Dave Kopel's
interesting
take on Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine. At first, I
thought he was naively giving Moore the benefit of the doubt, until I got
to the end:
Some readers may doubt that Moore intentionally created an
entire film whose subtext so thoroughly contradicts its literal text and
that so effectively mocks its audience and its creator. My response is
that we are long past the era of being chained to an artist's precise
intentions.
Mockumentary it may be, but unlike
This Is Spinal Tap, it was
not created as a joke. The problem with
Bowling is that it is not,
by itself, an obvious and blatant lie. It's not until you are familiar
with the actual facts that its ridiculous nature is apparent. I guess the
same could be said of
Spinal Tap, but then it never won any
documentary awards that I know of.
