Film Review: Bowling for Columbine

Director: Michael Moore

A 2002 American documentary by Michael Moore, the film is renowned for making Moore a household name in America with his criticisms of American gun culture and violence. He sets the tone here with his comparisons to other Western nations and the better quality of life people supposedly have outside of America which he explores further in Sicko many years later. It won a special anniversary prize at the Cannes Festival where it was first released.

Moore explores American gun culture in the wake of the Columbine High School shootings that rocked America. He tries to understand why there are so many gun deaths in America compared to the rest of the Western world, especially Canada that has similar gun laws but a small fraction of the deaths related to guns. He interviews a cross section of different people from America and Canada on their opinions on guns including South Park creator Matt Stone, NRA President Charlton Heston and Marilyn Manson who was blamed by many for the violence in teenagers.

Columbine massacre survivors

In his usual style, Moore speaks to Americans and places their culture and lifestyle in front of a mirror. Just because this is the way its always been does this mean the future should be like that as well? In terms of gun control he certainly thinks it should not. He asks gun enthusiasts why they feel the need to have guns and that surely everyone owning a gun is adding to the deaths in America, especially the number of accidental death in children from guns lying round the house. Moore makes great arguments and is pushing an issue that everyone outside of America is fully behind but presses his arguments far too hard and in a non too subtle way. I think documentary enthusiasts are used to more refinement and are intelligent enough to see the problems presented without having them repeatedly forced down their throat.

The interview with Marilyn Manson was superb to watch, he comes across as an incredibly intelligent and articulate person with his quote about what he would have done if he got the chance to speak to the kids of Columbine was absolutely spot on. His quote was "I wouldn't say a single word to them I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did". In many ways this sums up politics across the board.

2/4 Superbly on-topic but becomes very preachy and doesn't need to push the message as hard as he does