With all due respect Mr. Bradbury, if Michael Moore riped off the word 'Fahrenheit' from your book, then you first stole it from a thermometer. Lets be realistic. You don't
have sole possession of the word. Is this some sad attempt to get publicy?

This reminds me of another lame protest several months
ago. Spike Lee having a hissy fit because a television network wanted to change it's name to 'Spike' network.
We all remember what an embarrassment that was for him.

I agree, completely. Thousands will rush out to buy 'Fahrenheit 451' solely because of Michael Moore's using PART of Bradbury's title as PART of the title for his film. Bradbury has had a flood of international attention in the past few months. Why? Because of Michael Moore.

If Bradbury's attempts to have Moore's title changed are merely for publicity, the effect will most certainly be negative for Bradbury. Think about it. Many of Michael Moore's fans are the same people who would read Bradbury. Bradbury's threats of a lawsuit will only serve to split his own fan base.

Bradbury has reached a point where he doesn't need to worry about splitting his fan base. F451 was popular and significant looooong before Moore came along.

If I'm not mistaken, it has been repeated several times throughout these kinds of posts (though none seem to listen) that Bradbury is not threatening a law suit. Obviously he doesn't own the word "Fahrenheit", and he doesn't claim to. It's all about principle and class, or lack thereof. So I say it again, though none will part with their folly, being immovable and therefore unwise.

[This message has been edited by Yestermorrow (edited 06-20-2004).]

yestermorrow:

No one is listening.

A ton of Moore people decided to descend onto this Bradbury Website.

They are
��h ��e � c � k � l � e � r � s

If we heard recordings of their voice instead of having to read their typing, we would hear a bedlam of voices hollaring in every which way.

I apologize for making an inference. Mr. Bradbury stated that he "hoped to avoid litigation." That, of course, is not a threat of a lawsuit, but the mere mention of the word litigation often provokes visions of impending trials if one side or the other is not appeased.

I ask Nard Kordell, what are the objectives of these message boards? Are the boards not open to all points of view, no matter how recent or for what reason, as long as those points of view relate in some way to Ray Bradbury and his work? Why do you assume that the new members are "Moore people" who are here to "heckle"? It seems that Bradbury people would also view the author's remarks as a catalyst to make their opinions heard. In the spirit of honest, scholarly, and critical discussion -- not to mention freedom of speech -- you should welcome all input from all perspectives. It is a glorious time to live when people can feel passionate about literature and disagree with one another in a respectful way!

The bottom line is that Ray Bradbury and his works are going to become much better known to people as a result of this controversy. It is a huge amount of free publicity that will continue as long as the documentary is being shown.

At the end of the day, I'm sure that free publicity will be fine with Mr Bradbury.

outdamnedspot:

Venture to guess that 98% of the people from this 'Moore barrage', have absolutely no sense of love and loyalty that is developed by reading many of Ray's works.

People come flying off the mouth from the top of their empty heads.

This IS pandemonium on the board. Mean-spirited, too.

The moderator of this board herself is overwhelmed, and asks...

''...where the heck are all these postings coming from?''

Good question:
Why have all these people decided that they must ring all the doorbells, all at once?"

( I still say 'dandelion', our site moderator, should find a way to divert all these 'slap- in -the -face postings' to a topic heading titled: '''unclassy''' or '''nasties'''. )

outdamnedspot:

I'll accept your claim as 'teacher' for the moment...and say to you that ...

...a ton of people came trampling all over the place here, all at once, with a pre-conceived agenda of telling Bradbury he was simply 'stupid by his getting upset with the Fahrenheit title.

Those like Mr. Dark, painstakingly try to reason and persuade thru all this.

But My comment to all those dupes is a little different:
"Go jump in the lake!"

Don't let the remarks of "dupes" upset you! If they are truly empty-headed, as you say, they will soon forget this site and these boards and move to the next controversy that even slightly interests them.

When I begin teaching 'Fahrenheit 451' in September, I will direct my students to view the discussions on this board, both about this topic and those with more scholarly intentions. What they find here, about the novel and about human emotions, should certainly be educational. I'm sure many of them have never read anything about which they feel passionate. Perhaps the voices on these boards will inspire them.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Dark:
Bradbury has reached a point where he doesn't need to worry about splitting his fan base. F451 was popular and significant looooong before Moore came along.

And it will remain signifcant long after Moore's dated, flash-in-the-pan mockumentaries are not even memories.

Unlike Moore, who excels at twisting and rabble-rousing around an issue of the moment, Bradbury creates works that stand the test of time.

F451 is being read in schools decades after its first publication. F911 won't be seen by ANYONE even ten years from now.


Steve Miller

[This message has been edited by Steve Miller (edited 06-21-2004).]

Interesting, Steve. Do you "see" the future? What is your assumption based on? Reading the tarot cards?

Cheers, Translator

Translator:

Are you saying...seeing the future is impossible?

Now I know you are not a very religious person, but it occurs often. John, on the island of Patmos (in Christian book of The Revelation) simply was seeing something that has already occured. In fact, scripture talks heavily that everything is a done deal.

I know. I'm not meaning to open a can of worms here with you...

...but my point is that scientists today even say speculate on what would happen if you were able to take a star -ship into a black hole. From what a read, everything would be happening at once. All that could be and has already been. Now what does THAT mean? Well, it staggers the imagination.

If you are looking for proof, metal and plastic and granite proof of many suppositions, you'll never discover anything except those things made out of those aforementioned materials.

quote:

This reminds me of another lame protest several months
ago. Spike Lee having a hissy fit because a television network wanted to change it's name to 'Spike' network.
We all remember what an embarrassment that was for him.[/B]

FYI- Spike Lee won that lawsuit, and scored a hefty sum of money from Spike TV before allowing them to use the name.

"F451 is being read in schools decades after its first publication. F911 won't be seen by ANYONE even ten years from now."

You know...they said the same thing about Mr. Bradbury's work when he began writing...

As a passionate and life-long fan of Mr. Bradbury's work I have admit a sense of sadness and disappointment in his reaction to the entire issue.

"Farenheit 451" and, indeed, all of Ray Bradbury's works have inspired generations of people the world over to continue the fight for free speech and yet his pride now seems to overtake his reason. He is, in essence, demanding that none of his "students" be allowed to gain fame for themselves by proponing those cherished values that he helped to instill in all of us.

Mr. Moore's work is not only a rapturous change from the oft-chanted demand for the sustenance of the status-quo, it is a tribute, if you will, to one of the greatest minds of our age. I am only sorry that Mr. Bradbury cannot see beyond his own self-made glory to that which is heaped upon him by the obvious compliment that the mimicry of "Farenheit 9/11" pays him.