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Michael Moore Takes Aim at U.S. Gun Culture
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/ ^ | Friday September 6 | Amran Abocar

Posted on 09/06/2002 7:36:41 PM PDT by chasio649

Michael Moore Takes Aim at U.S. Gun Culture By Amran Abocar

TORONTO (Reuters) - Americans may not like what they see in Michael Moore's film "Bowling for Columbine" which examines U.S. gun culture, but the director hopes moviegoers will leave the theater with more than just anger and try to better their society.

Moore's film, inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opens in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 11.

"This ultimately isn't a film about guns (or) gun control. This is a film about the American psyche and the American ethic," Moore said at a press conference. "I'm much more concerned about the fact that we've just gone nuts as opposed to whether we've got too many gun nuts in America.

The film begins with a sequence on Moore opening an account in a bank, where his welcome gift as a new customer is a rifle, underlining the easy availability of arms.

That humor turns to horror as the viewer is treated to other, more chilling, images, including previously unseen footage from surveillance cameras that recorded teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on their bloody rampage through Columbine.

The film's title is a reference to Klebold and Harris's bowling outing before the shooting.

Moore's documentary made a triumphant visit to the Cannes film festival earlier this year where it received a special anniversary prize. It was the first documentary to show at the festival in 46 years.

"It's a film that cuts very close to the bone and it's an uncomfortable film for Americans," he said. "I love being an American. I'm trying to do this to try and make us better."

To help Americans become better, the director travels to Canada to understand why Canadians are not as trigger-happy as their American cousins.

There follow humorous scenes of Moore walking into people homes in Toronto to prove, he says, that Canada is so safe that people don't even lock their doors. About 60 percent of the doors he tries, open freely.

"We need to change our ethic and aspire to be more Canadian-like," he said. "The Canadian ethic is, 'We're all in the same boat.' Our ethic is, 'Every man for himself and to hell with you'."

The filmmaker, who produced and hosted the cult television programs "TV Nation" and "The Awful Truth," screened his feature documentary "Roger and Me" at the 1989 Toronto film festival.

The 27th Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 5 to Sept. 14.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: banglist
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To: chasio649
"Michael MNoore Takes Aim at the US 'Gun Culture'"

Perhaps the "gun culture" should return the favor?

41 posted on 09/06/2002 9:22:59 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: chasio649
I'd like to take aim at Michael Moore. Nah....that wouldn't be fair....it would have to be long range....600 meters minimum.
42 posted on 09/06/2002 9:24:16 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: Atchafalaya; Bill D. Berger; El Gato
That's interesting. I'd never heard of guns being given away at banks before.
43 posted on 09/06/2002 9:42:27 PM PDT by Skwidd
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To: Skwidd
The Bank of Boulder used to allow you to take your interest upfront, in the form of a Weatherby,SIG or other high end tool.

It took a large investment, frozen for a long time, but hey.
44 posted on 09/06/2002 9:51:36 PM PDT by JMJJR
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To: NatureGirl
I hate this guy. I don't know why I even read anything about him. May he live in interesting times.

Actually, there's an old Yiddish curse that I think he deserves:

May all of your teeth fall out of your head, except one. And may you get a terrible tooth ache in that last tooth!

Mark

45 posted on 09/06/2002 10:01:56 PM PDT by MarkL
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To: chasio649
About a year and two weeks ago I remember reading about a film maker filming about the American gun culture. He had a crisis of conscience about his project when several men with box cutters killed 3000 people in one day. Was this him?
46 posted on 09/06/2002 10:04:29 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: RLK
needed to get the shit slapped out of them for some time... Moore could benefit from the same kind of character guidance.

Character guidance. And all this time I was refering to it as an attitude adjustment.

47 posted on 09/06/2002 10:39:35 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler
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To: Skwidd
What bank is this?
48 posted on 09/06/2002 10:54:15 PM PDT by weikel
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To: oldtimer
"Maybe the Canadians would be more sensitive if certain segments of our population in the US were "residing" in that beautiful Country."

Ain't that the truth! 60% of California's prisoners are illegal immigrants. Be glad to ship them up to la la land for re-education.
49 posted on 09/06/2002 10:54:28 PM PDT by hoosierskypilot
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To: Jeff Chandler
Character guidance is a term left from when I was in the army.
50 posted on 09/06/2002 10:54:30 PM PDT by RLK
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To: NatureGirl
"...this is the guy who devoted a whole chapter of one of his books to the fact that he thought Hitlery was "sexy". Seriously."

Oh man, that proves it! He used to be a broad!

51 posted on 09/06/2002 10:57:19 PM PDT by hoosierskypilot
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To: kstewskis
True. The fat moron, Moore, is a rather easy target.

Just look at him. Never before has such a fat a** been connected to such a fat head.

52 posted on 09/06/2002 11:26:23 PM PDT by Reactionary
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To: chasio649
When is this jerk going to assume his rightful place in obscurity?
53 posted on 09/07/2002 5:25:11 AM PDT by capt. norm
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To: chasio649
It would''ve been funny to see mikey walk into one of those canadian houses and get his head blown off! the fatF***!
54 posted on 09/07/2002 5:37:38 AM PDT by longfellow
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To: chasio649
"We need to change our ethic and aspire to be more Canadian-like," he said. "The Canadian ethic is, 'We're all in the same boat.' Our ethic is, 'Every man for himself and to hell with you'."

Uh-huh.

America needs to be more like Canada? Is that why they race across the border for good medical practice and training? Is that why nobody races across the border for anything in Canada other than some wonderful vacationing?

The Canadain ethic is "We're all in the same boat". What a concise summary of the communist ethic.

The American ethic is not "Every man for himself and to hell with you", it is simply "Every man for himself". However, Americans have given more time, money, assistamce, materials, knowledge compassion, food, and hope to the world than the rest of the planet has given in all of recorded history. Go crawl back in your hole, Moore. If you admire Canadian ethic so much, PLEASE, for the love of all that is Good and Just, MOVE THERE AND SHUT UP!

55 posted on 09/07/2002 5:52:24 AM PDT by Teacher317
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To: Teacher317
Canadain = Canadian
"knowledge (COMMA!) compassion"
assistamce = assistance

It's a weekend morning, I'm not awake yet. ;^)

56 posted on 09/07/2002 5:55:15 AM PDT by Teacher317
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To: NatureGirl
Living here in cloistered Leftopolis Toronto I can assure you most people lock their doors.
57 posted on 09/07/2002 6:46:03 AM PDT by xp38
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To: Reactionary
Never before has such a fat a** been connected to such a fat head.

I agree that Moore is huge, but I must point out that you are mistaken.

Jerrold "The Hut" Nadler

58 posted on 09/07/2002 7:25:53 AM PDT by wysiwyg
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To: wysiwyg
You got me there. Nadler would certainly outclass Moore in the "fat head, fat a**" department.

And the whiff of fascism he detected during the Florida debacle? It came from his huge rear end.

59 posted on 09/07/2002 8:31:26 AM PDT by Reactionary
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To: chasio649
Moore is a known communist. His film will be pure porpaganda.
60 posted on 09/07/2002 8:32:50 AM PDT by PatrioticAmerican
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