Documentaries are usually boring, just spitting facts at the viewers. Not Michael Moore’s “Bowling For Columbine,” this film was very different from any other documentary. It was not simply facts, instead Moore took a different approach to get the attention of the less informed. Learning a lot throughout the film, it would be a great recommendation for anyone looking to learn about the gun accessibility and violence within America.
In this documentary, Moore begins by showing how easy it is to obtain a gun in America. He finds out about a bank that is giving away guns at the opening of an account with them. Going into the bank followed by a camera crew, Moore is granted the bank account with the accompanying gun, thus, highlighting the easy accessibility of guns in America. However on Michael Moore’s website, he comes out and says that the bank scene is staged with hired actors, but it was inspired by an ad he had seen in a Michigan newspaper in 2001 (Moore). This scene was very compelling, making the viewer realize that gun regulations are quite lose. Upon finding out that the scene was not real, some of the shock is lost, due to the fact that the process was most likely more complex than Moore had made it seem. It is shocking that a bank would give away guns, of all things, to bring in new account holders, and it was a good element that Moore brought into the film.
Many things have been said implying that this documentary is not in fact a documentary. Despite winning
Columbine by Dave Cullen tells the events that unfolded on April 20th, 1999. That day, two boys, self-proclaimed rebels, armed themselves and proceeded to murder the same students they had walked the halls with for four years. As the stories of Dylan, Eric, and the victims of this tragic day came to light, many falsehoods also arose. Unfortunately, the myths and truths about Columbine still linger with us today. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold left a lasting impression on the world; but left behind the truth as to why they really did it. This leaves us to wonder what really happened on that fateful day.
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.
This is just one of the numerous misconceptions portrayed. When this film won the Oscar for best documentary, it was not actually supposed to have been able to win – in general terms, a documentary is a non-fiction movie. Although it met the criteria of being a movie, it was most certainly not non-fiction. Another example is when Heston's "cold dead hands" speech, which leads off Moore's idea of the Denver meeting, did not
The movie "Bowling for Columbine" was made after the shooting in Columbine high school and tries to explore the reasons for America's violent nature. Moore believes that there is one main reason for this, the fact that there are relaxed gun laws in America. Therefore, Moore uses a number of different persuasive techniques in order to try and persuade the viewer to believe that this is the case. He uses certain visuals, music, sequences the scenes in a specific order and uses facts and opinions to achieve this.
Because I 'm older, curious by nature, and an avid reader of research (domestic and worldwide), and because social issues matter greatly to me, I didn 't really learn anything new from the documentary. However, it confirmed for me that my fears and growing apprehension about gun violence and guns in general are valid.
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.
In 2011, Bill O’Reilly wrote Killing Lincoln. In this book he explains how the assassination of Abraham Lincoln took place and groundbreaking affects it had on the war and the country. O’Reilly had many reasons for the purpose in writing this book. He says he thought he knew what happened with the assassination and the effects it had on the country. I believe O’Reilly was truly intrigued once he started researching how the plot was planned and so forth. O’Reilly states that the plan itself had elements that have been unknown for quite some time. He states this book will have many effects on the readers. It will disturb-quotation marks the reader because of all of the conspiracies in the book. He also states that the book will advance readers knowledge on the assassination and its implication on the future of America. He states by reading this there are many lessons to be learned. He says realizing the heroes who have mad the country great-quotation marks and also the villains-quotation marks are vital to those who want to keep the country great. Lastly, while his main purpose is the thrill the reader, he makes sure not to spin any facts or compromise the integrity of the facts throughout the book. (need page number(s). Since there are no numbers on these pages you paraphrase/quoted from you can use roman numerals, which are i-ii)
The mystery of how John Wilkes Booth pulled off the most influential and notorious assassinations in history is revealed in Killing Lincoln. The author of this book, Bill O’Reilly, built up the plot of the story through vivid historical details and pieced them together like a thriller. He tries to explain all of what happened on one of the most interesting and sad days in American history. Many conspiracies and Civil War ideals are on full display in the book. I agree with most of O’Reilly’s ideas but there are some that I am not really sure about because of his point of view like many of the conspiracy theories. Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly was a very compelling read which described the Civil War, lives of
The obvious bias illustrated throughout Michael Moore’s film certainly does detract from the messages conveyed however when presented in the right circumstances it adds more value to the messages. The obvious bias leaves many people questioning the credibility of the director’s message as it doesn’t show the full spectrum of the situation, which is what documentaries are for, and ultimately this detracts the films message. However, in some circumstances the obvious bias brings more light on important aspects which should be acted upon thus adding more value the message being portrayed. Michael Moore has directed over 12 documentaries and a handful of them have been awarded with prestigious film awards. “Where to invade next”, “Sicko”, “Bowling for Columbine”, “Capitalism: a love story” and “Fahrenheit 9/11”, these are just half of the documentaries in which Michael Moore has directed. The purpose of a documentary is to present a nonfictional motion picture which aims to promote or
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.
American Sniper by Chris Kyle, is one of the most accurate depictions of the life in special
The purpose of Bowling for Columbine and Koyaanisqatsi is not radically different, both directors are attempting to make an argument. In Bowling for columbine, Michael Moore is constructing an argument about the culture in some regions of the United States that are vulnerable to gun violence. To accomplish this he weaves together first person accounts from people responding to his questions on the issue and presents images that he wants the audience to connect with what they are seeing to create a definitive narrative perspective. In Koyaanisqatsi the director is arguing that the current modes of existence are inherently destructive for both nature and ourselves. The composition of the film is unique in that there is no spoken word and instead the director uses composition, speed, editing and music to create a musical symphony to make his point.
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.
The literary element setting includes the time when the story happens and location where the story takes place. Some stories use variety of settings to initiate an interesting beginning. However, the 12 Angry Man has only one fixed setting – the jury room, which is not commonly used in a novel. The author, Reginald Rose, overcomes the limitation in setting by describing changes in weather, initiating different types of character and imitating the events of the murder.
The Techniques of Michael Moore in Bowling For Columbine to Present the Message on Gun Control