Bowling For Columbine - 2002
Director: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore
Bowling For Columbine was a film documentary that I was first introduced to in my year 11 or 12 media class. We watched half of it then the bell rang. The first half of the film intrigued me so much I went and bought it on DVD and watched the rest. I re-watched it again last night (yeah I know I said I was going to watch The Day After Tomorrow, but things change) and I would like to share my opinion on the film and the many issues it raises.
This film documentery is very interesting and I guess that's why it won the 2003 Oscar for Best Documentary. I have seen other Michael Moore documentaries and I really like them, like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko.
I found the film to be very ironic in the fact that a bank in Michigan gives you a free gun when you open an account there... Umm "Don't you think its a little dangerous to give out guns in a bank!"... proves my point. At one point he is also getting a hair cut and was able to buy bullets in the barbers shop! WTF.
This doco makes Americans seem like wackos/gun nuts (I'm not saying they are wackos its just the impression I got, or the way Michael Moore wanted his audience to see them as). Moore made a point in the film about how many deaths there are in each country every year due to guns. Australia had 60 odd deaths, England 60 odd deaths, Japan 30 odd deaths and America 11,000 deaths. What do you think the problem is.... These other countries don't have gun laws allowing a citizen to walk down the street with a gun in their pockets. Only America has that. The only way to reduce the deaths is to remove gun laws, simple, but in America that will most defiantly be hard.
In relation to the Columbine shootings how did a pair of 17-year-olds get access to or even be able to buy semi-automatic machine guns. WHY EVEN HAVE MACHINE GUNS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC LIKE THAT. You would surely not need a machine gun to protect yourself and you wouldn't need one to go hunting soooo why even have them available. Its stupid. The laws in America have gotten out of control.
It makes me glad I live in Australia where I feel safer not having a gun. I feel safer that random strangers don't have guns. I think the fact that people have guns makes people in America need guns to protect themselves. Its just a circle that feeds itself. But I guess I'm not an American nor have ever lived in America and I'm only going by what I have saw in the doco.
Its a film which has a very interesting insight into the problem of guns and violence in America. I hate that when something bad happens they blame movies, music and even games. This quote sums up what I think about this "Movies don't make psycho's, they make them more creative" - Scream. End of argument... well it should be.
Overall, it was a good insight into how guns and violence in America are a problem. It makes me glad I don't live there (Sicko was also a doco that made me feel like that). Michael Moore is also a film maker that has very bias opinions and depicts his idea of a situation over any other, which sometimes is a bad thing since you should always see both sides of the story.
Best Part: Marilyn Masons talk about violence (He's awesome!)
Worst Part: Hearing about Columbine (no one wants to here about that, or see footage of such a tragic event)
Memorable Quote: "Don't you think its a little dangerous to give out guns in a bank!"....Michael Moore
7/10
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