William Allen White: What's the Matter with Kansas

Places William Allen White in his political context and carries an important message for our time. Worth watching to understand Progressive movement and it's heritage for today.

William Allen White was the voice of Middle America 100 years ago, and his views were watched by politicians, pundits and policymakers all over the US. Although he was "just" a small town newspaper editor, he wrote for national publications, authored several books, and befriended Presidents. His editorial "What's the Matter with Kansas?" won the Pulitzer Prize and has provided a popular catch-phrase for commentary, editorials and books even today.

In more modern times (if you call the late 70's "modern) his character made an appearance in the 1977 made-for-TV about the life and tragic death of his daughter Mary, in the movie "Mary White," starring Kathleen Beller and Ed Flanders. Now comes this documentary, filmed in 2018. It's the first modern, complete documentary about William Allen White and is a complete retelling of White's life and impact. It's directed by Kevin Willmott, the Academy-Award winning screenwriter, director and producer.

A highlight of this movie is the segment on how White grew alarmed at the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan in his native state, at a time when the Klan was exploding in popularity across the Midwest. Even though White was a lifelong progressive Republican, he didn't think his party was doing enough to block the Klan and he stepped outside his role as a publisher and ran for Governor. Though he lost, as Willmott tells the story (and historians agree), his candidacy and crusade against the Klan helped mark a turning point in seeing the Klan eventually chased out of the state as an official organization.

So lame. Just a liberal self pleasure session. Do not waste your time on Kevin's "direction"