2002- Bowling for Columbine skyrockets Moore's success.

Bowling for Columbine was a confronting investigation into the use of guns in America and there implications in the massacre at the Columbine High School. Moore seeks to find out why the Columbine massacre occurred and why the United States has a high violent crime rate. Moore interviews a range of people including comedian Matt Stone, head of the NRA Charlton Heston, music artist Maralyn Manson and a range of citizens with opinions on the gun laws and restrictions in America. The film has been highly criticized for misrepresenting information, but to say it is confronting, thought provoking and shocking in the evidence it does present would be close to an understatement. 

Image Source: www.michaelmoore.com

From the opening scenes when he gets a free gun by opening a new bank account - Moore uses archived clips, mixed with interviews of people associated with the Oklahoma City bombings to persuade us to accept his arguments. 

Various clips are introduced throughout the film depicting violence in the United States and the fear that citizens live with in this society. There is implication that fear is hyped by the media and controlled by the government to keep the level of fear amongst the populace. 

He also includes a segment comparing the contrast of violence between the U.S. and Canada which has a fairly high percentage of private gun ownership, but very low gun violence.

Why is this? The answer that Moore leads us to is that the reason the United States has so many violent deaths due to guns is not the AMOUNT of guns but due to the exploitation of violence through the media and the governments position to keep Americans on the edge of fear.

The film is very successful at bringing out a reaction from the audience, wether it be disgust at George W. Bush, a new found respect for Maralyn Manson, or a loss of all respect for Moore. 

Find out your reaction by watching the trailer at: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUSpszWfu_w&feature=related

Alex

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