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The film Bowling for Columbine is an American Documentary, written, directed and narrated by Michael Moore. In the film Moore is searching about what he believes are the main causes of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre as well as what caused other violent crimes, acts and massacres. He focused on the background, history and environment of Columbine and the surrounding areas as well as all the violence, shootings and terrorism that has happened in all of the United States. Lastly he spoke to some of the public speakers and leaders who are gun fanatics or supporting America’s unhealthy obsession with guns.
Michael Moore’s documentary is showing how in a way, American society is looking down the sights at self-destruction because of
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many reasons. Some of the reasons are the high number of shootings and school shootings, number of assaults, suicides, racism, sexism, bullying, wars, obesity, bad health care and terrible gun control and gun laws, to name a few. In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore shows how America’s safety is going downhill fast. Moore starts his documentary by showing some NRA footage, then scenes of some American’s daily lives, war zones and then a woman with a gun on her hip shooting her gun in a ‘sexy’ way. It then goes to the morning of April 20th, 1999. While the American President had just bombed another country, over in Colorado two schoolboys, just a few weeks off graduating, go bowling during a school PE class. Later that day the schoolboys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, go on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School. In the shooting they shot over 900 rounds of ammunition, bought from a local K-Mart, they injured dozens of students and teachers, and killed 12 students and one teacher. There are many issues with America, the American school system, the gun laws and what gun enthusiasts actually think is okay and acceptable that are shown in this documentary, but one of the really important, and sad issues is that this isn’t the first school shooting, and it isn’t even the latest school shooting.
There have been more than 50 school shootings in the US, only this year. There was a school shooting only yesterday (October 25, 2014). Where the shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, killed one student, and wounded four others before turing the gun onto himself. School shootings are becoming very common in America and they are on the rise. Since the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, there has been on average one school mass shooting per week. And everyone is becoming increasingly worried. Even Obama said "These tragedies must end. ” “And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.”
Apart from the fact that school shootings seem to be on the rise, and an alarming amount of American’s seem to be opting to shooting each other to solve their problems and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to improve anytime soon, there are other issues that Mr Moore has covered in Bowling for Columbine. The terrorism, the suicides, images of Kosove War, extreme racism towards black people, the lying and exaggeration of the media to name a
few. Americans are scared of black people, blaming a lot of the crime on them, using black people in the media to scare the citizens into being more safe and being more scared of black people. A majority of the suspects on the news are described as “a black male…”. Although there has being racism in America since the start, it’s seemingly getting worse, that is another reason why American society is looking down the sights of self-destruction. America really is going down a dangerous and steep road of self destruction. But there are many ways they could try help to solve or at least lessen the problem. Because right now in America there are so many people being killed by guns. American’s use guns as their weapon of choice in murder, as in 2011 firearms were used for 68% of all murders as the murder weapon. Many people are saying that the police should be the only ones having guns, but others are saying that does not help as there are a large number of black people who have been shot by white policemen only this year. Also a way to stop people “needing guns” to keep themselves safe from intruders who are most likely using a firearm, is to get rid of the criminal’s guns in the first place. Although that is easier said than done, a good way to start is creating stricter gun laws, like having them have to be registered, un-loaded and locked up, doing a buy-back of all unnecessary guns, and punishing people for illegally owning guns. Although that will not fix America’s unhealthy obsession with guns, it would be a good start.
Bowling for Columbine is a 2002 American documentary film written, produced, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. The film explores what Moore suggests are the primary causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and other acts of violence involving guns in America. It critically analyses themes such as racism, poverty, imperialism, media sensationalism, and consumerism. Moore utilises a range of cinematic techniques in the documentary to push the intended ideology, while still allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions. These techniques include several interviews, stock footage, music and sound effects, emergency call audio, animations, montages, self-involvement and specific camera positioning
Bowling for Columbine, directed by Michael Moore, has been given numerous awards for the best documentary. For many, such as Jim Ferguson of KMSB-TV, he says, “Moore has done it again, the year’s most powerful documentary. An eye opener" (Bowling for Columbine). Yes, a real eye opener to how Moore will rely on fictitious facts and his audience’s sympathy towards certain events to get his message across. Documentaries have many different modes of presenting their material. Mockumentaries define itself as “fictional films which parody the forms and conventions of documentary, often for humorous effect” (Bowling for Columbine). While Bowling for Columbine does not exactly classify as a mockumentary, it does ridicule many of the events or people portrayed throughout the film. However, Moore shapes the viewers’ thoughts about guns during this film by appealing to their emotions with events such as the Columbine shooting, Kayla Rolland’s murder and the issue of how the United States has the most deaths by guns. Documentaries remain neutral and only present information for the audience’s benefit or to tell history. Bowling for Columbine reflects a bias documentary because all “facts” presented are told only as Moore views it. However, these “facts”, false in nature, do not show both sides to the story. Many like Ferguson believe Bowling for Columbine to be an eye opener and true, it does open eyes to the harsh reality of the United States and how people kill each other because of they live in a “culture of fear”; however, it fails to give the complete truth to many of the events given.
Bowling for Columbine depicts the overwhelming gun violence in America. Despite Director Moores efforts to make an informative documentary his bias is evident. With the use of exaggerated facts, emotional exploits, and blatant bias. Moore shares his personal perspective on the availability of firearms in America.
2. I agree with Michael Moore's message in the documentary. I think there is way to much violence in our society, I also think there should be a restriction on guns. Children in our society today, see violence in their schools, on TV , their neighborhoods, and their homes. The daily new is rife with reports of child molestations and abductions. War in foreign lands along with daily reports of murder, rape and robberies also heighten a child's perception of potential violence.
Michael Moore uses a myriad of techniques including editing, sound and inclusion of comedy satire to influence the audience’s viewpoint and position them to share his view on subjects presented in his documentaries. In his film Bowling for Columbine (2002), one of the subjects brought up is the issue of gun violence and accessibility in America.
School shootings seemed like a new phenomenon, but they occurred for the majority of American history. The first school shooting occurred On July 26, 1764, when a Lenape Indian shot and killed nine children and the school master of the Greencastle, Pennsylvania school (Galvin): as noted in Appendix A. Since 1764, the number of school shootings rose exponentially. In the 1990’s, eighty-six school shootings occurred and between 2000 and 2014, 110 shootings transpired since 2000 (Killam,2008). The development of semiautomatic weapons lead to an increase in deaths. A study conducted in 1990 found through the years of 1986 to 1990; 71 people died, 201 wounded, and 242 people held hostage by school shooters(Galvin). While the area a school serves as one factor in the number of violent acts committed per year, school shootings have not been connected to this. The schools in Chicago dealt with more violent acts, but Sandy Hook Elementary, a small city school had relatively few violent acts committed by students.
Michael Moore’s documentary focused on the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Michael Moore searched for the answers as to why the two students decided to enter the school and shoot at the students. Moore begins by explaining his experience with guns where he grew up and how he is a member of the NRA (National Rifle Association).
There have been many horror stories in the news about mass shootings at schools. The public, and even the president of the United States, is asking if anything can be done to prevent these tragedies. There are many theories on why students kill their peers at schools; these range from increased violence in video games and movies to bullying troubles at school. Almost always, the perpetrator suffers from some form of mental illness (Khadaroo). Because of this, motives for these crimes are extremely difficult to discern. Although the theories for the causes of this dilemma are tenuous at best, the effects are very perceptible. Can anything be done to prevent these massacres? School shootings are a complex problem that cannot always be prevented, but there are a number of actions we can take to reduce the frequency and extent of the damage caused. These actions include placing more restrictions on firearms, creating detection programs for shooters, hiring more counselors for unstable students, and placing guards or police in schools. School shootings are a serious problem, and a solution is needed in order to prevent these calamities.
As a viewer who does not own a gun, and who is also pretty clueless about gun control laws, I was all ears to what Michael Moore had to say in his documentary Bowling for Columbine. In this documentary, Moore raises awareness for the growing need to have stricter gun control laws. Why does Moore believe that America needs stricter gun control laws? It is because Moore believes that everything that surrounds Americans is supposed to make Americans scared; America is run on a culture of fear. Although Moore’s message is an important one, Moore’s inability to connect his various sub-topics and his use of questionable evidence, ultimately destroys the audience’s understanding, and leaves them confused.
On April 16th, 2007 Cho had created one of the most deadly school shootings in America. ( "Virginia Tech Shootings Fast Facts." CNN.) It was unfathomable to think that in the close future, America would encounter many more detrimental school shootings. This is including the shooting of elementary students in Newtown, CT where Adam Lanza had shot and killed 27 children and faculty. Lanza had been known to have significant health issues that had kept him from living a normal life. (Sanchez, Ray, Chelsea J. Carter in Atlanta, Yon Pomrenze in New York, and The CNN New York Bureau Staff. ) Both of these shooters had killed themselves shortly after their attacks. School violence has become a nation-wide issue.
Bowling for Columbine (2002) which was directed, produced and written by Michael Moore, was an instant commercial and critical success. Grossing over fifty million dollars and winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the film became well recognised and distributed. Nonetheless, the film’s controversial approach to the subject matter of the United States’ gun culture had influenced many to support the anti-gun argument and many outside of the United States to become critical of America’s gun laws.
Time magazine named Michael Moore one of the World’s 100 most influential people. Through his Oscar and Emmy awards, he proves even a powerless author and producer with nothing more than a pen and a movie camera can make a tremendous difference. His documentary Bowling for Columbine reiterated that by a determination and persistence that not only him, but patriots can create change. He interviewed some of the surviving victims of the Columbine shootings along with Charlton Heston, the NRA president. He shows the gruesome effect of allowing guns and bullets to be so easily accessible. Kmart was his main destination and he took it upon himself by going right to the top of a major corporate food chain. The documentary was about how he was able to get them to stop selling bullets completely. Getting Kmart to stop selling bullets doesn’t mean that you’re going to prevent kids from going somewhere ...
Michael Moore’s 2002 film Bowling for Columbine documents the 1999 shooting at a Colorado high school that left thirteen innocent people dead, including a teacher. In this film, Moore investigates the issues of gun control as well as the United States’ involvement with other nations. By using voice-over, juxtaposing images, and personal interviews, Moore is able to argue his point of view. Within the majority of the film, Moore uses the explicit voice to establish the way of thinking for the audience.
Michael Moore named his film “Bowling for Columbine” because his film mostly focuses on a school in Colorado who faced a very dangerous situation. There were two kids who had planned a shooting at the school right after they went for bowling for their first period class for gym class. Michael Moore went around asking students that attended
In the documentary, Bowling for Columbine, film maker Michael Moore stresses the importance of more gun control in America. Moore focuses mainly on the shooting at Columbine high school in Colorado. He continues his documentary by examining why there are more yearly shootings in America than in other countries such as Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. When Americans are exposed to just as much violence through the media, the poverty rates are equivalent, or more so in other countries like Canada, and people leave their doors unlocked, why does America kill the most?