Is it ethical to bring a picture of a six year old that was shot
and killed to the president of the NRA’s house and put the blame on
him? "Bowling for Columbine”, is a compelling documentary by
Michael Moore. It is a very thought provoking movie that touches on
many tough subjects for America. Specifically Moore is very concerned
with the gun laws and attitude towards guns and violence in the USA.
Moore thinks that America is run by a campaign of fear, he has many
great examples of this: the Y2K event, the African bees, and the 911
attack, but the film mostly revolves around the Columbine massacre
and the NRA. He carefully selected guest speakers that agreed with
his views which helps motivate viewers that have yet to pick a side.
Moore’s use of humour, music and short clips make the film an
entertaining watch.
Moore’s interesting take on journalism takes him around
Colorado as he focuses on controversial subjects. The subject he
spends the most time covering is gun safety. Moore shows how simple
it is to obtain a gun by opening an account at a bank and receiving a
fully functional rifle for signing up. The fact that he can get a
free gun and then get cheap bullets at the local K-Mart helps prove
his point on how safe guns really are. The people he chooses to
interview are also very specific to gun control. Especially the
members of the NRA, National Rifle Association, whom have semi and
fully automatic guns loaded in their houses. Moore really aims in on
the NRA and their reactions to events such as the Columbine massacre
and other school shootings, holding pro-gun rallies days after.
Although his techniques can be seen as unethical or immoral,
Moore really gets to the heart of the problem by using similar
propaganda as his opposition. In his uncomfortable interview with
James Nichols, a suspect connected to a bombing in Oklahoma City,
Moore asks odd questions but gets straight to the point. He tries to
do this with every interview in the movie. He displays a very one
sided view of problems within America and its foreign affairs. Even
the way the interviews are edited is quite a captivating experience.
They will start off with the introduction of Moore speaking to them
and then cut to a clip of them to show why they are relevant to the
documentary. After the clip he goes back to the interview. It holds
the watchers attention throughout the film, which is hard to say
about many movies.
This may not be the, “go out on Friday and watch it with your
friends,” kind of movie, but it certainly is a very interesting
take on certain problems pertaining to America. In my favourite part
of the movie, Michael Moore interviews heavy metal icon, Marilyn
Manson. In the wake of the Columbine Massacre people sought out
something that they could blame for the tragedy. They blamed many
things including drugs, video games, media, and even Marilyn Manson.
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold listened to Manson, so people pointed
fingers at him as the cause. But when Moore sits down and talks with
Manson, he proves to be a very intelligent person, with many positive
outlooks on what could have been done and what should have been done.
Irony was a strong point in the documentary and I personally loved
that moment. Even if you don't have time to watch the entire film, I
recommend at least listening to the Marilyn Manson interview. It is
an exceptional documentary and completely worth every minute watched,
even if just to understand the references people make to it.