Barry Glasner's "Culture of Fear", Bowling for Truth and Moore's Ethnographic Roadmap.
That was an exciting discussion today--many of your comments really opened up new ways to think about these important issues. Tanya's point about "academics" was an important one--combined with Yasmin's comment about the focus on popularity in high school (and what happens to those that are "alienated") and the economic issues, we start to see a clearer picture of why a discourse might form like this.One of our goals this semester is to continue developing our critical thinking abilities. This requires that we look at the various facets of an issue before we begin to shape some kind of opinion. In bowlingfortruth.com we find a direct attack on Moore, and an opposing view-point. How can we navigate between these two sides and come to a balanced understanding?
Can you pinpoint an example that illustrates the nature of bowlingfortruth.com's critique?
In terms of ethnograpy, the "roadmap" can help us re-trace Moore's journey, and presents some key moments in the film. Analyze the quotes I have pulled from the the film--does being able to read these quotes help you understand this film any better? And look closely at how the images have been arranged--does this influence how you understand the quotes?
(you don't have to answer these questions, but I do want you to be thinking about them.)
Finally, find a passage in the "The Culture of Fear," and explain your understanding of it. Does it connect to Bowling for Columbine? In what ways? Then explain what this passage has to do with the concept of shared knowledge?
There are two ways you can comment for this discussion thread: You can comment (at least once), following the questions above You may also respond to an issue one of your classmates has raised. Please make an effort to include quotes as textual evidence, and feel free to comment more than once.
posted by cjpapasito at 4:52 PM
11 Comments:
WHATS UP EVERYONE IN CHRISTIAN SLATERS ENGLISH 101? WHAT UP WILL, CHILLY, AND EGG....HEY EVERYONE LOOK AT WILL I THINK ITS ALLERGY SEASON (WINK WINK) HOPE ALL IS WELL THIS DISCOURSE I AM IN NOW IS BALLZY. AND ALSO I HEARD TO GET AN 85% IN THAT CLASS ITS ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS! HAHA JUST KIDDEN RELAX CHRIS... LATAS.. KYLE
After reading this introduction i found nothing unusual. Other than the negative feelings towards the media. I never used to hate the media untill i found myself being scamed by everyone. I see somthing in the media about a new wonderdrug that will cure this this and that. Come to find out i dont even have anything wrong with me, it was just my worried conciouse obtained by the media. I think it is absolutly sickning the way things are portrayed. If it is bad "they" (the media and people involved with it) portay it as good or not-so-bad. Example the drug topic, " in the lat 1990s the number of drug useres had decreased by half compared to a decade eairlier", bullshit. I dont understand why people cannot just tell the truth so that if their is a problem it can be fixed. And i have also noticed that so called doctors and physicians are coming out with new sicknesses that people can get. Example "restless leg syndrome' the only people who have that are lazy asses who dont apreaciate a good walk. The symptoms sound seriouse but really are not. It is sad for the poor souls who belive everything they see, and belive it will work. I know how it feels i have drowned in th same boat many times!
Our old friend Kyle--what's going on? Those high altitudes in Colorado are clearly descending on your mind. Benjamins may have worked, instead of that handful of Roosevelt's you offered me. You should write us back and give us some real info--how is the ski-bum life? Any different than the NE? Maybe you could visit Columbine for us and give us live update on the the state of the community. Hope things are well. C
Vita Trocki
Christian Pulver
Assignment # 29 BowlingforTruth.com vs. BowlingforColumbine.com
12/05/05
These two websites really are the two extremes of the same subject. After watching the movie “Bowling For Columbine” I was so touched and and so many emotions .I felt at times that it was a bit extreme and unbelievable, but I truly admired Michael Moore’s passion and real concern. I thought that he is truly raising awareness for violence. As I watched his special features and award winning ceremonies, I noticed that he is a little too opinionated about president Bush and his actions and leadership. Generally I thought that he just has strong opinions about what he believes.
After one week I looked into “BowlingForThruth.com” website. It opened my eyes, made me look at a different angle. Maybe I am just easy to persuade, to bend but I am not that positive about Moore’s real passions and reasons making this documentary. I was amazed how many facts were missing or distorted. I would like to mention couple facts in the documentary which were changed or omitted. The most shocking was the “ Lockeed Martin Missiles “ lie. It appears that this factory wasn’t making missile weapons, it was making weather satellites ! At this point I thought that Moore was just manipulating peoples minds. Just the fact that you think you are watching a documentary makes you feel that those are the true facts . This kind of uncertainty, mistrust creates even more violence . Kayla Rolland shooting story also was also somewhat misleading. Moore was trying to put all blame on welfare and job. This didn’t sound right to me after I read that the mother and her son lived in a ‘crack house’. The boy showed a lot of violent behavior before the shooting ( among those even stabbing a girl) but no one seemed to care about it .
I feel that there are two very different DCs at two opposite sides.It seams that Moore belongs to the one were in order to achieve your goal and state your point of view you have to distort and exaggerate the truth. The other DC says bare truth even if its not exciting and doesn’t shock people.Those stories are not controversial and do not serve personal purposes.
"Give us a happy ending and we write a new disaster story"-Perry Glasner, Culture of Fear
How true that statment is, in a society where money and power seem to dominate over all other things, every up has it's down. Glasner recounts all of the issues where America has had fear engrained into our minds. Topics from weight, cancer and even killer bugs.
The statement which Glasner brings up which I found to be most true is: "False and overdrawn fears only cause hardship." In realtionship to Michael Moore's: Bowling for Columbine this quote makes me think about how Michael Moore makes us look at the militia. Some may say that the Milita's of America are full of fear, and I agree with them. These milita's are full of governmental fear and that the world is pretty much out to get them. Which isn't true, the government is established to protect not hurt us. These miltia members don't realize that: "valid fears have their place" their fears aren't valid, to me atleast. These fears are causing militia members hardships because they are trying so hard to defend themselves and what they believe in.
We as American's can't live in fear, as Roosevelt said: "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself", if we fear the world and fear eachother they we won't feel comfortable with ourselves and our surroundings.
After searching throughout this two sites and seeing the two sides of the truth,i feel convesed that we are all victims of what we have made.the capitalism is very usefull when its under our control,but in our case is the opposit hapening. the media will keep broadcasting fear over and over and the weapons factories will never stop.the solution as i see it is to get over the whole thing and stand for our human values and morals.
After all money creates the wars.
I agree with a few of the previous blogs especially Vita's.
"Another popular explanation blames the new media."
The media comstantly spoon feeds people with false information.They give use half a story never the whole thing and they always seem to elaborate on the worst part of a situation. Shared knowlegde is not always good if half the time the truth is never really shared.
Well, after reading the introduction : “why the Americans Fear the wrong thing” , I must claim that I strongly disagree with the author .First of all Americans are not fear “the wrong thing”, I have this impression that the writer of this book suggest to American society a celebration of drugs use, to forget about people who suffer from censer, kids shooting each other with the guns- it’s OK ,it’s not that dangerous –saying he to us .”After a sixteen years old in Pearl, Mississippi, and fourteen-years-old in West Paducah, Kentucky, went on shooting sprees in late 1997, killing five of their classmates and wounding twelve others, these isolated incidents were as evidence of “an epidemic adolescents murders”- I am just wandering, what number of kid’s murders are good enough that publicity start viewing it ?!
Also, another fact, he doesn’t have any reliable documentary support of his statements, as a matter of fact it is all “yellow” press sources: ”Wall Street Journal”- we cant be serious about this type of literature.
I think , that media should broadcast about criminals affairs, other wise, how people will donate money to victims of censes, how parents find out that “cocaine” is selling in schools… I believe, that media is a “mirror” of society, because I the experience which non of you have, including the author of the introduction. I was born in a country( Soviet Union) where was no crimes, or murders on TV, but there were in reality, but no one was talking about them. One single example of Chernobyl catastrophe was cost many human life’s- media said nothing about it at that time on TV. Is this how exactly the author would like to broad cast the news- just don’t say anything , don’t panic, it could be worth……
One of the points I found psychologically interesting in the movie was the buying and returning of the bullets to Kmart. I must admit I felt horrible for the woman they confronted there. Anyone who has worked in customer service knows what it is like to be the middle man. I think that what Michael Moore did was probably very empowering for the wounded students. For them to feel like they had done even the slightest thing to stop this from happening to someone else must have made them feel great, but I also appreciated the comment on Bowling for Truth stating: "Since when are you allowed to return things that were used in a way you don't like. If some guy buys a Twinkie and shoves it in my face, I can't go to the grocery store and return it." The movie scene seemed so unrealistic, yet who from Kmart would say anything infront of two teenagers shot at Columbine?
leaning on what Vita says. You cannot believe everything that you see, hear,or even read about. I think even though Michael Moore may have added or omitted a lot of things, he still plays on a lot of true things. In Bowling for truth, the website was made by one man. I guess if the site was made by other people then for me it would guide my mind in another direction. No, I do not agree with everything that Moore says, but wether he took facts and put them in an order to say say something else... They are facts said by some one, unless they were actors and actresses.
I believe the best way to balance the information we get from these two sources or any other two conflicting sources trying to prove a poit is by analyzing their intentions about what they are trying to accomplish with the data they expose. Another step of this analysis would be to do a "background check" on the institutions (or people) to understand what is their long term commitment to the public. How long have they been doing this, who are they really benefiting and how have they been doing it are a few questions that can help tell what source to trust.
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