Bowling for Columbine (Micheal Moore, 2002)
Bowling for Columbine is a 2002 documentary from popular documentary filmmaker Micheal Moore. The film uses the 1999 Columbine school shooting as a jumping off point to comment on gun violence in America, and the flaws in the culture of the US in general. The main participant in the film is Micheal Moore, who interviews a range of people on both sides of the fence. Some interviewees agree with Moore’s opinions on guns, and others disagree. Those who disagree are often trapped by Moore, who asks provocative and clever questions to prove his point without ever needing to say it. The film even incorporates some celebrities, such as Marilyn Manson and Trey Parker.
The film was made by Micheal Moore as a political statement about the state of America when it comes to guns. Upon release, the film was very divisive in the US, but less so in other countries. The film is very significant, and even prompted the popular store K-Mart to completely stop selling ammunition.
Bowling for Columbine opens with Micheal Moore going into a bank and opening an account that comes with a free gun. This immediately establishes the themes that will be present throughout the film, Moore’s stance on the situation, and the answer to the question about why America has such a huge problem with gun violence.
The film is largely composed of 3 things; Moore speaking to people on camera, segments providing context such as the animated sequence, and Moore voicing over real life footage. Moore cuts between these 3 things, and weaves his own narrative about America and its gun violence problems.
The title Bowling for Columbine is said by Moore towards the end of the film, and acts as a sarcastic answer to the question the film is posing about the motives of Eric and Dylan. Moore suggests that people will point the finger of blame at anything except the truth, and so he decides that it is the bowling session (which never actually happened according to evidence provided in court) that caused Klebold and Harris to go on their killing spree. Just as many will blame video games, social isolation, and Marilyn Manson for the massacre, Moore chooses to blame bowling.
The film is at times a good example of a performative documentary, as it often involves Moore speaking to people in a way which helps to portray his narrative, but it doesn’t conform to this mode fully. There are animated segments, more ordinary interviews where Moore is not speaking or on camera, montages, pieces of security camera footage, and more.
Personally, I thought Bowling for Columbine was excellent. Im already very opinionated on the subject, and share the same general opinion as Moore, but the documentary taught me things I didn’t know, and explored the subject from a humanistic standpoint that is very compelling. I found the style to be very different to other films I’ve watched in the past which was nice, and I went on to watch Farenheit 9/11 because I enjoyed this film so much.
4.5/5