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A
Point/
Counterpoint
by Erin McNamara and Dale MacDonald on a
New Film by
Michael Moore
"...Moore’s intention is to make his
audience uncomfortable. The reason for this being that maybe,
just maybe, we will realize a deeper truth in facing, full on,
the sensitive issues that seem to plague or society."
"I
wanted an educated opinion about the film. I urge you to do the
same, and make up your own mind about this movie, that is after
all, all that this is…. A movie. It is not the end or the beginning
of the world; it’s only a movie."
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Welcome
to the Cruel World
by Dale MacDonald
"I just stopped in to see what condition my condition was in”,
and it seems that is what Michael Moore has done with his new film Bowling
for Columbine: Explored the American Condition. In case you are unaware
of exactly who Michael Moore is, let me give you a vague idea: Michael
Moore is a somewhat controversial filmmaker who seems to always push
the envelope no matter what issue he addresses. His body of work includes
the film Roger & Me, a documentary about the small town of Flint, Michigan
and it’s decline into poverty, and the best selling novel “Stupid White
Men”.
In his newest picture Moore sets out to write a film exploring the issue
of gun control, but ends up making a movie about the American Condition.
The issues explored are heavy, ranging from Columbine to a child-on-child
murder in an elementary school, and Moore’s motives are questionable
in the way that he handles some of the situations that arise.
Michael’s loud style does not help to ease that heaviness either, but
it’s not supposed to. Michael attempts to explain himself in a recent
interview with Entertainment Weekly, “… people who have seen Bowling
for Columbine have said things like ‘I was with him until that scene
where he put his arm around the crying principle. That was so self Serving!’
or ‘Why’d he have to leave that picture of the kid outside Charlton
Heston’s house after a brutal interview about the NRA? It made me sympathize
with Heston!’” to which Moore replies, “Look, I’m not Stone Phillips
or Barbara Walters, trying to make this woman cry. I had a hard time
that in the cutting room. I can stack the deck in my favor or show you
what happened. She started to cry. I turned her away from the camera.
I started to cry. The thing with Heston, with the picture? I wanted
to appeal to his conscience. And I am willing to push it. I’ll push
it to a point where you’re sitting in the audience going, ‘I’m uncomfortable
now. I can’t believe he’s holding a picture up to Heston and going “Look
at this dead child.”’ Because I do want him to look at it, because maybe,
just maybe, somewhere in his conscience he’ll go, ‘It was wrong to bring
the NRA to Flint [for a rally] after a little girl was shot.’”
As you can see, Moore’s intention is to make his audience uncomfortable.
The reason for this being that maybe, just maybe, we will realize a
deeper truth in facing, full on, the sensitive issues that seem to plague
or society. Does this approach work? In my humble opinion, yes, if you’re
open to seeing that truth. As with most things there are positives and
negatives to Moore’s presentation, but it is the acute sense to focus
on the positive that allows us to grasp the nuggets of wisdom this filmmaker
has dedicated himself to. The film, at this point, becomes insightful
and although it may have it’s flaws, provokes your thinking in such
a way that it forces you to see these sensitive issues in a new light.
It is for this reason that Moore seems to worry less about offense and
more about righting the wrong.
At the start of the film we find ourselves at a bank, an odd place to
start a movie about violence in America, but as we soon find out, a
scene that sets the tempo for the rest of the film. It seems that upon
opening a bank account at this particular bank, near anyone, passing
the appropriate background check, can acquire a free firearm. This is
a disturbing practice at best that leaves Moore asking the teller, “Don’t
you think it’s a bit dangerous handing out guns at a bank?” The movie
takes off from there with several interviews, and through following
several lines of questioning we find ourselves on the brink of an issue,
much more to the root of the problem: Fear. Not just fear, but the possibility
that it is fear that drives us to do most things we do.
Amazingly enough it seems to be Marilyn Manson who is the first to touch
on this issue. Now, I know what is probably running through your head,
“What quality perspective does Marilyn Manson have to offer on violence
in America? He is, in fact, partly responsible for Eric Harris’ and
Dylan Klebold’s behavior right?” This is an issue in which you will
have to find your own conclusion, but it is interesting to note, that
Manson’s contribution to the film, though brief, is powerful, as he
knows what he’s talking about. He is collected, intelligent, insightful,
and has researched the things that he speaks about, including the Bible
(knowing it better than many Christians including myself).
Actions speak louder than words though, and it is that part of Manson
that really caught my attention. Where it seemed that Charlton Heston
and others rushed to Littleton to hold rallies and demonstrations directly
after the tragedy, Manson canceled the remainder of his tour immediately
following Columbine, and did not return to Denver for two years following.
These are just small examples of the kinds of issues that Moore is willing
to tackle head on. As we delve deeper into the issue at hand, we find
that like Manson and Heston, there are people whom we thought to be
good, that aren’t so good, and people whom we thought to be bad, that
aren’t so bad. It is this sudden role reversal that leads us to our
neighbor to the north, Canada.
It would seem that Canada has twice as many guns as we do, but where
America’s gun deaths equal an estimated 11,000 per year, Canada has
a mere 300 at a high estimate. This supports, again, the theory that
it’s not necessarily the guns that are the problem. That it may be the
ideas, beliefs, thoughts and, ultimately people behind those guns that
are the issue. We then find ourselves in Flint, Michigan where Moore
observes the poverty in his hometown, and explores how it affected a
child-on-child gun death in an elementary school there. The film is
concluded with an interview with Charlton Heston, President of the NRA
and Moses himself, questioning above all things, why the NRA came to
both the mourning cities of Littleton and Flint directly following their
perspective tragedies.
As a former Member of the Littleton community and a person who was greatly
affected personally by the Columbine tragedy, I feel as though I am
sensitive to issues that many others are also very sensitive to. In
honesty, I was extremely cautious in seeing this film, as I didn’t know
what to expect, and I knew how difficult dealing with intense media
concerning Columbine could be. I decided to see the film anyway, if
only to know what I didn’t like about it. I wanted an educated opinion
about the film. I urge you to do the same, and make up your own mind
about this movie, that is after all, all that this is…. A movie. It
is not the end or the beginning of the world; it’s only a movie. I would
encourage you to see the production with an open mind, because you’ll
get what you expect, it is therefore better to go into it not expecting
anything, that way you can see what’s really there. At worst you’ll
know what is wrong with it, and at best you’ll come out with a new perspective
on the cruel world around us.
Either way, I hope that you’ll decide to make this place in which we
live better, that this movie shows you that something’s got to give,
something needs to change and no matter what that is, that you set out
to change it. That you might do like Michael Moore did when he joined
the NRA in order that he might affect its policies from the inside out
and change what condition our condition is in.
Entertainment Weekly quote taken from Entertainment Weekly
#679 October 25th 2002 pg. # 45 Article Michael Moore Under Fire by
David Fierman
Be sure to read:
Bowling
For Columbine…In The Gutter?
by Erin McNamara
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