Michael Moore's "Stupid White men"

Gordon

I got this book just before Christmas, I didnt have a bag on me or any means of carrying the book with me on my pub crawl so i put it in my pocket. Whenever I went to the toilet I took it out and read a paragraph at the urinal, I was hooked.

I couldn't believe some of the lies being fed to us daily, although this book is predominently about America, I'm sure the same types of lies and underhanded appraches are going on all over this world. gah, it makes me sick.

Anyway, people picked up on the fact I was reading it and we chatted about it for a little, one guy even saw it in my pocket and commented on how great it was.

Have you heard of it? Have you guys read it? Did I see you that night?!

Guy Incognito

I got this book for Christmas. Finished it yesterday. He really makes some good observations about the American government and their ties to various industries. The best thing is the brilliantly funny way he does it. I think the funniest chapter in the book is the one about how to achieve peace in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, etc. Baptise some Protestant people with a blessed hose

Amon

Stupid "WHITE" Men..... *cough*

xern

Yeah i read it before christmas, it's a great read, it really makes you think of the kind of curruption there is, and this whole war with iraq makes a lot more sence to me after reading it!!
the book is very funny too, it makes it hard to put down!

sceptre

Originally posted by Gordon
Did I see you that night?!

I make it a rule not to comment on things I see in people's pockets when I'm in the loo.:)

Read it on Christmas day. Well worth reading. There's also a "free" (er, actually free, not like "president":D) extra chapter on www.michaelmoore.com

daveirl

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Samson

Originally posted by daveirl
Like does anyone think that the two guys in Columbine even knew where Kosovo was let alone that the number of bombs dropped that day there could have been the trigger for them

I don't think he was making that point at all.
What I took from it was that the government of the USA are committing all sorts of obscene acts around the world (supposedly) in the name of democracy, and it's not suprising that a large (relative to other countries) number of Americans turn to violence given the example their government sets.

daveirl

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Dingatron

Just started reading it. For a supposed democracy, the voting system in the US looks like it needs a big overhaul. Al Gore must have been sick.

Samson

Originally posted by daveirl
Well he wasn't making the point that it did cause it but he was saying that it could have been the reason!

I don't think that was his contention either, but I can understand how one could take on that opion.
I think his suggestion was that it is not suprising that some people act like that, given the behaviour of the government, it could have been a contributory factor.

I do agree that it was a bit over the top in parts alright, even though the bit with Charlton Heston was a great example of how the president of the NRA does not have a clue, I felt a bit uncomfortable with it nevertheless.
I think Moore was playing to the camera, particularly in the section where he pulled out the photo of dead little girl like a prop.

daveirl

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Illkillya

Originally posted by daveirl
Taking Michael Moore's vision of America as gospel is just as stupid as taking George Bush's or FOX News' vision of the US as Gospel. I even think Moore would agree with that fully.

of course he would agree - towards the end of the book I got sick of his style and wished he would release the book in another format; just a huge list of facts. That way he wouldn't need to exaggerate and generalise for the sake of entertainment. But then again, I probably wouldn't have read the book at all if there was no humour in it

Guinness xtra

The book is fantastic. Couldn't put it down from the moment I started. Lets the world know what some of us have been saying for years. haven't seen his film yet. next week definetely.

daveirl

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Guinness xtra

its tongue in cheek for the most part I know but it provokes a lot of important thought

deezoid

Great book - he has a few others as well: Downsize This,TV Nation. There are other books out there with similar themes - but just better written - No Logo or Fast Food Nation for example. I think he's good at what he does but in general what changes can a comedian make (Mark Thomas is in the same boat here) tey can inform us about all these things, we think "Wow! I won't buy [insert big bad corporate guys here] anymore!" and then we forget all about it and get on with our lives. We all know we're being f****d by governments, corporations etc. but there is very little we can do about it. The less I know about how deeply I'm getting f****d the more comfortable I feel - I think.

daveirl

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Tusky

got it for christmas - havnt started it yet but i thought the film "bowling for columbine" was excellent !

DadaKopf

Originally posted by daveirl
Well come on, it's not like Eric Schlosser or Naomi Klein have made anything change either.

Moore isn't a comedian anyway.

In fairness, Schlosser is no Naomi Klein. Fast Food Nation was excellently researched and competently written but Schlosser was a little too keen, I thought, to make connections that either weren't there or were mostly irrelevant and largely unconnected to his overall argument.

Klein, on the other hand, is a brilliant researcher, a brilliant writer and a brilliant assimilator of the interconnected strands of the globalisation debate. I don't think there's much comparison between Schlosser and Klein - one is pretty boring and adequate and the other one is an exciting, intelligent, able writer.

Moore comes somewhere in between. He has the imagination to frame his agenda in an interesting, entertaining and sometimes dramatic way. Equally, he makes so many absurd connections that you have to wonder how far he's really willing to go to make a point. Ultimately, he's just an Angry White Man (and rightly so) but he should be a little more careful in the insinuations he makes - he undermines himself as a result.