h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having seen the film, I'd say that it has a lot of good points, and it did make me think. Simply for that, I would say that it is a good thing.
Anyone who works in books, or film, or television, or newspapers, or most of the internet is part of the media. Whether they comply with the overall media trends is a different question.
As to scaremongering, I think that you do find that over here as well, but on a much smaller scale. You also find a few dissenting voices in the UK which help to present a more accurate picture. I get the feeling that we feel more open to be critical of general opinion.
I have read somewhere that focus groups and surveys consistently show that people estimate that overall crime levels have gone up by 20 to 30% since Labour came to power. In actual fact, they have gone DOWN by 20 to 30%. How much credit Tony and co. can take for this is debatable, but it does show that Bowling For Columbine has something to say to the British too.

I think most of Michael Moore's work is relevant to most countries to varying degrees, it's just that he naturally investigates it in the US context. All we need now is a UK version of Bowling for Columbine by someone like Michael Moore, to bring matters like that to public attention over here.

I suppose that Mark Thomas is the nearest that we have in the UK. Did anyone see his recent programme on looking for weapons of mass destruction in the UK - I missed it.

I saw it. Very good bit at the end where a Public Interest Lawyer served Tony Blair with a letter threatening International legal action if he and bush authorise bombing of civilians in Iraq without UN backing.

I think he did well to avoid a charge of "crazy yanks". After all, there is the bit about how other countries have just as violent, if not worse, history than the US.

The overall message I took home from the film is that the world is very complicated, far more complicated than at first seems. Admittedly, this is one of my major principles of life.

Well, it doesn't look like I'll be shocked by the doccy then...

I was initially only attracted because Manson's in it...

Marilyn or Charles?

"I was initially only attracted because Manson's in it..."

*rolls eyes and giggles*

Marilyn Manson (or however you spell that). And he was surprisingly interesting to listen too, which probably says more about my prejudices than anything else.

Loved the film - the sooner it gets onto terrestrial tv the better, so that more people can see it.
Was very impressed by marilyn manson on it. I hadn't expected to be - don't know why, I just didn't really have any opinions on him having never heard him interviewed before. I thought he spoke very well.
As for Charlton Heston......don't get me started!
Or the bloke who claimed "there's wackos out there"....
Funny in the context, but pretty unsettling too!

Michael Moore has said that Marylin Manson was the most intelligent and stimulating interviewee he spoke to for the whole film. I thought he was pleasingly moderate, and did no harm to my opinion of him.

He still looks like a big tart though.

But looks aren't important. What's important is the message, which let's hope hasn't been buried under all the comedy asides and situationism.

Whatever he says, Manson certainly goes to a _lot_ of effort (and hours in make-up rooms) to project an image to the audience. He is not just an artless musician trying to express himself through music.

I didn't say he was, I was just hoping to rile Sat .

I was wondering whether the power of his *image* eclipses his *art*.

His music is certainly nothing revolutionary. If you don't listen to the words, it's not much different from LedZep. Not that that's a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I've heard some Marilyn Manson tracks that are absolutely great.

You can't get me riled over the individuals I really respect. I know my own opinion of him, and that a lot of people don't bother going past the generic preconceptions about him. No point getting upset about the cynicism of others.

And I happened to catch the previews of "Bowling For Columbine" during coverage of the film festival it was in. The Manson element attracted me because it was in combination with a provocative subject. Nothing shallow about it...

And may I hasten to add, that hes a great influence on me, and I don't consider myself to be a t**t at the end of the day.

Just my

No denying, Manson is a smarter guy than his detractors would have us believe, but aren't we getting a little far from the origianl question?

Indeed. Back to gun culture.

His detractors are usually the ones which do the influencing. At least, influencing the mindless little MockGoths who buy the music only because they believe it will drive them to kill, rather than because they like the sound of it. Hopefully they will grow out of that, but in the meantime anyone is welcome to make money off them.

God, the British media!

I can ignore their voidlike ignorance, gross distortion of stats. or the wildly prejudiced opinion columns, but the outright lies... Nurse, the screens, Michael Moore and a large helping of euthanasia. On the double!

Mark Thomas (you'll like this...) there was some opinion site I came across on my travels, which carried the sombre statement that Thomas had proposed a large financial reward for anyone bringing him the head of Bush . The site owner warned that this would shock those who had thought 'the anti-Americanism coming out of Europe couldn't get any worse' and, even more terrifying, that Thomas was a respected journalist here.