The film ‘Bowling for Columbine’, a 2002 documentary by Michael Moore, is a brilliant example of the documentary mode: Interactive Participatory.
Bowling for Columbine is an in your face, hard-hitting documentary directed and produced by Michael Moore, whose other works include Fahrenheit 911, Where to invade next and Sicko. This film focuses heavily on the American right to keep and bear arms; specifically centred around the Columbine High School massacre in early 1999.Moore puts emphasis on the negative affect of the American gun laws, discusses the provocative topic with various people including co-creator of South Park Matt Stone, and attempts to make a change by talking to Kmart executives and the national rifle association’s president
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This convention specifically is used a great deal throughout the doco; however the one specific time that I will focus on is situated halfway through the documentary. After Michael Moore finishes interviewing a creator behind missiles, bombs and other warfare in America, where the interviewee in question says he does not feel guilty because ‘we don’t get irritated with somebody and just cause we are made at them drop a bomb on them or fire a missile at them’, a montage begins showing ways throughout the years in which America has retaliated towards other countries using force, containing both statistics and video footage. This includes the American military killing 4 million people in Southeast Asia and when the US trained Osama bin Laden and fellow terrorists to kill soviets. The main focus of this section however, is that throughout the montage the song ‘What a wonderful world’ is playing. This choice of music contrasts with the visual, as one is a brutal, graphic real life depiction of America’s actions overseas, while the other is a soft, almost sleep inducing song about the world being a wonderful place to live in. Because of the graphic images and scenes displayed on the documentary during this crucial moment, the audience feels horrified, however it is the use of the ironic music ‘What a wonderful world’ that makes the audience realise for themselves the contrast, and that the same world with this graphic content playing out in real life, is also seen as a free and glorified country. This is one of the crucial ideas that Michael Moore bases the documentary on, and is the reason that this convention is effective. It is also why overall Michael Moore’s
But Moore's movie isn't just an anti-war movie. Part of the movie is an attempt to question and expose the political images being projected. This starts off with a dreamy sequence of Al Gore celebrating victory in Florida that, Moore says, was manipulated by Fox television into a Bush vict...
...n Brave New World , John, a ‘savage’ not raised by the society asks the world leader, Mustapha Mond, why they do not show films like Othello. Mustapha cites that not showing that kind of film is the “price we have to pay for stability.” As well, he speaks of the necessity for different classes of people to be in operation, even though more efficient methods through science exist. The prime directive of all these ‘utopias’ is to pacify their public and either thrill them with the collective being of a nation, or sedate them with excitement and drugs.
In the cases of school shootings that took place at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, Virginia Tech University and Northern Illinois University, the media highly publicized the fact that the perpetrators were avid video gamers, but why is this important? The media want’s your attention and they are more than willing to say almost anything to get it. They reported that the perpetrators were avid gamers with the implication that there is a well establish connection between the two when there is not. They exploit the fear of parents and concerned citizens by not including relevant corresponding information in order to leave you more interested lea...
I realized that sometimes it is fine for things to just be, and I don’t know why. Much of the film has to do with how we think, and what we do in private. Collectively, through these moral and ethical acts (or lack thereof) we can impact the public. Also, by sharing these thoughts and concepts with the public in the documentary, it can affect our thoughts and actions in our private lives; I know it has, at least for myself. One of the earliest topics in the film that I took note of was the ethics of certain matters, in a way that I had never considered before.
Through their use of allusion, symbolism and representation they portray many of societies flaws and imperfections. Such an imperfection includes the illustration of how totalitarian governments abuse the power they have acquired for their own gain, harming the people they are sworn to serve and protect. Through this abusive self-gaining government, we all are liable to become victims of consumer culture caused by the blind obedience to advertising and propaganda, being unable to form or voice an opinion of our own. But this lack of opinion can be at fault because of our own apathy, the ignorance and slothfulness that is contributed to the role we play in our society and the importance of that roles ability to motivate and inspire change. Whether you’ve read or viewed the novels or feature films I’ve discussed I have no hesitation in saying any text or film you have seen has been used in some way, shape or form to convey the criticisms of our ‘perfect’
Premise The writer and filmmaker, a moderately aggressive champion for liberal causes is as always-challenging America's gun culture with his latest endeavor, the documentary "Bowling for Columbine." "Bowling for Columbine," was awarded the Special Prize of the 55th Cannes Film Festival. It had already made history by being the first documentary chosen to be part of the official festival competition in almost 50 years. There is no getting around the fact that "Bowling for Columbine" is a provocative, controversial film that is going to make a lot of people angry. But the work claimed by the author is an honest expression of what he and the general public sees and believes. I am not inclined to soften what I do to appease those whom I must beg for money in order to do my work. "Bowling for Columbine" is my personal view of America at the turn of this new century. It is not specifically about Columbine and, no, it is not about bowling. My favorite quote I read during the festival was, "This film will single-handedly guarantee that George W. Bush will never see a second term." Well, one can only dream. After all, it is just a movie. Micheal Moore When "Bowling for Columbine" was announced as the Oscar winner for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards, the audience rose to its feet. It was a great moment, one that I will always cherish. They were standing and cheering for a film that says we Americans are a uniquely violent people, using our massive stash of guns to kill each other and to use them against many countries around the world. They were applauding a film that shows George W. Bush using fictitious fears to frighten the public into giving him whatever he wants. And they were honoring a film that states the following: The f...
Among many theorists such as Brain L. Ott, the V for Vendetta movie is seen as an “allegory for life in George W. Bush’s America” (Ott 2). Because of this, Alan Moore “had his name removed from the credits” (Xenakis 135). But just because
2. I agree with Michael Moore's message in the documentary. I think there is way to much violence in our society, I also think there should be a restriction on guns. Children in our society today, see violence in their schools, on TV , their neighborhoods, and their homes. The daily new is rife with reports of child molestations and abductions. War in foreign lands along with daily reports of murder, rape and robberies also heighten a child's perception of potential violence.
It is interestingly sad how debates on gun violence and gun control is being handled in our society by our top leaders and lobbyist. Gun control has become a serious issue and a national epidemic, however, the debate is far from over. In the article “under the gun” by writers Rottenberg, Rice and Franich, for entertainment weekly, the writers discussed the failing of gun control laws and the increase in gun violence. By setting sides of their argument, the writers discussed violence in movies, TVs and videogames and how this violence impact our society, thus allowing their audience to decide for themselves.
To escape the invented world that is presented to society, creating a more critical distance is necessary. Instead of allowing the media to use civilization, understanding the meaning and effect it has on them will enhance their perception. This directly correlates to Super Sad True Love Story, in which the populace has to grow through a collapse to fully grasp what is wrong within its society. Similar to The Truman Show, as Truman tries to escape Christof’s manipulations, he is blocked at every turn. The movie hinting to the viewers that they have to take a mental journey to secure their freedom. These cases are evident in the issue of the Paris attacks, reported in the article “Does Paris Matter More Than Beirut?” as the only people that are wondering why Westerners do not seem to acknowledge Beirut are critics. The media therefore draws society in, able to easily deceive and manipulate. As a result, the illusions created by the people ought to be escaped solely by
As a viewer, the documentary’s intention to inform is more completely fulfilled by research conducted beyond the scope of the camera lens. Had I never written this paper, for instance, the reason for all the violence embedded within the subject matter would remain as enigmatic as the documentary itself.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
In American society, violence runs rampage throughout the country that cause its citizens to be afraid and discouraged about their homeland. One of the major parts of American violence is from guns. In the documentary, "Bowling for Columbine", a famous filmmaker, Michael Moore addresses the ubiquitous situation in America. He argues that the use of gun in America co-insides or correlates to the recent massacres and that America, as a whole, should have stricter gun control laws. Throughout the film, Moore uses specific references to it and employs rhetorical and persuasive devices to construct his argument in favor of changing gun laws.
This documentary as nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Academy Award. It showed the world the actual crimes and events that were happening in society that otherwise would have been overlooked after the initial shock. The moral, values and importance of these events being spread by mass communication can lead to awareness and hopefully avoidance of familiar events in the
One of the integral things that must be addressed when making a film is the ethics involved. Ethics are a constant issue that have to be carefully considered when filmmaking. This difficult decision-making is highly prevalent in that of documentaries, because of the difficulties associated in filming ‘real people’ or “social actors, (Nichols, 2001).” More importantly, the issues faced by a filmmaker differ between each of the documentary modes. Each particular documentary mode poses different formal choices that must be made in order to operate in an ethical fashion. Two films that have been made both display examples of how ethics must be considered when embarking on a documentary are Etre at Avoir [To Be and to Have], (2001) and Capturing the Friedmans (2003). These films have been made in different documentary modes, highlighting that there is not one mode which is easier or has fewer ethical issues associated with it. Additionally, what must be considered is how these style choices in these different modes affect the power relationships between the filmmaker, the subject and its audience, (Nichols, 2001).