Movie Database
[edit] See also
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