Sunday, December 01, 2002

I just watched Bowling For Columbine, and I think it is the silliest piece of propaganda that I've seen. On nearly every issue, it was biased and misleading to the point of being ridiculous. Some scenes were amusing, especially when he makes someone look foolish. But even then, it was usually clear that Michael Moore was being a jerk and was using deceptive practices to generate an effect.

I was expecting anti-gun propaganda, but it wasn't coherent enough to even be that. Eg, it talked about how the USA has a lot of guns and gun violence, but it made a big point of saying that Canada also has a lot of guns and very little gun violence, so it was not a simple matter of the gun violence being caused by the guns. Other explanations were also given, but he also gave counter-arguments for each, so none was convincing. Eg, race, culture, news media, Marilyn Manson, etc.

Much of the message was contradictory. It complained about how the news media tends to exaggerate the risk of crime, but then the movie did the same thing.

The movie was also anti-American, with distortions of history that attempt to make the USA look evil. It was also racially offensive, as it portrayed black people as irresponsible criminals who neglect their kids and are too lazy to work for a living.

Michael Moore is at his best when he is making fun of people who don't want to talk to him. Eg, he was mildly when he was badgering a cop at some minor crime scene, and asking him why he doesn't arrest whoever is responsible for the LA smog. The cop just walks away without answering, as if Moore is a kook.

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