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Director: Michael Moore
Release Date: 2002
Rating: R (for some violent images and language)
See it on Amazon
 Looking for a film about bowling? This is not it. Bowling for Columbine, a Michael Moore documentary, is more about the annals of American society, the role of the media, and fear than it is about bowling or Columbine, though you get a morsel of both within the images. Once again, Moore puts together a poignant synopsis of the underlying ideals of America, the media, and the blame so readily placed on the wrong people.
The film opens with an astounding compilation of statistics on gun violence around the world, which brings to the forefront a question of America's sanity and civility. Moore brilliantly explores such questions and comes up with various ideas, allowing the viewers to process the information and come to a conclusion on their own. A must-see for any and every person looking for something deeper and more satisfying than your run-of-the-mill Hollywood ending, audiences leave the movie theatre with something to think about rather than just a dazed, mindless feeling.
Derailed Train of Thought
The film is a bit scattered at times. Bowling' jumps from questioning the welfare system and its negligence to address the parent's real role in the home, to an uncomfortable interview with NRA President Charlton Heston, to an interview with Matt Stone, the creator of South Park.
At times hilarious and at others horrendous, Bowling for Columbine culminates beautifully in the end with Michael Moore's fingerprints all over it. In the end, the film leaves you with a very desirable sense of unease about the way America is headed.
Bowling or Manson
Something Bowling' delves into is the way the media and the far right so easily cast the blame for the Columbine tragedy on Marilyn Manson, video games, and the Parents of Dylan and Eric. Moore exposes how ludicrous these claims are by bringing to light that the boys were enrolled in a bowling class that morning. Could this have set them off? Were their scores less than ideal? Of course this has no legitimacy, and as Moore illustrates in his film, perhaps other targets are at an equally consequential level of guilt as the sport the boys partook in the morning of the tragedy, and not the real issue at hand.
What a Wonderful World
Bowling for Columbine makes reference to a culture of fear, and the media's willingness to perpetuate this culture. Did you know that the violent crime rate in America has actually decreased in the last decade although news coverage and incarceration has increased? Why? Pardon the conspiracy theory, but it does make sense that the major proponents and supporters of the networks would benefit from fostering a society that needs the NRA and big business to protect them from all their evil-hearted neighbors; even if their neighbors are not truly so evil-hearted but really just as afraid as you are. To emphasis this the film shows Canadians in major cities leaving their homes without locking their doors - something Americans would rarely do. Moore also demonstrates his ability to get his foot in the door of big business by going to the corporate offices of Kmart and waits around until it is very apparent the employees just want him, and the two survivors of Columbine accompanying him, to just go away. He does not leave until Kmart promises not to sell any more bullets for semi-automatic weaponry.
Michael Moore's 3rd documentary, Bowling for Columbine won the best documentary award at the Cannes International Film Festival, and it is easy to see why. He has established himself as an icon in the campaign to expose the problems of corporate America through brilliant filmmaking. Bowling for Columbine is a breath of fresh air in a barren movie market.
Related Links:
Bowling for Columbine website
Katie Joannes' website
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