Bowling for Columbine

[Eirik]

I just caught this on cable-on-demand and wanted to recommend it to anyone who wants to get some insight into Michael Moore.  In my opinion, this movie really places his main problem at center stage.  It isn't so much that he has an agenda - who doesn't?  That he lets his agenda cloud his objectivity is a problem, I think, for someone who wants to make a serious documentary... but that's not even it.  It's his simplistic way of thinking that I think is his undoing.  In short, if he believes what he's selling, then he just can't be very intelligent.

I'll start by saying that unlike his more recent movie that has been discussed ad nauseum on this board, I started out kind of in his corner with the issue he attacks in Bowling.  While I think Americans should have the right to bear arms, I really have a lot of problems with the NRA and gun manufacturers and the way they're willing to ignore safety issues for the sake of fun and profit.  (I was a victim of gun violence in my youth so maybe this colors my opinion).  However, there is more to gun violence than the gun companies and rich white people.  There's the drug culture and gangster cultures for one thing (Moore would rather attack the white Texas gun nuts in his explorations of culture).  There's the breakdown of the family... the clash of cultures in our diverse society...  Then there's the whole issue of individual accountability for one's actions (gasp, we can't say THAT!).  However, Moore doesn't seem to see it that way...  So when a poor kid goes to school and murders a little girl, whose fault is it?  Right answer: probably several peoples' but first and foremost the kid's.  Moore's answer: the rich white owner of the candy factory that forced his single mom to ride an hour on the bus to work for him... oh yeah, and the rich white people who eat candy (poor people and minorities don't eat candy, you see).  These are the acrobatics in logic he'll perform to point the finger at rich white people.  Not saying rich white people are never part of the problem... but are they always the only part?

Moore also falls for the pseudo-intellectual concept that largely homogeneous countries with very small populations and very different histories (in this case, Canada) are a perfect model for how we should be.  His proof is that he can open the unlocked doors of a small town Canadian neighborhood and people won't shoot him.  Haha!  He waves good bye and thanks them for not shooting him.  Two problems: 1) there are places like that in America not 20 minutes from New York City, like where my parents live... he filmed no segments in those places (my parents not only don't lock their door and don't own a gun, they leave their keys in their unlocked cars).  2) I've spent very little time in Canada, but I'd be shocked if there are no neighborhoods up there that Moore would have got his ass beat, if not shot or stabbed if he pulled that.  But heavily staged and edited bits of anecdotal evidence are all a guy like Michael Moore needs to smugly claim case closed.  Well that and a montage of gunshot victims played to campy music.  An Oscar for that movie was low... even for the Academy.

Can anyone recommend an actual documentary on gun violence and Columbine?

[odinn7]

My favorite part of that comedy was when he went to K-Mart headquarters to talk to them. He kept pointing out the damage that "K-Mart bullets" did. I wasn't aware that K-Mart manufactured their own ammo...probably because they don't, but it sure did sound good for the movie to basically say: Look here K-mart people, lookee what K-Mart bullets did to these youngsters!
Of course I don't remember exactly what he said (I saw it a few months ago on the dish) but he must have referred to K-Mart bullets about 10 times. Walking dildo...

[AndyC]

Just what we needed, another unkillable Micheal Moore thread.

I couldn't believe the reception this piece of crap received in Canada when the video came out. Quite a few people were recommending it, and generally buying everything in it. I suspect it had a lot to do with Moore holding up Canada as a model to follow. Basically, anything that paints us as superior to those yahoos down south gets a warm reception here.

Frankly, Canadian cities are slipping quite a bit from the clean, safe places they once were, while some American cities have been cleaning themselves up. The famous Canadian kindness and sensitivity are part of that. Not willing to seriously crack down on anything. The small towns aren't immune either - a lot more break-ins and petty vandalism by easily bored teenagers who have learned from the system itself not to fear punishment. Having covered the crime beat in my home town for a few years, I could tell you a few stories about the stupidity of the system up here. Trust me, only fools leave their doors unlocked, even in Canada.

[Phantom187]

Odinn wanna know somthing even funnier about that section of film? The scene where the kids working at K-Mart drop the bullets. Now theres somthing you don't wanna ever see.

[Harry]

After seeing how Moore treated Charlton Heston in this movie, I realized that Moore is inhuman and hasn't a hint of compassion in that enormous body of his.