Anyways. I was going to quote FDR, but then I decided that "monkeys with razors" is scarier than "fear itself."
Did anyone see Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine? I saw it with Chrissa in a back room concrete movie theater in Alaska. In it, there's a part where Michael Moore is interviewing Marilyn Manson. He asks Manson about Columbine -- and how he had been blamed (since the killers liked his music). Manson blames society, saying that we live in a "culture of fear." He really made a lot of sense...but I still think he's vile.
His argument - the same argument Moore was trying to put forward in the documentary - was that society wants us to be afraid. Fear is integral to advertising. We are presented with an implicit choice every time we see a commercial: buy this product, or else...(fill in the blank). Buy this shampoo or you'll get dandruff. Drink this beer or these beautiful women will never sleep with you.
Politics are the same: if you vote for a Democrat, lesbian hippies will be smoking weed in your church; if you vote for a Republican, billionaire Fundamentalist Christians will take away social security and ban sex. It's even better on the international scene: Islamic extremists will kill us all...unless we bomb country "X."
The fear is there. It's in us all. They just push the buttons.
7 years ago
2 comments:
Exactly!
What he was arguing was that we live in a society of fear: that fear drives consumerism, etc. And when the system creates a "Columbine Massacre" everyone looks for a scapegoat when - in reality - society itself is to blame. Although I don't like him, I do have to agree with the logic. You can't blame Marilyn Manson for the fact that these boys went on a rampage -- especially when TV, movies, music, violent video games, and upbringing (among other things) ALL played a part.
However, Marilyn Manson arguably played a hand in it as well. He portrays himself as an anti-social, androgenous rocker who hates society...what better anger/fear for these boys to feed off of? So, no, I don't think he's innocent. But, no, I don't think he's the only one culpable.
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