[thechat] Bowling for Columbine

[isaac]

> Well, not much of another part of the world here but I loved it. It
> seemed a little disjointed, when I think back to it, but when you come
> out of the cinema you don't even care about that.


Yes, I agree that it was quite disjointed, and perhaps was also poorly
edited (as in choice of scenes -- there was some irrelevance with the Clark
component).

For those who haven't seen it, Moore makes a brief, but pretty glaring
allegation that the NRA is the KKK legalised. In 1871, the Force Bill was
authorised by Congress allowing the President to use military force against
the KKK. Soon after they "all but disappeared". In 1871, the NRA was
founded, etc.

And watching the part where Heston talks about the right to bear arms being
given by the wise old "white" founding fathers gives me no doubt that he's a
racist little bitch...


I have a pretty firm belief that the culture of gun possession and glorified
violence presented in stereotypically "black" music (I listen to a bit of
rap/hip-hop amongst almost everything else) goes no way to reducing ghetto
issues in the US. For every rapper or sports star (hello, Iverson) busted on
gun-related charges, I think the cause of equality and eliminating racial
fear is set back just that little bit more. And if KKK=NRA, I can't imagine
that Grand Wizard Heston is at all bothered by the prospect of young black
men killing each other.


Here, I don't know anyone who has a gun. I don't know anyone who feels as
though they'd want or need a gun.



My favourite part of Bowling for Columbine was Chris Rock's comedic routine
about the price of bullets. He suggested that if bullets cos $5k, gun deaths
would be reduced. And while the routine was very amusing, it's an
exceptional idea. For every single person claiming their gun is effective
only for self-defense, why would they need more than a couple of bullets to
take down an intruder? $5k bullets would go some way to reducing drive-bys,
etc.

I absolutely cannot believe, as shown in the film, that ammunition was sold
in K-Mart, or that a bank gives customers a free gun when they open a term
deposit account. It's completely ridiculous. Good luck reversing the trend!


i