Bowling for Columbine - Reviewed.

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William J.H. Boetcker once said that ‘it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, so as to retain your self-respect, rather than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong’. Michael Moore, the director of the Oscar-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine chooses to do what he sees as the right move, at the risk of upsetting a nation. Through the use of humour and irony, Moore delves into different aspects of the violence that is deeply embedded in the American society. Released in 2002, in the United States of America, Moore uses this documentary to awaken a ‘sleeping’ society to the harsh realities around them. He uses the massacre at the Columbine High School that occurred in 1999 as his premise to investigate the phenomenon i.e.: ‘why does the US have such a high number (11,127 for a year) of gun-related deaths?’. Though Moore seems to be very opinionated on various matters, his goal is not to make the audience think the way he does, but only to make them think. The movie is successful in fulfilling its purpose. This is hugely due to the excellent direction. The content, on the other hand, though extremely hard-hitting is limited to Moore’s outlook on matters. Though it does not seem to be his intention, he does not leave any scope for the audience to form an opinion of their own. However, he cannot be blamed for this, because after all, a movie is a director’s form of expression.

Starting off from Flint, Michigan, Moore travels through numerous cities and observes many violence-related issues, in his search for answers as to why the Columbine High School massacre happened. After studying possible reasons such as violent movies, destructive games, heavy metal culture, parental negligence, a violent history, poverty and multi-ethnicity (all being prevalent in the American society), Moore narrows down the list of excuses to the brainwashing of the American population. According to him, the roots of all violence in the US seem to grow from the dominating functionaries in the American society- the government and the multinational organisations. Moore continuously reinforces the theory of purposeful instilment of fear in people’s mind by the above-mentioned groups. Right from his interview with James Nichols (the third person arrested in connection to the Oklahoma bombing besides Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols), where Nichols talks about revolting against a tyrannical government, to the incorporation of the advertisement selling security metal detectors after the massacre at the Columbine High School, Moore puts forth a strong case. He also brings up an excellent point about the often-despotic behaviour of the American government in matters of other nations and how that affects the minds of common people.

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The most interesting part of the movie though, has got to be the steady unveiling of the concept of controlled consumerism. Moore has excellently conveyed the message that all of America is imprisoned in a cage of fear and ignorance, where the people believe what they hear and see, without questioning the authenticity. Moore convinces us that this is exactly the way the government wants the society to work because of the financial benefit that it results in. In an interview with Moore, Marilyn Manson (a famous music artist in the genre of metal) talks about the spurning of fear ...

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