Bowling for Columbine

Michael Moore is famed for his controversial documentaries about political issues in America. He has released a number of immensely successful films which raise public awareness about a number of topics, such as the health industry, gun laws and the Iraqi War. Bowling for Columbine was released in 2002 and is one on Michael Moore’s most famous films. It explores the gun laws in America and how these may have contributed, alongside other factors, to the shootings in a number of American schools. This film continues to be relevant as the issue of American gun laws seems to pop up every now and then in tragic circumstances.

A number of high profile individuals feature in this film, such as Matt Stone (South Park), Charlton Heston, and Marilyn Manson. Moore’s interviews with these individuals shed a genuinely interesting light on what may be the cause of particularly high gun crime rates in America.

For those of the audience (such as myself) who have very little knowledge about the American issues around gun crime, Bowling for Columbine is a fascinating eye-opener. There are some very surprising scenes in the film, such as when he opens a new bank account with a bank in Michigan and subsequently receives a free gun for doing so. To me, a Brit who is aware of the extreme restrictions on firearm possession in this country, this is astounding.

It is quite difficult to review a documentary film like this, but Michael Moore is fiercely critical throughout of the National Rifle Association (NRA) who have been known to hold rallies in cities shortly after they have a gun incident. However, despite some incredibly clever filming, editing and interviewing, Michael Moore’s main problem for me is that he presents the ‘freak shows’ to the audience. He often presents some very extreme opinions of gun law, and at one point interviews the brother of one of the shooters at Columbine. Now without a doubt this man comes across as a bit of a lunatic, but the majority of the film comes across as very one sided. He presents the individuals who argue in favour of firearm possession as lunatics and presents many people who argue against firearm possession as straightforward ‘average’ Americans. Anyone who does argue for firearm possession is discredited in the way they are presented by Moore, and I don’t think this is particularly fair on them.

There are a number of criticisms about the features Michael Moore presents in this documentary. For example the employees at the bank which give over a gun because of a bank account opening claim that Michael Moore misled them during the filming of this feature. It is argued that he convinced the employees to hand over a gun on film the on the morning after he opened the account. In reality, it is claimed that it would take much longer for a gun to be delivered. When he interviews Charlton Heston at the end of the film, he appears to lead Heston into making a number of controversial statements and then presents him with a picture of a little girl who was killed in a gun-related incident. He makes Heston look incredibly bad, but has been accused of ambushing Charlton Heston is a very crude way. His interview with Matt Stone, the creator of South Park, led to him being presented as an animated idiot in Team America: World Police, because of an animated segment which bears a resemblance to South Park.

Gun law is obviously a very emotive issue for so many people in America, and the film is spot on in presenting all the bad things about the situations around American gun law. There are undoubtedly some shocking statistics about the rates of gun-based crime in America, and Michael Moore is incredibly convincing in the way he presents his arguments. Bowling for Columbine is a well-designed film which presents information in a very clever order. For example, early on there is a clip of Chris Rock on control of ammunition which is very funny. It is the sort of film that is sadly relevant once every so often, and if you get the opportunity to watch it then you shouldn't miss it. Personally, I find Michael Moore’s delivery very annoying, but the content of the film is very compelling.