so i finally went to see ‘bowling for columbine’, and while it could’ve benefitted from some more aggressive editing it’s still a wonderful and admirable movie. and i definitely encourage everyone to go and see it asap.
the most disturbing aspect of the film for me was the graphic litany of american involvement in coups and assasinations in other countries. it really is shameful, and it represents an american foreign policy that every american should be aware of and should be ashamed of. and it was good to be reminded of the fact that america has in the past provided weapons of mass destruction to saddam hussein, and military training and money to osama bin laden.
ugh.
and to be reminded of the bush administrations use of ‘the war on terrorism’ as a smokescreen to cover up its domestic blunders, such as it’s profound complicity in the enron debacle. and to be reminded of the great disparity in gun deaths between the united states and every other western nation. there are a lot of wonderful things about the united states, but there are seemingly an equal number of aspects of life in the united states that lead me to believe that we live in a country that is very sick. the footage of the newscaster reporting solemnly on the shooting of a 6 year old and then getting in an argument on his cell-phone and asking for hair gel the moment the camera is switched off was particularly disconcerting.
‘bowling for columbine’ isn’t the best movie ever made, but it’s good points are such that i do believe that everyone should do their best to see it.
thanks.
moby