NationStates Jolt Archive

Now having watched Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" I can say that in some ways, he's the left-wing version of Fox News, oversensationalising his works and suchlike. However, leaving aside the sensationalisation and factual errors in BfC, I would like to ask people about their opinions on the concept of the Culture of fear that Moore sees as pervading modern American culture.

Speaking as an outsider (Singaporean living in the US), I would say that this does exist. American's tend to be scared of a lot of things from the big stuff (the government/militias/gangs are going to break into my house and take away my civil rights and suchlike) to the little stuff (if you don't thoroughly cook food, you'll get salmonella and die).
Of course these are extreme examples but I'm sure there are lots more. One other manifestation of this might be the "soccer mom" culture where everything must be completely santitsed to protect children from any hypothetical form of danger. Or another might be american legal culture where it sometimes seems like people sue for any minor annoyance in their lives.

What do other people think?

Please try to limit your comments to the Culture of Fear concept and not go off on a tangent about Moore. I'm not too fond of him either, I just think this one concept does have merit.

So I can't scream and yell on how he was bullying and picking on Charleston Heston? Dammit. Just leave him alone, you damned dirty film-maker!

but yeah...we're afraid
and we're paranoid

It's because of the news and the media, telling us that everything will kill us.

So we kill everything so it won't kill us.

So I can't scream and yell on how he was bullying and picking on Charleston Heston?

Thanks. I'd appreciate it if you didn't :)

Moore is absolutley correct on this issue.

Looka the last century.....The civils rights movement, and the violence in the streets over the veitnam War....

the basic emotion behind all of it was fear.

fear that the black man would rise up against his white oppressors..
Fear that the radical counter culture would march on the capital...

The News sources prolificate it all the way...

Remember 9/11?

How many countless thousands of times have you seen the footage of the planes hitting the towers?

how many times afterwards did you watch and see what the "Terror Alert" was at today?

"the media sells it..and you live the role..."- Ozzy Osbourne.

You missed out fear of the godless Commies. Of course thats now been upgraded to fear of the godless Euro-liberals and fear of the eeeevil Muslims.

You missed out fear of the godless Commies. Of course thats now been upgraded to fear of the godless Euro-liberals and fear of the eeeevil Muslims.

Them too....

Lest I forget Mcarthyism.

So does no one else have anything to say about the psychology of the citizens of the world's only remaining superpower?

I don't think a "Culture of Fear" is quite correct. Ours is a culture of opportunity. With opportunity, come opportunists. That is where Moore and Fox News and much of our media comes in.

I think it's the other way around- opportunists use the existing Culture of Fear to make money by playing on peoples fears.

It is the one concept that BFC has going for it.

Pro-gunners spit blind hate without even watching the film. Anti-gunners think that Moore has proved their case when he has done no such thing.

For the manipulations (that all film makers use) exposed http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html

I've had this discussion with people. The fear of the black man is a great part of this (btw the NRA helped set up black chapters and helped arm people living in KKK states*). Although raw numbers show that murders committed by blacks and whites are about equal - blacks are a minority. This fuels the fear 'they're going to attack me'.

Raw numbers don't tell you - where people live, socio-economic conditions etc. They do tell you that murders are mainly intra-racial rather than inter-racial and still occur mainly between people who know each other.

None of this alleviates the fear. People in the States seem to need an enemy be it communism, Radical Islam (or increasingly Islam in general) or young black men.



*Also Ulysses Grant, who passed the Klan Act which dealt the Klan a serious blow, was later President of the NRA.

Excellent link St Johns

It is the one concept that BFC has going for it.


I agree

As always, the BBC is already covering the downfall of you Yankee scum. Observe-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2004/lectures.shtml


I've been listening to some of these, and they are very interesting.

Those look interesting. I'll give them a read.

I think it's the other way around- opportunists use the existing Culture of Fear to make money by playing on peoples fears.

That's how it seems to me, too.
Entrepreneurs cynically anticipate the next great fear and exploit it.
Dust mites! Radon! CHolesterol! Cellulite! :lol: