My Cultural Diet

I think it’s safe to say that most of us have never given a single thought to the carpet that we walk on in hotels, restaurants, airports, and other public spaces. But it’s a massive industry that affects the entire world, and a good deal of it is based in the town of Dalton, Georgia, aka the “Carpet Capital of the World.” Carpet Cowboys travels to this small city to meet with the colorful characters that drive the carpet industry. Chief among them is Roderick James, a Scottish expat, perpetual entrepreneur, and fan of all things country and western who’s always angling and hustling for his next big break, even if that means leaving his life in Dalton altogether. Unfortunately, Carpet Cowboys is hindered by a fragmented and inconsistent narrative that occasionally verges on the absurd; at times, my wife and I thought we might actually be watching a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary, which isn’t the best sign for a documentary. Carpet Cowboys is less an insightful look at the inner workings of an overlooked industry, and more akin to a tone poem that certainly awakens your curiosity but leaves it unsatisfied.

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