Fiction can sometimes be more dangerous than nonfiction. Western fiction, at least, strives to be realistic, but a skillful author can pass off anything he wants as the truth. Think of the black-on-white thuggery of "Birth of a Nation" or the gallant state apparatchiks of "The West Wing". Nonfiction authors are bound, at least ideally, by facts, having to cite sources, etc.
By the way, I didn't think Michael Moore's movie was so bad. At least he's from a small town and knows something about guns. And he points out that they have a lot of guns in Canada, etc., etc. You probably know this stuff. I haven't seen the end of it, though, maybe that's where he busts out the hardcore socialism.
by Otto M. Kerner on May 30, 2004 at 1:19 AM