Genre: social documentary
Director: Michael Moore
Release: 2002
Studio: Dog Eat Dog Films, United Artists Films et al. – MGM Distribution Company
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.2/10
'Happiness is a Warm Gun'
If John Lennon borrowed a slogan from a gun magazine to write a hit song, Michael Moore went one step further and documented America’s fascination with firearms in BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE.
Moore, himself a member of the National Rifle Association, pulls no punches in this important documentary on the excesses of gun culture. Using the horrible Littleton killings as a starting point and giving a voice to Columbine students, Marilyn Manson, Charlton Heston and various other stakeholders, his film decries the climate of fear and violence now prevalent in America. There is no denying that Moore does succeed time and again in his demonstration, as when he cites a bank promotion offering a rifle to new customers and recounts terrible stories of gun misuse. For good measure, he also rebukes corporate America, criticizes all recent US Administrations and confronts a couple of prominent people to devastating effect. His agenda may be ambitious but Moore, who knows how to provoke while putting on a good show, manages to deliver a film both tragic and entertaining, a feat very few other documentarians can accomplish with equal brio.
Some may suggest that Moore’s treatment is sensationalistic and lacks depth but it must also be said that the issue he tackles is deep-rooted and complex. Throughout history, America has relied on guns to expand, to protect itself and to advance its view of the world. To Moore’s argument that Canada is less fixated with weaponry than the US, I would add that meteorological and cultural factors – aside from America’s status as a great warrior nation – may also explain this difference. For one thing, those harsh winters in the Great White North do affect one’s attitude towards life and his fellow man. For another, Canada is less entranced by Hollywood, a force for good but also a formidable marketer of violence. Would the world be a better place if the movie business renounced certain genres that add nothing to the human experience? I certainly think so. Don’t we already have enough gorefests, super heroes, serial killers and speed freaks to last us a generation or two? Most definitely.
That being said, Moore’s film has great social value but is no masterpiece either. In his haste to lambaste, our man from Flint does take a few short cuts and his train of thought gets muddled halfway through but, to his credit, he manages to regain his footing and to close with energy and impact. His case may not be to everyone’s liking but, at the very least, his readiness to question a national trait shows courage and, yes, a good dose of patriotism. It is by practicing a dialectic approach that America has attained greatness as a nation. Moore’s effort at consciousness-raising simply follows this old and venerable tradition.
Whatever your opinion, it is essential that you watch this Cannes and Oscar winner from a first-rate American polemicist.
MBiS
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