Bowling For Columbine

[hobbes]

So many people have referred to this movie, I felt the need to to watch it and see what is was all about.

I must admit that I went into it with an attitude, but i soon decided that I was viewing to listen and not judge.

It is important to note that non-Americans will get a horribly skewed view of the average American from this movie and their input is not helpful. You really have to live and breathe our society, before you know how to couch this movie in the big picture.

I am assimilating the movie now, maybe I need to let the emotions cool before I post my opinion.

What did you guys think?

Is Michael Moore evil?
Is Charleton Heston evil?
Are they both good people, with conflicting views?

[MediaSlayer]

I haven't seen it yet, some fairly reliable sources highly recommended this movie to me. I don't think Michael Moore is evil, but I have heard Charlton Heston say some bonehead things. Hope to see this one soon.

[MagicNakor]

You'll get a pretty twisted view of Canadians as well.

[Keikan]

I lock my doors.

[Billy_Dean]

Michael Moore rocks.

Charlton Heston is a symbol of all (or a part of all) that is wrong with America.

I'm glad I'm Australian.

[j2k4]

I can't even bring myself to comment on Michael Moore. :x

[leonidas]

Actually Michael moore is very apreciated in France
I don't think he's so much against american society
He was on french tv like one year ago, and was talking about the war which was about to be waged in Irak. He said adressing to the french that we must remember that Georges Bush isn't the president of USA as he wasn't elected democraticaly.
But still, I think you can breathe how much as you want american society, you will see more than one wrong thing.
Talking about criminal laws for example. I gotta a friend who has studied american and english right, and he told me that if you repeat once a little crime like steeling a pizza for example you can go in jail for years. I mean that's really something we can call "Bullshit".
However he told me, commercial laws are really well done especialy in California.
He told that for example if a provider or compagny doesn't provide punctually one of its customers then the compagny gotta pay financial penalities. This doesn't exists in France.
On the economical side, USA did & does some shit too. ( France also that's true but this is not the subject here ). Just look at Mexico and Colombia.

[clocker]

hobbes,
I found Bowling for Columbine vastly entertaining and thought provoking.
Then again, I have been a longtime fan of MMs.

I expect j2 will arrive here at some point and present a ah,..somewhat different perspective.

[chalice]

I saw him give a lecture in Belfast in August of this year. It was during the West Belfast festival and he was received very warmly, perhaps with a little too much awe. His appearance was heralded as something of a coup and his gravitas resounded accordingly.

There was a sense that he was preaching to the converted when he discussed gun control and the war in Iraq.

What did permeate his bordering-on trite loftiness, though, was what I saw as a deep, almost despairing love for his country.

[echidna]

Originally posted by hobbes@3 November 2003 - 09:00
It is important to note that non-Americans will get a horribly skewed view of the average American from this movie and their input is not helpful. 

being australian i must be being unhelpful

but i do appreciate the window that MM provides on the america which is more often portrayed by CNN, NBC, ABC, etc.
i don't think my perception of what it might be like stateside is too tainted by either source.

i like you hobbes am keen to know what americans think about this film.
have your thoughts settled enough to tell us what you're thinking about it?


i found the dislocation of perceptions of violence which the people who lived amongst the military suppliers was deflatingly chilling, for them, death from a bullet shot by a maniac in their community, and death from massive industrial weapons deployed by the state in other peoples communities, are not morally comparable.