Bowling for Columbine by Michael Moore was a documentary from 2002 which explores gun violence and gun culture in the United States of America. This award winning documentary uses influential film techniques such as interviews, montages and comedy to engage the audience and influence them subconsciously. Interviews were manipulated to convince the viewer towards one side and agree with Moore’s point of view. Comedy was used to mock the views and opinions of interviewees and people in the documentary. Montages were used to convince and influence the responses made by the audience. Moore uses interviews to sway the audience towards his point of view by manipulating the interviews. The interview with Charlton Heston, president of the National …show more content…
Moore uses irony and satire very effectively to contradict interviewees and influence the audience. One example is when footage of the US government launching attacks at Kosovo is shown. The footage exclaims how many of these attacks were aimed towards residential areas. Moore then cuts to footage of the US president at the time, Bill Clinton, making a speech about the justification of the attacks, while additionally stating how they have minimised harm to civilians. This effectively mocks the president while simultaneously influencing the audience on the true honesty of those words. Another example of this is during the interviews with the Militia, a mother talks about how owning weapons allows her to protect her family. At the same time, a little girl is shown playing on the ground, in an area where there are many loaded weapons. This shows the irony behind her words whilst at the same time makes her look crazy and her words untrustworthy. A third example would when Moore explains reasons for gun violence in the US, before cutting to statistics of gun deaths in various countries. During this, Moore sarcastically mentions how the violent history behind the United States has led to gun violence before cutting to footage of act of aggression made by countries in the past. Moore makes it obvious that he is being sarcastic through the tone that he uses which prompts the audience to consider what the main cause of gun violence is. Moore uses comedy to mock people, making the audience question the authenticity of their words and giving reasons to believe Moore’s
Having a very effective way to get his point across both to the audience and the interviewees. Does this by dressing like any average everyday citizen you’d see on the streets. Another way Moore goes about having an effective way of using rhetoric is by appealing to logos. Going about this in such a way that he can back up his logic with true facts about shootings and gun sales. Finally, to tie it all together he went about a way of getting to peoples feeling within the interview and audience in ways to touch the person. One way he showed this was by attacking interviewees with question that it took them out of there comfort zone or to where he was able to get more information. Michael Moore having a very effective way of getting his point across to both the audience and the people in which he interviewed throughout the
For example, in the beginning of the story, Pete, Jesse’s cousin, was talking about marine life and how he rescued a beached dolphin, but Jesse hated Pete talking about dolphins. He “...tried to block out his cousin’s voice...” (Pg. 19) Later in the story, Pete’s lecture came in handy when Jesse rescued the beached dolphin. Another instance of irony is, that Jesse hated pep talks from people, but then was giving the dolphin pep talk in the end. He told the dolphin, “Bud, you’ve got to save yourself… Nobody going to do it for you. If you give up, you’re finished...” (Pg. 23) This pep talk he gave the dolphin made him realize he needs to do the same. Most ironic things happen when you least expect
But Moore's movie isn't just an anti-war movie. Part of the movie is an attempt to question and expose the political images being projected. This starts off with a dreamy sequence of Al Gore celebrating victory in Florida that, Moore says, was manipulated by Fox television into a Bush vict...
Miller uses situational irony to display the focal points of incongruities between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead. It is also known as irony of situations
In the documentary “Bowling for Columbine” directed by Michael Moore there are two scenes that share the same idea of questioning the laws they have in the U.S.A. The first documentary that captivated my attention was the Columbine High School massacre, where Michael Moore examines the culture of guns and violence in America. He used archival footage, camera techniques and sound to give authenticity and strength to the disturbing event. Michael Moore uses specific techniques enabling the audience to empathize with the survivors and their loved ones in order for the viewers to feel their emotions.
In the cases of school shootings that took place at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, Virginia Tech University and Northern Illinois University, the media highly publicized the fact that the perpetrators were avid video gamers, but why is this important? The media want’s your attention and they are more than willing to say almost anything to get it. They reported that the perpetrators were avid gamers with the implication that there is a well establish connection between the two when there is not. They exploit the fear of parents and concerned citizens by not including relevant corresponding information in order to leave you more interested lea...
On the morning of April 20, 1999, Eric Davis Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold went into the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and went on a rampage killing spree leaving 12 students and 1 teacher dead and over 20 people injured before killing themselves. This crime is known as one of the most deadliest school massacres in the United States history (Pittaro).
In American society, violence runs rampage throughout the country that cause its citizens to be afraid and discouraged about their homeland. One of the major parts of American violence is from guns. In the documentary, "Bowling for Columbine", a famous filmmaker, Michael Moore addresses the ubiquitous situation in America. He argues that the use of gun in America co-insides or correlates to the recent massacres and that America, as a whole, should have stricter gun control laws. Throughout the film, Moore uses specific references to it and employs rhetorical and persuasive devices to construct his argument in favor of changing gun laws.
An example of satire is the film Dumb and Dumber. One part of this movie uses irony to focus on people who do not listen. Irony is the discrepancy between what is said and what is done. For example, Harry talks about how his old girlfriend broke up with him. Harry says, “She gave me a bunch a crap about me not listening to her enough, or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention” (Dumb and Dumber). The problem is that some people do n...
The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri became a controversial media sensation. The shooting created uproar and mistrust towards police officers. Many believed the shooting was unjustified and even an act of racism on the behalf of the police Officer Darren Wilson. The Department of Justice issued an investigation in order to understand the basis of the shooting and to decide whether or not to charge Darren Wilson in the shooting. Despite the evidence and the investigation which portrayed the shooting as an act of self- defense, the shooting still remains controversial.
Crime manifests itself in various ways in society and oftentimes difficult to pinpoint what drives people to commit certain actions. The Columbine shooting was a particular incident that ended in tears and suffering which resulted in numerous research as to what was going through the minds of these young individuals at the time of the shooting. Therefore, this paper will analyze specifically the role of differential association- reinforcement as altered by Akers in propelling Dylan Klebold to commit such heinous act, while also giving credit to Edwin Sutherland for first formulating the framework of differential association.
In the short story, "Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor uses irony to illustrate the conflict which men face when their roles as combatants force them to disregard the humanity of their enemies. In both life and literature, irony exists when there is a contrast between expectation and reality. Verbal irony is defined as "a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning" (Thrall 248). In dramatic irony there is a contrast between a character's perception of a situation and the actual facts. Often "some of the actors on the stage or some of the characters in a story are 'blind' to facts known to the spectator or reader" (155) . The short story "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor illustrates both types of irony.
Moore’s use of juxtaposition and anticipation of objections was to construct a solid logo which was very effective. To begin his juxtaposition, he brought up the neighbors to the north, Canada, and how Americans will pretend to live with a friend or family member who is a Canadian citizen so they can get the treatment they need. He also brought up 18 month old Mychelle, who was suffering from a 104 fever and was taken to the nearest hospital, where they refused to help her because they didn’t take her insurance. They rushed her to the nearest hospital that would treat her, but by the time the ambulance arrived Mychelle suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away.
Michael Moore’s latest film, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” presents a critical look at the administration of George W. Bush and the War on Terrorism. In this film Moore investigates the rapid growth of the United States government and its trend of trampling the rights of individuals, and the corporatism that is spawned out of the close ties between big government and big business during wartime. Michael Moore may not convince all audiences, but is successful for its factual accuracy in which the evidence spoke for itself, and at the same time proclaimed Moore's artistry in transposing and splicing scenes to create impressions that supported his allegations and opinions. Michael Moore has employed two main techniques in an attempt to successfully influence his audience; psychological means of strategy, and cinematic techniques of persuasion. These methods, coupled with how they are presented to the audience, and how the audience react, are what Moore uses to create a scheming effect.
An example of this is, Beth says to Sally (who is covered in mud), "Oh Sally, you look so nice today!" The comment from Beth is made out of spite, simply rude and unkind. Sally understands that Beth's real meaning is not what was said. The second form of irony is situational, this form is often confused with cosmic, the difference between the two is minimal. Situational irony is a contradiction between what is expected to happen and what happens.