An Analysis of Michael Moore's Documentary, Bowling for Columbine

The documentary starts by telling the story of Gabrielle Giffords being shot outside a Safeway grocery store and continues by showing a part of President Obama’s speech after the incident. It then addresses the fact that the President didn’t even attempt to increase gun control since the NRA has so much power. The Columbine High School massacre is then discussed along with a speech by the NRA president. Gun sales increased significantly after this massacre since people thought gun control would become more strict. The documentary states that the NRA originally focused on hunting and how to shoot a gun but the assassinations of the 60’s made them change their focus to gun control. After the Columbine massacre,

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold changed the way schools handle threat precautions. The secrets they left us; the boys being outcasts, bullies, and the trench coat mafia, leave us with a horrible tragedy to deal with. Which are just some of the proven myths in the shooting of Columbine.

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.

The article was originally published in 2013, a year after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which was a mass shooting that killed 20 children and six adults. This tragedy leads to high concerns about what can possibly be done to prevent this from happening again. Although gun control debates have been occurring for centuries, in recent debates they have become even more heated due to the many incidents of gun violence. In Simon’s article, she brought more tension and views to help delegate what needs to be done to stop the violence in the country rather than leave it

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.

In her article, Lepore establishes her credibility by presenting her personal experience with guns and the negative effects they can have. Her credibility is strengthened even more because of her stature as a professor at Harvard. She inputs more sources in her article, such as her firing range experience and her interviews with gun experts and executives from the N.R.A. The sources Lepore selects to back up her article and lead people to thinking what she is stating about gun companies and the way they weaken the amendment are true without aggressively attacking them. Throughout her article, Lepore mentions many past events where guns are put into the hands of the wrong people. Through these events, she argues that not everyone should own a gun by once again providing historical and personal evidence. The stories the author chose to use in her article also grab much attention from her audience since the people in the stories are kids or are similar to the readers themselves-parents and citizens trying to better themselves and raise a family.

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.

The columbine shooting shocked the world and having the blame on video games was one of the reasons why these kids did this. In this article it talks about the tragic event that took place on April 20, 1999 a couple of teenagers who were being bullied throughout high school came to school and went on a killing rampage taking out everyone they can see. This article also talks about the background behind why these teenagers would do such a horrible thing and this made a lot of people aware about how these teenagers even got a chance to get a hold

The book Columbine by Dave Cullen has been banned for its content about the Columbine School Shooting and the psychology behind the shooting. It was censored from students because of this content that, while being sensitive and triggering to those who are against gun violence or have PTSD from a situation like this, can help spread awareness about school shootings in a world where events such as the Columbine School Shooting are slowly becoming more and more common. This book, having graphic details about the shooting that can upset people who read it, is a book that can be taught, as its merits, literary qualities, and educational value justify it as a book that teachers can use to bring up valuable points in discussion and teach valuable

peel back the curtain and take a long hard look at the wizard (In the

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.

Franken was also able to downplay the usefulness of a firearm by including a series of sarcastic tips for tragedy in a home. For example, “1. Keep the gun loaded… 2. Put the gun in an unlocked drawer... 3. Rest assured.”1 Where Franken’s article comes up short is the use of hypothetical numbers to exaggerate and intensify the deadliness of guns. His sarcasm adds diversity to his piece, but should be used sparingly. Franken’s conclusion causes his argument to lose its effectiveness, after building his case it just seems ridiculous and out of place.

Michael Moore was born on April 23rd 1954. He’s An American film maker, author and a liberal political commentator. He has directed and produced four of the eight highest grossing documentaries of all time. In 2005 Time Magazine named Moore one of the world’s ‘Hundred most influential people’. The documentary ‘Bowling for Columbine’ explores the possible causes for the Columbine High School massacre. It has won the ‘Best Documentary feature’ at both the Academy and Independent Spirit Awards, together with the César award for ‘best foreign films’.

Throughout the film Michael Moore throws many cold facts on the screen that makes it obvious that the strong nation of America is unruly. One of the facts that stand out the most is the number of deaths caused by guns in America per year. In comparison to the other countries, America has an outstanding of 11,127 gun related deaths a year. This is ten times

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