Movies

"Bowling for Columbine" - I don't know how this one passed me by. It is, of course Michael Moore's extended meditation on why Americans have such a high rate of gun crime (specifically, gun murder). He rules out every possible reason, one by one: Is it that our teenagers watch so many violent movies? Nah, they watch even worse stuff in Japan, which has just about zero gun crime. Is it the Goth culture? Just look at Germany—way more intense Goths and way less gun crime. Is it just that we own more guns? Well, how about Canada: They have about 30 million people, which translates to about 10 million households, and they have 7 million guns. They also have practically no gun crime—they're all about hunting with their guns. The only thing Moore could come up with was something about the way our politicians and our media spin crime way out of proportion and create an environment of fear in this country. One guy had done a study that found a 20% decrease in gun murders during the same period that there was a 600% (not a typo!) increase in TV news coverage of gun murders. That says something, don't you think? I am always impressed by how courteous Moore is when he's interviewing people; he and Charlton Heston had a perfectly civil sit-down—well, right up until the point that Moore suggested that Heston owed the people of Columbine an apology for holding an anti-gun rally there just 11 days after the shootings. But, as usual, Moore stoops to some dumb publicity stunts that end up undermining his message. Why bother Dick Clark, just because he happens to own a chain of mall restaurants, one of which happens to employ a woman whose son shot a classmate in Flint? And to suggest that Columbine might have occurred even in part because Lockheed Martin, which makes missiles, is located there? Dumb. He's better off when he just gives people enough rope to hang themselves. But, still, I really can't see how all these conservatives can claim to hate this movie as much as they do. He doesn't call for gun control. He criticizes Clinton as much as Bush. He just wants to know why our country has this particular problem. People are always saying, "If Moore hates the U.S., why doesn't he just move away?" but I don't get any sense at all that he hates this country. I think he loves it and just wants it to be a better place.

From there we move gracelessly to a review of a typical Bruce Willis shoot-em-up: "Hostage." This movie wasn't anything more or less than you'd expect—well, maybe a little more. It had some decent acting and interesting plot turns, and Willis looked pretty cool. Hardly a waste of time to watch in my own living room, but I sure am glad I didn't shell out the big bucks to watch it at a cinema.

Comments

[scott]

I liked Columbine. He took cheap shots at Heston, which was nasty, but the one thing I never figured on happened: I actually got closer to the gun-rights folks on the issue. I went from knee-jerk gun control advocacy to raging ambivalence because of watching this movie. Moore doesn't hate America. But he is a propagandist. I generally like his politics, but I wince at his methods.

[Margaret]

I think conservatives hate it because it is about guns, which is an issue that makes them uncomfortable. Anything that smacks of criticism is threatening. They want guns to be great, needed, legal, etc... I have never even seen a real gun; I hope I never do.