Michael Moore – Bowling for Columbine

Michael Moore produced the documentary ‘Bowling for Columbine’ in order to try and reveal why the tragic Columbine High School massacre took place in the first place and why other acts of violence and gun crime occur so much in America. The style of documentary used in this case was expository as it is an informative, educating piece but also interactive as Michael Moore interacts with people in the film as well. By being proactive in the documentary he is able to get more involved and actually try to make a difference, a good example of this is when him and two surviving students from the Columbine High School massacre go to a largely known supermarket ‘Kmart’ complaining about the sale of ammunition, eventually ending in the supermarket agreeing to no longer sell them anymore; a very good achievement. He is also able to show viewers that in Michigan he is able to sign up to join a bank to receive a free gun! Showing just how easy it really is to own a gun in the USA.

Michael Moore uses the stereotypical view of black men in his documentary but challenges this by showing different viewpoints. Michael Moore is operating in the interests of the Columbine victims, we are able to see this because the whole documentary is based on finding out what the cause of gun crime is due to the occurrence of the Columbine shootings.

Michael Moore uses editing in this documentary to create meaning. He does this by using fast edits, such as the fast edits of previous news channels talking about different acts of violence and gun crime in America, this implies the chaos and also shows the extent oh how many shootings are occurring which Michael Moore is trying to portray as too many. He also uses a montage of clips of CCTV from the Columbine High School massacre itself with a voice over of the many calls received by police from parents and even teachers inside the school fearing for their life, this shows the intensity of the shootings, the audience is almost brought into it feeling a sense of fear as well. Michael Moore even uses animation in this documentary to show where the start of gun crime began in a strangely humorous way; he is even able to show the start of racism in this brief animation.

The narrative does not simplify the complex issue of why gun crime is occurring so much in the USA. It may even open up different views that people had never thought of before, making it much more complex in fact! Michael Moore shows that the sales of ammunition in the barbers to the songs of Marilyn Manson being the cause of the Columbine Shootings two very different view points yet all brought into one documentary.

The end of the documentary does give a false sense of closure as he leaves the little girls picture on the grounds of ?????’s house, showing he has made a point but does not show a clear reason for why these shocking events have happened in the United States, but has just shown the different opinions of why, leaving viewers still questioning the same thing at the end of the film; Why did the Columbine High School massacre happen? What made Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris commit the horrific crime?