Bowling For Columbine Analysis

Improved Essays
Reading 1: Genre
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 interactive participatory styled documentary written, produced and directed by the nationally acclaimed documentary writer Michael Moore who went on to direct Fahrenheit 9/11 aimed at the president George Bush and the war on terror. Michael Moore’s documentary style is described as neoliberal view of globalization and stands strongly for his personal “fiery left wing populism” of the American government according to John Flesher of the Associated Press. In his 2002 film, Bowling for Columbine, he is seen expressing his opinion through the conventions
…show more content…
Moore uses this footage to create a sense of an enemy closer to home and realism to his story line. A good example of when Moore uses archival footage to convey his message is in the final few scenes after he has interviewed Heston. This scene starts off with a voice-over from Moore and has “What a Wonderful World” playing as non-diegetic sound. This is very ironic as Moore is cutting between various archival footage of the war on terror, a man selling a gun and finally shots of Moore bowling a strike in a local bowling alley. These shots consisting of mostly archival footage shows the audience how much impact this archival footage of select events can have if edited and used correctly. Moore is very good at using post production editing to further help persuade the audience that what he says is correct or that they way he sees things is the “right” way. Through the use of archival footage we can see how Moore has very cleverly edited the certain scenes together to great a very adequate closing scene with the audience left wondering why America has so many gun homicides compared to the rest of the …show more content…
This can be seen in many different places throughout the documentary but stands out the most where Moore interviews the teacher at Buell Elementary after the shootings there. We can see Moore in the halls of Columbine College before we are introduced to the principal of the elementary school who walks by the side of Moore seeming to fight for self-control. A voice over is present before this shot and the audience learns that a young girl (age 6) was shot by a younger boy who was aged 4 and the principal was the one who called the police to alert them of the incident. As the principal fights for her self-control in the hallway she breaks out into a sob a turns away from the camera. Moore places a hand on her back and rubs repeatedly showing his dominance in the situation. This helps the audience understand the fundamental principals of the interactive style documentary through the convention of appearance of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell presents how police corruption and brutality was a major influence in the perpetualization of racism in America during the civil rights era and even today. They do this by not being afraid to pull any punches or censor anything in the art style and literary readings of March. March goes through the life of John Lewis and his struggle to be a leader in a time of great adversity. The story follows through his life as he becomes chairman of the SNCC and lives on to be one of America’s greatest unsung political heroes. One of the examples used in March to (quite literally) illustrate how police corruption and integrated systemic racism effected the American mindset was the “supposed” homicide and subsequent…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    At about 11:19 a.m. April 20 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold dressed in trench coats started shooting students at columbine high school, the weapons used by Eric were: Hi-Point model 995 carbine rifle, and Sawed-off pump-action Savage-Springfield 67H shotgun, now Dylan Klebold used: TEC-DC9 9-mm semi-automatic handgun, and Double-barrel Savage 311-D sawed-off shotgun, both carried various knifes and used bombs but most didn't go off. This was a huge Historical Turning Point in history, this changed how safety works, how people think about places, people not feeling safe, and how people will be checked before going into big places with lots of people, it changed everything with safety. How did people think about safety after columbine?To…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Columbine The tragedy among youth, April 20, 1999; two troubled young men lash out their rage and depression on the high school they were cast out from; Columbine High, Littleton, Colorado. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were the two adolescents that committed this heinous crime. Over all, these murders had caused thirteen deaths and twenty one, brutal injuries. Although, most of the deaths and injuries were by gunshot, many explosives were also used. The explosive were manufactured by Klebold and there were roughly ninety nine of these devices planted throughout the campus.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold have made history with the massacre at Columbine High School the rate of death is 15 including themselves and the wounded survivors 23. Since they were white male that was in the surborn school it was the society, both of them make a statement their parents were not at fault. Eric was a psychopath while Dylan was suicide it huge role one that. Eric and Dylan have made a statement about their parents were not at fault, they the ones who is not responsible but themselves. Make them feel like they were valuable for just a second.…

    • 1488 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wes had A working mother who wanted the best for her son. Wes Moore’s mother was raised by college-educated parents, and she spent her life working and struggling to achieve things for herself and her family. She moved two times in an effort to find stable, safe place for her kids to grow up, and she worked several jobs so she could afford to put her kids into private schools. When it appeared that Moore was going to fall into the thug lifestyle, she sacrificed economically and emotionally to put him into a military school.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Michael “Killer Mike” Render, known for ‘killing the microphone’ visited the University of South Florida and spoke to students and the local Tampa community about race, diversity, politics and human rights. Over 600 students and Tampa community members filled the Marshall Student Center oval theater Jan. 20, to engage in social activism. “The world never gets better unless you make it better,” Render said. “Get out into the Community.”…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Throughout history, there has been a reasonable logic that reading and writing leads to a normal life, but this logic is terribly skewed in a rather narrow minded viewpoint. In Richard Miller’s stories of Columbine, Jon Krakauer’s study of Chris McCandless, Mary Karr’s autobiography shows the various degrees of reading and writing inflicted on specific cases. In each of these stories, they have profound conclusions about reading and writing ranging in total with a lack of communication or in the form of curiosity or interaction. A lack of communication can occur with the relative isolation or selfishness of any one person who believes that they are wiser than anyone else or believes they are outsiders. In contrast, a form of curiosity or interaction…

    • 1888 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Documentaries have long been utilised by filmmakers whom of which are passionate about a particular topic as a means to document and educate an audience. The level of creativity and film techniques can vary between productions depending on the subject and this often will determine how effective they may be in generating an emotional response from viewers. Michael Moore is a renowned filmmaker, bestselling author, and liberal activist, who has been labelled as controversial for his tendency to focus on confronting topics such as terrorism, with his work, “Bowling for Columbine” being no exception. The overarching objective of a documentary is to elucidate on the specific injustice and bring about social change with Michael Moore’s, “Bowling for Columbine” demonstrating how this is executed. The documentary was released in October of 2002 in the wake of the tragic school shooting that would subsequently shift a nations views on gun violence from that day forward.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Depression In Columbine

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Introduction After reading Columbine, by Dave Cullen, I was truly shaken. Several times throughout the process of reading this book I had to take breaks. Every page had a bone chilling detail that I just could not get myself to believe. It made me see people in a different way.…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    (2016, August 23). Retrieved November 27, 2017, from http://www.kvia.com/news/students-walk-out-of-several-ep-area-schools/53202113  Walkouts Continue For 2nd Day; Students Converge On Downtown EP. (2016, August 23). Retrieved November 27, 2017, from http://www.kvia.com/news/walkouts-continue-for-2nd-day-students-converge-on-downtown-ep_20160823072301509/53202121 e) This video helped me see and understand the struggles that Chicanos had in the 1960s. The video also helped me see how much the Chicanos were taken for granted and were not valued the way they should’ve by the Americans, more specifically, in the education area.…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both these techniques are distinctive to Michael Moore and in the case of Bowling for Columbine are used in a strong way to open America’s eyes to their frequent killings caused by the relaxed gun laws and the right to bear arms that dates back paranoia filled…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In American society, violence runs rampage throughout the country causing its citizens to be trepidacious and demoralize. One of the major components of violence in America emanates from guns. In the documentary, "Bowling for Columbine", Michael Moore, a famous filmmaker, addresses the ubiquitous situation in America. He argues that the use of gun in America co-insides or correlates to the recent massacres; as a whole, America should have stricter gun control laws. Throughout the film, Moore uses specific references to stricter gun control laws by employing ethos, pathos and logos to construct his argument in order to convince his audience.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Documentaries allow you to develop an opinion on an issue. Michael Moore in Bowling for Columbine uses techniques to enhance the message on gun control. Michael Moore has used several different techniques that will make you think and question yourself on whether what he was saying happened as he was making the documentary or if it was copied from a few years previous to make Americans look worse. The techniques that you may notice throughout the documentary consists of visual, sounds, interviews, political, and editing. Michael Moore uses all these techniques plus more to make you question yourself on why so many American’s own guns and why they need them.…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Throughout history the United States has had to overcome some horrific obstacles within the borders themselves. Crisis events occur each and every year in the U.S. no matter the amount of training or tactics we do in order to deter such event. With each major crisis that occurs on U.S. soil there is always something to learn from it. The Columbine High School shooting was no different. The shooting took place on April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado.…

    • 1813 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Some of the main points that I received from the film Bowling for Columbine are…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays