All of Michael Moore's documantaries that i have viewed have been quite confronting and incredibly informative. Having said this, I have also noticed that there is a great deal of bias represented in his documentaries. After viewing Bowling for Columbine, which presented the idea of America's gun laws being much too lenient after the shooting massacre by a Columbine student, I decided to do my research into the gun laws in America. Although Moore was correct about the ease involved in owning a gun in America, I found that the getting a gun with a bank loan was not quite as it appeared. Sure you could recieve the gun with the loan but not quite as quickly as Moore did, you had to of been with the bank for six monts before you recieved the gun. This bias was also evident in Capatilam: A Love Story, many interviews provided back up for Moore's views but the interviews were only conducted with those who supported what Moore was saying. Without seeing the other side of the story we are positioned to agree with Moore and therefore this is a technique that is being used. Similarly actuality is used to show Moore's point of view. In Bowling for Columbine we saw him knocking on the doors in Canada to prove that no one was home and then walking straight into the houses, showing how trusting they are to leave their doors unlocked. Although we can see this really happening in front of us, we dont know if he has been around to these houses earlier and set this up. This can be seen as another form of bias. In Capatilism: A Love Story we see real footage of the sheriff evicting innocent people from their houses, Moore is trying to present America in a negative way. He says that the citizens have had no warning before being evicted but for him to happen to be filming there on that day is a pretty big coincidence if they had no warning. Showing this the way he wants to is another form of bias.
Although Moore's films are very interesting and controversial, you still have to wonder how much of the story is true.

Students should be paid for their marks at school

If students earned money for their efforts based on their mark in each subject, this would result in the students paying more attention in class and therefore higher marks. This system would work by having the student’s first percentage from an assignment or in-class assessment being the percentage they get of the total amount of money they can get. After the initial mark, the amount of money they earn is from the averages of the overall work. For example; if Daniel was to get 79% for an assignment, he would get 79% of the total amount of money available. If Daniel then got 65% for another assignment/assessment, then the money he would earn would be the average of the results; he would get 72% of the money available.
Each assignment or assessment would be worth different amounts both in money and percentage of overall year mark. For example; if an assignment was worth 10% of the student’s overall mark, then that mark would have a maximum of $100; so in other words multiply the percentage by 10. This means the maximum amount of money a student could ever earn would $1000 after the whole year; 100% x 10. This system would come into play when the students get to year 8 or 13 years old.
The usefulness of this to the government and schools across Australia is that they would have higher attendance, better attention in class, higher results from the students and better respect for teachers. The usefulness for the students is that they have an incentive to study harder, pay attention and increase their work ethics. This will also give them a better grasp on time management and give them a sense of ‘earning their own money’. This will prepare them for what it’s like to have a job and that you get paid for the work you do, as my father told me “You only get out what you put in”.

Students should have the choice to pick the subjects they need for their future

Students should be given a choice with their subjects, concerning the ones needed to get them into the course they want, and the ones they have to do in order to gain an ATAR. If students know what job they want to do, then the school should help them find out what courses they will need to do and the subjects they need to study. For example, if I wanted to become a Quantity Surveyor, I would need to have well developed Maths skills i.e. 2C/D or higher and developed English skills i.e. 2A/B or higher. So I should be given the choice whether I want to just study Maths and English or do 4 or more TEE subjects to get an ATAR.

If the student wanted to do that course and have that job in the future then that student would get higher grades in those subjects, if they had this choice, because they could allocate more time towards them. If that student just has to do Maths and English then they will have a lower work load and can focus on getting the best results they can get. If the student is unsure of the pathway they want to take then they can do 4 or more TEE subjects to get an ATAR to go to university. Most non-TEE students will not be affected by this system at all.

If this system was to be implemented to schools across Australia, for year 11 and 12 students, then the students that choose to take part in it will have a far greater chance of achieving their needed marks to get into the course at university and have a better chance of getting the job they want to do as they would be better qualified as they have spent more time studying subjects specifically for that job.

Students should get two assignments each term from each subject instead of homework

In my opinion, as a student, it would be far better for each student's development in classes to get two assignments from each subject, which would last them a greater portion of each term, instead of homework. These assignments will be comprised of what the students would have learned in weeks 1 – 3 and 5 – 8. This would be ample time for the students to get these assignments completed and up to the standard that is expected of them. The students that struggle with time management will find this better suited them as they can allocate more time to these assignments making them of far better quality than having other homework to do as well as assignments.

The assignments should be made to be worth a greater percentage of the student's mark as the students have more than enough time to complete the assignments, proof-read them and edit them. The assignments would be handed out at the end of weeks 3 and 8, they would be handed in at the end of weeks 5 and 10; giving them two weeks to complete the assignments. This would help the students with their time management and also make it easier for them to get the needed marks in class.

This would also be good for student's stress levels, talking from experience as a student, years 11 and 12 are very stressful with having to keep a balance of school work, homework, work, social circle and R&R. Students find it harder to manage time and keep the quality of their work “up to scratch” if they are busy trying to balance all these out. With the assignments from each subject, this will give them enough time to complete them, keep their social life, keep their job and time for their studies.

The Effectiveness of Michael Moore

Capitalism: A Love Story is one of Michael Moore’s most important documentaries and as such he has spared no expense in its construction. Through a clever compilation of facts and figures, emotionally moving encounters and his own personal brand of getting results, Michael Moore has achieved nothing short then a flawless representation of the American society in his time. Throughout the documentary Michael Moore applies these techniques in a way that is comedic, reliable and above all effective in its impact.

Whenever a documentary has the words “Michael Moore” scribbled amongst its cover you can instantly tell that it’s worth your time to view. In this aspect Michael Moore’s reputation precedes him but it is certainly not without justification. In Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore combines some of his best techniques to produce this intense documentary. Facts and Figures are one such technique and are very effective at substantiating Michael Moore as a man with more than just an opinion. Due to the subject of his film Michael Moore is given with extensive amounts of figures each one with its own purpose, but collectively they give substance to his meaning and content. Whilst the facts himself need not be explained in just how much they validate his point they can also be used as an effect on their own. In one such scene Michael Moore is shown standing outside Wall Street asking about derivatives. These aforementioned derivatives are then explained as a HIDDEN figure attached to items this provides a secretive side to Wall Street. Because Michael Moore is so open about his facts and is also considered “On the Right Side” this omission from the public condemns Wall Street as they are not being open as well and paints them “On the Wrong Side”. By attacking the state of Americas capitalistic economy using all of its hidden facts and secrets with a few well known ones thrown in Michael Moore appeals to the curiosity within his audience as they learn secrets beyond their pay-grade and thirst for more. This is reflected well in his audience as even I wanted to discover the rest and because of this effect, his use of Facts of Figures could hardly be more effective then it currently is.

Among his other various techniques Michael Moore also includes anecdotes and even more vitally; emotionally stimulating anecdotes. Engaging his audience on an academic level through figures is effective alone but to really sink the meaning in Michael Moore exacts his own revenge by drawing light to some of Wall Street’s darkest secrets. One of Wall Street’s lesser known crimes was the establishment of PA Child Care, a seemingly gentle scheme to provide a better life to those children in Juvenile detention. However this deal then turns sour and Capitalism settles in causing thousands of children to be wrongly sentenced and forced into extended sentences. Michael Moore’s main reply is “These kids were about to get there first lesson in Capitalism”. This engages the audience head on and forces them to accept the reality of how Capitalism works, affecting not just them but also the next generation. By carefully laying out his anecdotes Michael Moore creates a sense of reality around his work and this very effectively binds his viewers to see as he does.

Whilst these 2 techniques are only a sample of Michael Moore’s arsenal of conventions, they can still be used to show his talent and effectiveness. By incorporating hard evidence into his expository text he can validate his work but the truth effect of this technique becomes apparent when he turns it around on Wall Street and condemns them for its omission. By incorporating the emotional trauma cases such as the PA Child Care Michael Moore can utilise any compassion in his audience and set them up for later. In essence Michael Moore’s usage of techniques in Capitalism: A Love Story is done exceptionally well and works to its full extent.

People Are Stupid

Again I was browsing the International news when I stumbled across another article that made me take a second look. Within, the article reported that a recent poll of the American people revealed that nearly 20 percent of them believe that the 44^th President, Barrack Obama, is in fact a cactus. Support for the view that the country’s leader is actually a water-retaining desert plant had been steadily growing since he took office. Wait, what?

It’s not that uncommon you know, people hearing something ridiculous and then accepting it as truth. It’s like when people read about soccer officially outing itself as a completely gay sport, or how the Pope is hoping to challenge famous magician David Blaine to a public miracle competition and they tell their friends, who tell their friends, and before long the little fact about the whole thing being satire is lost. And you know why? It’s because people are stupid.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone is able to pull off that one little piece of evidence to try and prove that they are, in fact, mildly intelligent, but the proof is always there. Whether it be a ditzy little comment to a friend of a friend, who now knows that you are a moron, or whether, as mentioned above, they believe something that they read on the internet or hear on television. The proof is always there.

I say this as the exception to the rule. See, little known fact about me, I am perfect in everything I do, down to the smallest detail. I am the lone shining star in this vast space of idiocy, the single greatest person to ever walk the Earth. The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. But don’t think I’m unapproachable, I am human, just like you. Well...like you, but better.

Peace.

Drugs Are Bad, and We Always Go for the Bad Boy

I was reading up on my international news when an article caught my eye, describing a botched drug deal “involving an estimated 20 kilograms of marijuana”, escalating into a fire fight that left the entire populace of Mexico, 111 million citizens dead. It makes me wonder, why was a tiny bit of weed so desirable to these people, that they were pushed to commit genocide on their own nation? Why don’t we see these types of violent backlash regarding other additives, the legal highs of caffeine or alcohol? I’ll tell you exactly why. It’s ‘cos all the girls dig bad boys.

It’s a proven fact that you always want what you can’t have, that the chase makes the result so much sweeter. You see drugs, being illegal and all, have that same unattainable nature as that loner kid. The one your friends tell you to stay away from but that you think you can change, so you keep chasing him and chasing him until you see some results. Do you see where I’m going with this? It’s that which we cannot attain that we strive for the hardest, that we chase with more vigour than anything else, that same vigour that can turn a bad situation into tragedy.

That’s really what this is, a tragedy. An entire nation dead at the hands of those few chasing that which could not be reached, choosing to give their lives for a little taste of that sweet, sweet kool-aid. The massacre of a prosperous nation was the result of a measly bag of drugs. I hope this is a lesson to all of you chasing the dragon. Choosing illegal drugs over the legal alternative will only end in heartbreak. Because, to quote a certain Mr Mackey, “drugs are bad. You shouldn’t do drugs. If you do them, you’re bad, because drugs are bad, m’kay. It’s a bad thing to do drugs, so don’t be bad by doing drugs, m’kay, that’d be bad."