Michael Moore's Idiot Nation
Idiot Nation
In his essay, “Idiot Nation”, Michael Moore takes on education in America. As per usual, Mr. Moore uses sarcasm and hyperbole to emphasize his points. His writing style, while extremely one sided, is always humorous and thought provoking. Mr. Moore makes some excellent points and the essay is an easy read, one just has to remember to take everything he says with a grain of salt. One of the biggest problems with Mr. Moore’s essay is that he doesn’t have a clearly defined purpose. He has an opinion, no doubt, but the purpose of the essay is somewhat unclear. Throughout the essay, it seems as if Mr. Moore is trying to educate the reader about the problems of the American education system and who is to blame for those problems. But then near the end of the essay, Mr. Moore addresses high school students and provides specific direction on what they can do to “stir it up”. While this section is humorous, it doesn’t seem to go along with the essay and is not a good enough ending to tie everything together. …show more content…
Mr.
Moore uses several different and effective techniques to get his points across. The most prevalent and effective is humor. Humor is sometimes overlooked in terms of writing techniques, but is very powerful, especially among young adults. There are several different types of humor within the essay. Mr. Moore uses shock humor, a favorite among America’s youth, when he calls the former President “Our Idiot-in-Chief” (134). Even the title, “Idiot Nation” is intended to create a reaction from the reader. Sarcasm is used heavily throughout the essay, Mr. Moore pokes fun at the Corporate world’s generosity by calling them , “…..a group that cares deeply about what kinds of students with enter the adult world….”(143) Adding humor into the writing not only makes the reader chuckle and keep reading, but it also makes the reader feel more connected to the
writer.
Michael Moore has been accused of exaggerating and stretching the truth, and while those things may be true, his essay is actually filled with many, many facts. He uses statistics like, “….99 hours a year an average American spends reading a book-compared with 1460 hours watching television.” (133) In fact, much of the humor referenced before is Mr. Moore simply stating facts, “…Who are Beavis and Butt-head? (99 percent knew)”. (134) Using statistics and facts help make the writer sound competent and educated after all, no can argue with a proven fact.
“Idiot Nation” forces the reader to face an ongoing problem in our country, education. Mr. Moore makes excellent points regarding the state of America’s education. American’s do seem to care less about politics than sports. Americans don’t put as much stock into literary or historical works as they do in entertainment. Americans don’t treat teachers the way they deserve to be treated. Politian’s don’t know how to fix the problems and programs that were designed to help, only backfire and create more problems. Corporations are infiltrating our schools and using our kids to make bigger profits. These are all valid points and Mr. Moore has convinced me that something should be done. Unfortunately, the essay didn’t give a sense of what should or can be done. The four tips a teenager can do to be a “student subversive instead of a student subservient” (148) was a great start, but did not address many of the real problems brought up earlier in the essay.
Mr. Moore has a gift. He can turn a argument into entertainment. He turned his political opinions into an award winning documentary, “Bowling for Columbine”. As Mr. Moore points out in his essay, Americans are not easily engaged, so being able to capture the reader’s attention is a gift. Many who read the essay will disagree, while many will agree, but the point is, they will discuss a topic which would not have otherwise been discussed. It is important in our society to have people that aren’t afraid of being disliked and will say what is on their mind. Mr. Moore knows that if there were more people passionate about our country, it would be a better place.
“Idiot Nation” is mirror for all Americans. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to look at ourselves, but it is always necessary. It may be the motivation we need to grow as a country. His arguments may be unconventional, he may use humor where some find no humor, and his shock value may turn many off, but Michael Moore wrote “Idiot Nation” as a patriot, someone who loves their country so much, they feel compelled to do anything in their power to make it better.
In his essay, “Idiot Nation”, Michael Moore takes on education in America. As per usual, Mr. Moore uses sarcasm and hyperbole to emphasize his points. His writing style, while extremely one sided, is always humorous and thought provoking. Mr. Moore makes some excellent points and the essay is an easy read, one just has to remember to take everything he says with a grain of salt. One of the biggest problems with Mr. Moore’s essay is that he doesn’t have a clearly defined purpose. He has an opinion, no doubt, but the purpose of the essay is somewhat unclear. Throughout the essay, it seems as if Mr. Moore is trying to educate the reader about the problems of the American education system and who is to blame for those problems. But then near the end of the essay, Mr. Moore addresses high school students and provides specific direction on what they can do to “stir it up”. While this section is humorous, it doesn’t seem to go along with the essay and is not a good enough ending to tie everything together. …show more content…
Mr.
Moore uses several different and effective techniques to get his points across. The most prevalent and effective is humor. Humor is sometimes overlooked in terms of writing techniques, but is very powerful, especially among young adults. There are several different types of humor within the essay. Mr. Moore uses shock humor, a favorite among America’s youth, when he calls the former President “Our Idiot-in-Chief” (134). Even the title, “Idiot Nation” is intended to create a reaction from the reader. Sarcasm is used heavily throughout the essay, Mr. Moore pokes fun at the Corporate world’s generosity by calling them , “…..a group that cares deeply about what kinds of students with enter the adult world….”(143) Adding humor into the writing not only makes the reader chuckle and keep reading, but it also makes the reader feel more connected to the
writer.
Michael Moore has been accused of exaggerating and stretching the truth, and while those things may be true, his essay is actually filled with many, many facts. He uses statistics like, “….99 hours a year an average American spends reading a book-compared with 1460 hours watching television.” (133) In fact, much of the humor referenced before is Mr. Moore simply stating facts, “…Who are Beavis and Butt-head? (99 percent knew)”. (134) Using statistics and facts help make the writer sound competent and educated after all, no can argue with a proven fact.
“Idiot Nation” forces the reader to face an ongoing problem in our country, education. Mr. Moore makes excellent points regarding the state of America’s education. American’s do seem to care less about politics than sports. Americans don’t put as much stock into literary or historical works as they do in entertainment. Americans don’t treat teachers the way they deserve to be treated. Politian’s don’t know how to fix the problems and programs that were designed to help, only backfire and create more problems. Corporations are infiltrating our schools and using our kids to make bigger profits. These are all valid points and Mr. Moore has convinced me that something should be done. Unfortunately, the essay didn’t give a sense of what should or can be done. The four tips a teenager can do to be a “student subversive instead of a student subservient” (148) was a great start, but did not address many of the real problems brought up earlier in the essay.
Mr. Moore has a gift. He can turn a argument into entertainment. He turned his political opinions into an award winning documentary, “Bowling for Columbine”. As Mr. Moore points out in his essay, Americans are not easily engaged, so being able to capture the reader’s attention is a gift. Many who read the essay will disagree, while many will agree, but the point is, they will discuss a topic which would not have otherwise been discussed. It is important in our society to have people that aren’t afraid of being disliked and will say what is on their mind. Mr. Moore knows that if there were more people passionate about our country, it would be a better place.
“Idiot Nation” is mirror for all Americans. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to look at ourselves, but it is always necessary. It may be the motivation we need to grow as a country. His arguments may be unconventional, he may use humor where some find no humor, and his shock value may turn many off, but Michael Moore wrote “Idiot Nation” as a patriot, someone who loves their country so much, they feel compelled to do anything in their power to make it better.