So I guess I should update this thing. What on Earth have I done in the last week? Shit, nothing of any importance. There was lots of procrastination, but that's hardly noteworthy.
I saw Bowling For Columbine on Sunday night, which I could talk about here. It's Michael Moore being very, very biased towards gun violence, and blaming it on...somebody. Charleton Heston, maybe. Whereas in Roger & Me I felt like he was justified in his condescending views, here I didn't feel like he even had a handle on. It just seemed like his turn to make fun of people because they aren't sensitive or they disagree with what he stands for.
And the people at Berkeley as a whole love this. But when you think about it, the rampant liberalism doesn't really stem from thoughtfulness or analysis of the situation. From my standpoint, it seems like people are liberal because it's hip to be liberal. I have very little respect for people who hiss whenever George W. Bush appears on the screen. From a comparative standpoint, G-dub is really no more tyrranical than any other American president. Much more moderate, and he kind of reflects the general American swing towards conservatism. I can buy this, that's fine. The head of our nation should represent the people, and I believe that Bush does. Does that make me happy? Hell no. That guy is a retard.
Where the hell was I? Oh yeah, the hissing. He's not a tyrant, not so terrible, but all of these ultra-liberal filmmakers just want to pontificate about the horrors of international policy and blah blah blah. I'm sorry, but saying that American youth learn about violence from the actions of the American government is a load of hogwash. If there's one thing that's most prevalent in high school students, it's apathy. These kids on a whole really don't give a shit about foreign policy. Free Tibet? Where is that, the South Pacific? Give me a break.
So this film was most salient when it wasn't trying, and wasn't trying so hard to make a point. When it let the subtleties take over. For example, when our hero is talking to an LAPD officer about how he can't see the Hollywood sign, how there's too much pollution (which shouldn't have even been included in this movie, period), he looks suspiciously at a man and a boy playing ball in their front yard. They're tossing a fucking yellow ball back and forth, and the Sergeant knows they must be up to something, and without even making eye contact with Moore goes off to investigate. This is racism in America, this is the upper-middle class suburban fear of the black man in action, and that's some bullshit.
So Moore can take all his preaching and just shove it until he comes up with a thesis statement, and then I'll listen.
I usually don't feel so angered about things like that, but sitting in a theater full of people too hip to consider that this film is really not at all focused enough to do justice to its delivery is not my cup of tea.
What the world needs is more people not so obsessed with their own agenda as to preclude a logical analysis of anything. I'm going to get on my soapbox here once more, and just yell at affirmative action in college admissions. I'm sorry, but I am not willing to accept this as a solution to racial inequality in college admissions. I believe in equality, and trying to avoid racism in all possible ways, including ignoring race in terms of college admissions. That is equality, judging each person on their own merits. No longer are you trying to combat racism with affirmative action at Berkeley, but rather you're trying to institute social change. To this I basically say fuck you, start earlier. If you want to institute change, motivate 'underrepresented minorities' at a young age to get into college. If you want to go to Berkeley, and you've always wanted to go to Berkeley, I find it less than difficult to plan your education in such a way that you would be accepted to Berkeley.
Start studying for the SAT's at a young age. I took my first SAT when I was in 7th grade. Fuck, it costs less than 20 dollars. The government will help you pay for these tests, it's not a big deal. If you want to study, go down to your local library and look at the SAT prep books that they almost certainly have on hand. Talk to your teachers, talk to your guidance counselors, talk to college students nearby. Basic point: if you want to go to college, you can do so. It's not based on race at all. If your family didn't go, and your family is poor, and it's not a family or community priority for you to go to college, sure it's going to be more difficult. But you can still do it, the motivation of your parents is not at all necessary for your success in college admissions.
Gah, this just really bothers me too. All this By Any Means Necessary nonsense, especially. I was going to mock them by creating a motion to obtain a luck dragon for the house By Any Means Necessary, but I decided against it, because I would have to show progress on this motion in the next month, which I don't think I can do.
That's enough steaming for the moment. Maybe I'll come back later and bitch about something else. Grr...
