What Techniques Does Michael Moore use in Bowling for Columbine to Persuade the Viewer?

Bowling for Columbine: Sequence 1

Michael Moore remains adamant over his opinion that the US government misuses their weapons, democratic powers and supreme authority over the world. Moore conveys these thoughts to the viewer, but uses a list of facts instead of opinions to create a more convincing and unbiased argument. In addition he attempts to break down the viewer’s trust in the US government by showing the carnage America’s weapons of ‘defence’ have fashioned in the world.

To gain maximum effect from this sequence Moore positions it immediately after the interview with Lockheed Martin’s press officer. The officer says the weapons they develop are solely for defensive purposes and then goes on to say alternative methods to violence should be used to settle conflicts between countries. Moore then cuts to The Wonderful World sequence where we see the weapons being used for aggressive purposes and excessive violence used to settle conflicts – a heavily ironic statement from Moore. Here Moore’s depiction of opinion against fact helps the reader see their naivety in believing the government and ...

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However the powerful and emotive imagery used in The Wonderful World sequence, is a lot more effective at convincing the viewer that the US government is the world’s source of corruption. The subtlest use of imagery in the sequence is Moore’s choice of font. Its militaristic style and official tinge gives the reader an impression of factuality and governmental authority. This convinces the viewer that the captions are all facts. Also when the number of dead is written in the crude militaristic font, the viewer gets the impression that killing is part of the US government’s agenda, thus detracting from the viewer’s trust in them. The viewers are made even more cynical of the government when they describe an aspirin factory as a‘ “weapons factory” ‘. The use of the inverted commas gives the caption a sarcastic tone, helps make the reader more aware of how the government has made too many costly mistakes and makes them seem obtuse. Moore also makes the government seem insensitive by displaying pictures of dead corpses caused by US government-funded wars. He then amplifies this by juxtaposing the images of guns and gore with those of peace which makes the horrific images of corpses seem even more horrific. The trust between citizen and government is broken down even further due to the way Moore has structured The Wonderful World sequence. We first see the image of the way things were before and non-violent images are used, for example a man throwing flowers. Next it cuts to what happens after the US get involved and then images of war and death are used, which gives the viewer the impression the government do nothing except make a negative difference to the world.