I wish to take this time in my blog to address some films that have recently peaked my interest. Last year I had American Film class so I had an outlet for such movie discussions, but now I have a blog which i can serve this purpose rightfully.
In Sociology we have recently watched the Michael Moore (2002) documentary Bowling for Columbine. Using the Columbine school shooting of 1999 as his starting point, Michael Moore investigates our nations obsession with guns and violence. He focuses on many points in the documentary such as our nation's history, the media and news, gun murders, Marilyn Manson and music, government backed violence, and organizations such as the National Rifle Association. Before seeing the film I knew that I was not very pro-gun. I am not sure why, but guns give me a feeling of anxiety. I do not even have to see them in person to put myself into a panic. Something that comes to mind is the scene in Goodfellas (1990) where Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is threatening his wife with a loaded gun in their bedroom. I could not even watch the scene with getting "freaked out", for lack of a better phrase. So naturally I know that I lean to left on issues like gun patrol (but not limited by). I do not feel guns to be a necessary, and they only seem to cause trouble. The film brought many interesting points up, but did not come to a definite conclusion. Some points that stood out in my mind were the fact that our country has a total of over 11,000 murders by gun a year. Where as other countries have significantly less. For example I recall Japan had less that 29. Canada, just north of us and a nation of hunters with quite similar gun laws, has much less murders than us. They watch the same movies, and play the same video games. so why is this such a problem for our country? The film was trying to explain the epidemic of violence that has arose in our country, but we agreed in class that they did not come to a definite conclusion. All countries have violent histories, many watch the same movies and listen to the same music, so why has this occured here. I keep thinking about this, I too cannot come to a conclusion. There is one theory I have come up with, and it stems from a 60 Minutes episode I saw sometime last year, that named the Danish the happiest people in the world wheere as we were ranked 23. The Danes had stated in their interviews that they feel less pressure to succeed. They put less emphasis on achieving beyond their limits, and because of this when great things happen they are happy and when bad things happen they are not devastated. Maybe as Americans we have too much pressure in areas like competition, this leads to great stress. Not everyone that is stressed out is going to kill someone, but I think one can loosely draw a parallel. Also was Americans our highs or happiness are great, and our lows are also monumental. Maybe this could be a reason. I think people more need to see things for the bigger picture, rather than the here and now. These are just my thoughts, but I would advise you all to see the film and make your own theories on the matter! Either way you stand on the matter I think it is very interesting.
Okay, here is something else I would like to address. Has anyone very seen the movie trailer for the new film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Its directed by David Fincher, who also did Fight Club, and stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Tilda Swinton. It is based off a short story by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, about a boy who is born an old man, but ages younger through his life. It seems to be a love story where they both meet in the middle if that makes sense. It comes out December 15, and reviews already written think it has the possibility for being up for 11 Oscars. It looks like its going to be epic. Brad Pitt, director of Fight Club, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, and a fantasy plot wrapped in a love story, everything I would want in a movie!
Check out the trailer at this link
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thecuriouscaseofbenjaminbutton/
Okay everyone that is all I have for now! Happy Thanksgiving!
