Bowling Analysis : Bowling For Columbine

Gun control is an extremely controversial issue in the United States, and the debates around this topic has started many decades ago. According to the article “Gun Rights vs. Gun control” by Brianna Gurciullo, these debates are fueled by the people who defend the gun rights and the people who advocate in favor of gun control. It has been difficult to prove that gun ownership is directly related to an increase in violence due to the fact that researches tend to disagree on the impact of gun ownership in the American society. These debates tend to be brought to the spotlight whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States, which according to Abbey Oldham, who is a reporter from the PBS News Hour, happens quite frequently. However, organizations, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), defend that the laws for gun control violate the Second Amendment of the constitution, which states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” stated Gurciullo. Due to the distinct interpretations of the constitution and the difficulty to agree on the best approach to tackle the issue, this controversy seem to be almost unsolvable.

In the 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine, American political activist and filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to explore the primary causes of the 1999 Columbine Highschool massacre, as well as the roots of gun violence in the United States in his trademark provocative yet satirical manner. Bowling for Columbine takes a deep and often disconcerting investigation into the motives of two Colorado student shooters, responsible for the deaths of over 12 people at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, and examines other gun-related issues as well. From obtaining free guns at a bank, to reviewing America’s violent history, and interviewing a variety of people, Moore demonstrates that the conventional answers of violent national history and entertainment, as well as poverty are inadequate of causing this violence, for other nations share the same factors without the same levels of carnage. In order to arrive at a possible explanation, Moore takes on a deeper inspection of America’s culture of fear, and violence in a nation with widespread gun ownership. Ultimately, the documentary implies that the high incidence of gun deaths in America is caused by the deadly combination of cultural paranoia and easy accessible firearms that is, to some extent, effectively established through rhetorical techniques of ethos, logos, and pathos.

There are many debates about gun violence and gun control, but no one can really find the common ground to stop the violence. Mallory Simon is an experienced writer who makes it aware that the people need take the shootings more literal than just brush them aside. She argues that there is a need for steps to be put into place to stop the reoccurrence of gun violence within our communities. She developed an article about the ongoing debate about gun violence, called “Gun Debate: Where is the Middle Ground?” She uses the emotional point of view from those that are affected by the violence, to show their concern and struggles they face in their lives to prevent the shootings.

Over the past couple of decades, school shooting have seemed to occur often-- continuously shocking the nation and reminding everyone that no community is exempt from such horror. One main contributor of this hysteria is found within the media. At the catalyst of this hysteria, lies the horrific Columbine shooting in 1999. Since then, school shootings have received ample coverage-- some argue that this has romanticized school shootings, others argue that is has provided condemning coverage of the often insane perpetrators. In the first year after the Columbine shooting, over 10,000 articles were written about the event, likely setting the stage for the nationwide desire for constant coverage of such events (Elsass et al, p. 445-446).

In the film, Bowling for Columbine, the director Michael Moore takes an extent look at what could have made these teenagers to do such a thing. He doesn’t just look at the terrible event at Columbine High School, but also at the NRA's effects on people, the 2nd amendment, other school shootings, and how the United States compared to other countries gun-control explanations such as Canada. Michael Moore looks as a sociologist would such as C. Wright Mills in which he explores the outside factors of the individuals, but how the personal troubles of the two teenagers involved are related to immense conditions of our society. He doesn’t look at the intellectual make up of each person who creates a crime, but instead looks at how our society as a whole views guns and their uses.

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In the film, Michael Moore displays how easy it is to obtain a gun in current times with the example of the North County Bank. This Michigan Bank was offering a gun to the customer when they opened and account with them. Moore himself went to the bank and tried to open an account. One of the associates in the bank told Moore that they had a selection of more than 500 guns to choose from and, after a simple application and background check, the selected gun would be handed to him. Moore followed the procedure and he himself was able to walk out of the bank with the gun that same day he opened the account.

The Columbine Shooting has solidified itself as a tragic event in America’s past, and was a real wake-up call to the nation’s age-old gun problem. Michael Moore looks into this issue and decides it provides a great premise for his next documentary, his next crusade to flush out the evils of this world. The problem is, Bowling for Columbine is far from the truth; it is rather a distorted representation of reality, carefully sequenced to push Michael Moore’s agenda. If we look past the film techniques, conspiracy theories,

The 2002 film Bowling for Columbine is a documentary written, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. Moore has won numerous awards including the Academy Award for best documentary feature. The film explores acts of violence with guns and the primary causes for the Columbine School Massacre, where two students shot and killed thirteen people and injured twenty-one others. Bowling for Columbine takes a deep and often disturbing probe into what the motives may have been for the shooters and investigates other gun-related issues along the way. Moore explores different aspects of gun-culture such as receiving free guns from a bank, taking a look at America’s violent history, and interviewing important people like Charlton Heston, former president of the National Rifle Association. The film ultimately comes to the conclusion that the American culture of fear along with the accessibility of guns is the reason why there are so many gun-related deaths. This thesis is supported by many examples Ethos, Logos, and Pathos evidence.

"I'm angry someone would do this to us. There are lives ruined, families ruined, and our whole school year is ruined" (Brackely 1). Casey Brackely, once a student that attended Columbine High School, remembers the tragedy of the horrific Columbine shooting that killed and injured many students. Mass shootings in the United States have been on the rise since the 1980’s, especially in the last decade. These shooters motives and profiles are almost all terrifyingly alike. Many of these shooters try to imitate and parallel the tragic shooting of the Columbine High School in 1999. These shootings have made peaceful organizations, such as an elementary school; become a place of violence and death. Currently, in the United States, an epidemic of

Bowling for Columbine is a documentary about how guns are a bad influence and pollute the mind, rather than supplying safety, which is the real reason behind the possession of a gun being legalised. Michael Moore, the film maker, wrote and produced the film to emphasise his point on why guns should never be sold or purchased again. The main story Moore focused on was one that was absolutely shocking and could astonish you from start to finish: The Shooting at Columbine High School. The ordinary and average school was put through an attack by two absent minded children who destructively killed 1 teacher and 12 students, not including the many more they injured. Moore also tried interviewing people whose lives had been affected due to guns.

Former President Barack Obama performed a speech in response to a mass shooting that happened in a community college in Oregon. This speech included other gun related incidents which occurred during his time in office in 2015 regarding Umpqua Community College and Roseburg. After giving his condolences and love to those who felt loss in their hearts, Obama gave a powerful argument regarding gun control and how we, as Americans, should fight and strive for better gun laws. While Obama gave a moving speech, I could not help but feel it fell short in its argument while conducting a thorough critique. Obama appealed to his audience utilizing pathos and ethos with ease but fell short for those in the audience looking for logos or specific facts within his performance. I will be taking this opportunity to delve further into an analysis of this speech and both its heights and pitfalls.

Bowling For Columbine is a well-directed documentary that informs people about gun violence in America. Michael Moore is successful in showing that America has been going through many gun tragedies; and portrays the sense that America’s problems are out of control. He conveys this through informative facts, images, and comparisons.

Michael Moore’s flawed 2002 expository documentary Bowling for Columbine is ineffective in its goals to open Americas eyes to its very serious gun violence problem. Michael Moore sets out to uncover why the United States can’t seem to end its devastating and reoccurring mass shootings, by using deception as its primary tool of persuasion and effect, Moore attempts to vilify pro-gun activists. The humorous documentary frequently highpoints controversial decisions and actions made by the then President of the National Rifle Association Charlton Heston. Bowling also raises issues such as the ease of buying pointless high powered assault weapons just about anywhere, and American media’s film first ask later attitude towards gun crimes and social and racial issues. Americans are left even more paranoid and hostile than ever before, something the documentary should have set out to end.

The Techniques of Michael Moore in Bowling For Columbine to Present the Message on Gun Control