December 15, 2002
Michael Moore and the culture of fearby George Dillmann
The "culture of fear," a term coined by sociologist Barry Glassner in his book of the same title, is explored in depth by Michael Moore in his new film, Bowling for Columbine. Moore argues in his film, as does Glassner in his book, that we have been socialized to be disproportionately afraid of things that are not nearly the problems we make them out to be.
This fear is driven by excessive mainstream media attention to tangible crimes such as violent street crime (mainly when committed by African Americans, thus playing into white America's still-vibrant racism) and the media’s virtual ignoring of less tangible crimes, such as air pollution. The mainstream media’s topic choices are driven by political and economic elites who benefit from public acceptance of the culture of fear. Moore includes in his film a brief interview with Glassner as they walk calmly through what the mainstream media portrays as one of the most dangerous areas of Los Angeles.
Fears of street crime are fears of the wrong things, Glassner and Moore tell us. Crime in the U.S. has been decreasing for years, yet the popular perception about crime is exactly the opposite. Moore presents this point through the lens of American gun ownership and use. He asserts that our relationship with guns is not the true cause of America's level of overall violence. Canadians have lots of guns, but they do not turn them on each other anywhere near as often as we do in the U.S. If one wanted to pinpoint a single primary cause for violence in the U.S., he believes, it would be exaggerated fear.
I would argue further that this fear drives other social patterns such as our desire to be constantly entertained and our high levels of material consumption. We can escape our fear by buying guns, we are told. And by striving to be entertained and going shopping, we can distract ourselves from our fears, or so we are subtly socialized to think. However, these efforts don’t seem to be working. We arm our homes and purchase enormous SUV’s, and after we’ve done those things, we’re still afraid. What can we do to break this cycle?
The most powerful and radical act that we as citizens can and must take is to refuse to buy into mainstream media messages that serve to keep our fear level so high. And recognize that there’s no need to be constantly afraid.
We have to turn off our TVs, or at least boycott the crime and "reality" shows that harp repeatedly on all the things they think we should be afraid of. I don’t advocate ignoring what happens out there. I just suggest that mainstream sources typically neither keep things in perspective nor tell the whole story. Supplement your news diet with alternative media sources that have broader concepts of what counts as "news", that put news stories in context, and that investigate true causes of social problems--rather than mere symptoms produced by those causes. Try magazines like the Nation or In These Times, or internet sources such as CounterPunch (http://counterpunch.org/) or, of course, Buffalo Report (http://buffaloreport.com/).
We also need to get down into the city of Buffalo, including the east side and west side (which are not nearly as dangerous as local TV networks and the Buffalo News make them out to be), and take in the cultural activities, restaurants, and social institutions they offer.
The next time there’s an election, we need to cast votes for candidates who address issues that really affect our quality of life (such as clean air, clean water, affordable health care and housing) and we need to reject candidates who talk only of crime and terrorism and waging war.
A major election has just taken place, but remember that the selection of candidates and issues is a constant process in the U.S.—we can already begin to formulate what we want the next set of candidates to pay attention to. Finally, we should take note of how we often feel no happier after that last trip to the shopping mall. If we aren’t happier after shopping, the corporations want us to believe, then we must not have bought the right things, nor bought enough things. So, it’s back to the mall. We've got to keep asking: Who benefits?
I can’t recommend highly enough seeing Bowling for Columbine while it’s still in Buffalo. It’s a superb analysis of what’s really going on in our country, communicated with both seriousness and humor in Moore’s delightful style. And taking it to heart may help lead us to a saner society.
George Dillmann works in UB's Office of Academic Affairs and has graduate degrees in sociology and political science.