Bowling For Columbine - Review

 Moore's construction (and inaccuracies) of Canada

Moore attempts to contrast montage of the U.S. with the attitude prevailing in Canada, where he states that gun ownership is at similar levels to the U.S. He illustrates his thesis by visiting neighborhoods in Canada near the Canada-U.S. border, where he finds front doors unlocked and much less concern over crime and security. Moore travels across the U.S. with forays to our neighbour to the north, to try to get to the bottom of the burning question: Why does the United States have a murder rate of over 11000 per year when Canada, for example, has a higher rate of unemployment, seven million guns shared among ten million households, and has a kill ratio that is a small fraction of that in the U.S.? An animated history of America hilariously skewers America's national blood lust, while providing a neat segue to his most cogent exploration and contrast - that of fear in America and the vast difference between the United States and Canada, where seven million guns are present in ten million households but murder is practically nonexistent. Moore states that Canada is a place where people are unconcern of crimes, but this is very untrue. Canada does have high unemployment rates and owns more than seven million guns. However, the reason why Canada has a small fraction of kill ratio compared to the U.S. is because Canada does not have the "national blood lust," like in America. If you look at Canada's history, there was not any controversial events or incidents that built more fear of foreigners. Also Canada is a multicultural country, therefore, there is less anxiety of racial discrimination in comparison to the United States, where racial discrimination is a huge issue, just like in this film. 

Comparing Canadian and American Police Dramas

 

CHARACTERS

FLASHPOINT:

• Gregory "Greg" Parker: Caucasian, crisis negotiator, prefers situations to be resolved through dialogue instead of lethal force, caring, peaceful
• Ed Lane (Protagonist of the episode): Caucasian, tactical leader, best sniper, has emotions, struggles between lethal force and negotiating with words
• Julianna "Jules" Callaghan: Caucasian, intelligence gatherer, stereotypical "woman cop," trained sniper, and does not like back-stabbing
• Sam Braddock: Caucasian, believes lethal force is the solution instead of using dialogue, protectiveness
• Kevin "Wordy" Wordsworth: Caucasian, team's entry, CQB expert
• Michaelangelo "Spike" Scarletti: Caucasian, demolitions and tactical tech expert
• The enraged man (Antagonist of the episode): Foreigner, does not speak english, has bad temper and behaviour issues
• The hostage: typical woman worker, Caucasian

THE CHICAGO CODE:

• Jarek Wysocki (Protagonist): a tough Chicago Polish-American homicide detective, legendary figure in the department, macho, hates profanity, intimated with his family issues
• Teresa Covin (Protagonist): Caucasian female police superintendent, very tough and ambitious, unafraid to challenge, incompetent
• Caleb Evers: a young Caucasian homicide detective, Jarek's partner, good observational skills
• Vonda Wysocki: a rookie police officer, caring, kind, Jarek's niece
• Isaac Joiner: black, a young and ambitious officer, hot-shot, partner with Vonda Wysocki, caring
• Liam Hennessey: low-level thug, under-cover, Caucasian, mysterious
• Alderman Ronin Gibbons: a black Chicago alderman, most influential figure, kind, respectful, wise
• Criminals: all of them are either black or different nationalities. 

The significant differences between these shows are that in "The Chicago Code," characters are more racially diverse and stereotyped, such as the criminals. In "Flashpoint," most of main and important characters are Caucasians, however in "The Chicago Code," some important characters are black. These are the significant differences between these two shows. 

I would prefer to watch "The Chicago Code," because the racial diversity is more realistic compare to the real life, and also the characters have different characteristics and issues that can be related to people living in real-life. The "Flashpoint"do have some realistic parts to it, such as the emotions (ex. guilt) that Ed Lane felt after he shot the enraged man. However, the stereotypes in this show is too unrealistic, because not every characters who are good is Caucasians and bad characters are not always foreigners.

I believe that the "Flashpoint" has some parts that makes it distinctly Canadian, such as the setting of the show. The episode takes place in Canada, because in one scene, you can clearly see the CN Tower. This also applies to "The Chicago Code." The Chicago Code takes place in most likely in US, because of the feeling of Ghetto-ness in the episode. However, the general concept of the two shows are essentially same, because both of them deals with very strong stereotypes and somewhat diversity.

American audiences would enjoy watching the "Flashpoint," because the general story flow is essentially close to the US shows, and even though the settings of the show is in Canada, the general concept of the show is not that distinctly Canadian, therefore American audiences would be entertained watching the "Flashpoint."

Canadian Content Rules

PRIME TIME TV SCHEDULE

6:00 PM ~ 7:00 PM : CBC News

7:00 PM ~ 7:30 PM : Jacob Two-Two

7:30 PM ~ 8:00PM : Canadian Idol

8:00PM ~ 8:30PM : Entertainment Tonight

8:30PM ~ 9:00PM : CSI: New York

9:00 PM ~ 10:00 PM : CBC News

10:00 PM ~ 11:00 PM : Comedy Now

11:00PM ~ 11:30PM : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno 

11:30PM ~ 12:00AM : Conan

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I had a lot of trouble completing this assignment, because I had to research Canadian TV shows and had to find the right time period for TV shows I found. Also I had to manage the time of each TV shows, so that it does not defy with Canadian Content regulations(60% of TV shows aired during Prime Time has to be Canadian).

I ensured my schedule would be engaging for a Canadian audiences, because I have incorporated many different TV shows which would attract different groups, such as age groups. I included news in my schedule for older adults, Jacob Two-Two for kids, ET and Canadian Idol for teens and Comedy Now for families. Also I spaced out the news so it does not bore the audience. I also included some non-Canadian yet popular TV shows, such as ET to engage Canadian audience to keep watching.

I believe that CanCon regulations are necessary, because it promotes Canadian TV shows to Canadians, ensuring safety of Canadian culture. Furthermore, most of popular TV shows are from other countries, and if there was no CanCon regulations, Canadians would have been swallowed by US or other countries' culture. Also by airing Canadian Shows, the audience will understand more of Canadian Culture.

Teen representation on TV (FAMILY GUY)

1. The personality traits I have are: organized, funny, confident, enthusiastic, problem-solver, and adventurous. The two characters in the Family Guy, Maggie and Chris, have some similar and some different traits compare to mine. Both Maggie and Chris are funny and adventurous just like me, however, they are trouble-makers, and not so bright. 


2. My parents are very respectful, confident, cheerful, energetic, funny, and wise. However, in the Family Guy, Peter and Luise are not that respected, and sometimes act foolish. The only common my parents and Family Guy parents have in common, are that they are both funny and energetic. My older brother, Kenny, is very courageous and funny. He also demonstrates the trait of trustworthiness. In the TV show, Family Guy, siblings demonstrate the funny and foolishness by how they act and speak. Although most of times siblings in the Family Guy are funny and dumb, but sometimes they show great bond and trust in one another just like me and my brother.


3. My school is very well-organized and very enjoyable. However on Family Guy, school is demonstrated as unorganized place where there is no rule, no fun, and scary. The main difference between my school and Family Guy school is that YMCI is more energetic.


4. The Family Guy shows some good and bad friendship. The Family Guy shows friends who back-stab one another, betrayal, jealousness and many more bad friendships. However, compare to friendship that I have, this is totally different. Me and my friends have great times together, and we always back-up each other. We do sometimes quarrel, but we always apologize to each other and our friendship becomes more and more stronger.


5. The issues that I face and the issues that Family Guy teen faces are totally different. I have many and big issues in school, at work and within friends, and it affects me mentally a lot. However in the Family Guy, teens face issues that are such a small matter, that it makes me laugh when I watch it. They face issues at random stuffs, such as getting a toy that he or she really wants. My issues are usually solved by talking to someone I trust the most, because it help me understand that someone else knows my issues and helps me get over it. On the other hand, in the Family Guy, teens solve their issues by events that are very unrealistic to happen.


6. The major differences between my life and the life of TV teen are that there is not many stereotypical characters in my life and resolutions to the issues and problems I face are realistic, nothing like in the TV life. Also the characteristics of adults are totally different. In my life, all adults are wise and full of knowledge and experience, but in TV life, adults show and act less intelligent stuff.


7. TV teen portray many stereotypes such as nerd, jock, freak and many more. It is hardly believable in real life.


8. If I could live the life of TV teen, I would not live it, because I don't want to live in a place where everything is very unrealistic, and easy to live. I love challenges in my life, and most importantly, I love my life right now. Therefore, I would not exchange my life with the life of TV teen.