>i don't think the rabbit-lady disgusts people. i think the state of her
>life disgusts people. i don't think she's portrayed as an idiot, a joke,
>or laughable.
*sigh* i was talking about how my students react. i said this in my post to brad. i have stacks of response papers from years of using this film in intro, social problems, family, soc of work, and citizenship class. i pointed out that i was just shocked when they had these odd responses. they zeroed in on all the zany things working people did and on the dinner party where they hired people as statues. everything else escapes them. everyone else is doing something reasonable--even the bumbling chamber folks aren't seen as *that* stupid. what my students see as stupid is to imagine that Flint could be tourist attraction. but that's just a goof, cause otherwise they see the chamber folks as having the right idea.
i saw it early on and had something of a framework to interpret, as would most of the doco viewing audience that moore originally made it for. it has become bigger than that and, as such, it gets read independently of the author's intentions. what? can't handle a little pomo reader response analysis there, jeff? :p
kelley