A Brief History of the United States of America

Many of you have said something along the lines of "hey, this is a cartoon it's supposed to be funny but not historically accurate". However, it is being taken seriously enough that school age children are seeing it in their social studies courses and are being asked to comment on it. It's funny in a dark sense of humor sort of way, but it's not being presented as strictly comedy. In addition, it is asking us to put two and two together and get six (e.g., the KKK and the NRA are linked). Everyone is well within their rights to state that America is not a perfect nation and has made mistakes in the past and even committed atrocities. However, it's not your right to pass this crap off as historical evidence of all the wrongs of this country.

This is the short animated sequence of Bowling for Columbine, with a running time of 3 minutes. You probably already know of Moore's agenda and his often manipulative documentaries, and this is a pretty strong example of that. What I usually say is that you should hear him out, then look it up for yourself, because for as much of it as you cannot and should not take at face value, he does have well-thought out and vital arguments, that he presents in a compelling manner, every so often, and I consider those worth the effort to not let yourself get carried away. This is about racism, as several of his features are, and yes, it is lacking in nuance. Still, what he says about fear as the motivator of atrocities in the US is something that ought to be considered. This keeps to a swift pace throughout, without overwhelming the audience. The comedy is largely a quite sarcastic brand of black humor, and I gotta admit, I find it to be hilarious, and I suspect many would. Not entirely factually correct, but an entertaining and good summary of America's history. There is plenty of disturbing content and a bit of relatively violent material in this. I recommend this to anyone smart enough to not believe it with no reservations. 8/10

I'd like to say something to all American viewers that for some reason dislike this short animation: it's not a history lesson, it's a joke.

The only thing that Moore implies here is that "fear is the mother of violence", that's the one and only thing that links the hole animation. The rest is a personal view of the country history based on that first assumption. It's a great critic to the living hysteria in America and the basis of modern capitalism.

If we think about it for a minute, it's not hard to realize that almost all relationships around us are based on competition and survival of the fittest instead of true bonds based on love, care and common property...

I really hope the world turns to the left side; that's where our heart is...

This regrettable piece of anti-American rhetoric is simply appalling. Not only is it offensive, but it is simply wrong. Moore attempts to equate the NRA to the KKK by saying that the Klan was declared illegal the same year that the NRA was founded. It is true that these events occurred in the same year. What Mr. Moore fails to mention (indeed, it would ruin his point if he did) is that the law outlawing the KKK was signed into law by President Grant who, after leaving office, would become President of the NRA. Grant received major opposition from southern whites for signing the law, yet he did it nonetheless, and with outspoken vigor against the terrorist KKK. Also, the fact that the NRA was founded by former Union officers, and most of the first presidents were Union officers, is a testament to why the NRA was, in fact, an ANTI-klan organization. It is also noteworthy to mention that it was later the NRA who helped procure rifles for African-Americans to defend themselves against the KKK during the Civil Rights movement. The fact that Moore tries to link two wholly opposed organizations is not surprising given his tendency to twist facts in his "documentaries", and his love affair with the idea of racism. Sadly, Moore seems to be hell-bent on keeping the idea of wide-spread racism alive. After all, it keeps him in business, right?

This 'Brief History' must be the worst part of the documentary by Michael Moore, 'Bowing For Columbine'. While the documentary itself was, to say the least, unfocused at times and not that truthful (though it had it's moments as well), 'Brief History' is a completely one-sided history lesson which doesn't make much sense.

It main idea (to support those in 'Columbine') is that white American men have always lived in fear. It's fear what made them kill the indians, it's fear that led them to slavery, it's fear nowadays that lead them to buying guns.

What troubles me most is that this theory isn't much supported by fact. In truth, the only fact we get from Moore is that the NRA started out the same year the KKK was banned as illegal. So?

So indeed. If you are watching 'Bowling' you might as well skip this part, as it is silly to the extend and not making any sense.

2/10.