Feature
Review | Bowling For Columbine
Written by: Brian
Orndorf
Michael Moore’s “Bowling For Columbine” is a powerful
indictment of American insanity. It begins as a summation of gun
violence in the United States, and how we as a nation seem to have
become so used to all the death that surrounds us. Gradually, but
assuredly, the film opens up, and reveals an even darker heart, as
Moore tries to uncover deeper truths about our society in a way only
this Midwestern muckraker can.
Michael Moore has made a name for himself with his investigations
into Flint, Michigan’s decimation due to General Motor’s
mismanagement in 1989’s “Roger And Me,” and corporate lunacy in
1997’s “The Big One.” Moore has also hosted two television shows
(“TV Nation” and “The Awful Truth”), and written several
books. Taking the role of the everyday citizen who cannot believe his
eyes at all the corruption and injustice going on in this great land,
Moore has an enormous hate him or love him following. I’m in the
latter category, finding his work to be at best entertaining, at worst
calculating. But in the end, Moore is the guy taking on the important
issues that most individuals wouldn‘t go near.
“Bowling For Columbine” is no different. It’s incendiary,
one-sided, and often flagrantly manipulative, but Moore’s targets
are ones that have been untouched cinematically for too long. While
Oliver Stone consistently trips over himself trying to inject social
commentary into his films, Moore unabashedly runs full on into the eye
of the political hurricane, sometimes succeeding at making a point,
other times embarrassing himself. Either way, Moore can be continually
counted on to entertain, infuriate, and most importantly, enlighten.
“Columbine” opens as an examination of the events that occurred
in Littleton, Colorado, when teenagers shot up their school in April
1999. The media and the town blamed rock music and Hollywood, but
Moore tries to open the discussion wider, interviewing Marilyn Manson,
questioning why Charlton Heston and the NRA (which Moore is a member
of) showed up for a gun rally a mere two weeks after the tragedy, and
even talking to friends of the teenagers, who are clueless to why this
horrible event occurred (the boys even attended their morning bowling
class before the massacre). It is a fascinating journey into the soul
of this matter that few news outlets bothered to find. This gun
control focus eventually wears away in the film’s second half, as
Moore moves on from simpler targets to find the more elusive trickle
down effects gun ownership has on our society.
While some of the pieces are comedic (Moore visits a bank that
gives free guns for new accounts), horrific (there is footage from the
Columbine massacre included), fruitless (Moore tries to understand why
“all American” Dick Clark would own a restaurant that aligns
itself with a botched welfare system in Michigan), predictable (Moore
provides a theory that suggests American chaos is due to the increase
of media hysteria) eye-opening (the statistics for yearly deaths by
guns run as low as 68 in some parts of the globe, while America has
over 11,000), and just plain sad (Moore’s interview with NRA
spokesman Charlton Heston reveals that the actor blames race mixing
for the country’s woes), yet they are always compelling. You can
dismiss it as blatantly liberal rhetoric (and watch as I fall asleep
in front of you), or you can appreciate Moore for taking a bold step
in trying to comprehend why Americans are blowing each other away with
such alarmingly regularity.
“Bowling For Columbine” easily vaults to the top of Moore’s
work, and as his targets get bigger, and his aim sharper, I hope he
will continue trying to turn the world on its head. No other American
filmmaker seems to be trying as hard to do so.
Grade: 10 out of 10
COMMENTS
Date/Time of Posting: Nov 26 2002 / 08:59:48
IP Address: 57.67.142.180
name = Alexandra
Email = a.oliveira@eib.org
comments = Excellent review, excellent "infotainment", can't
wait to see Moore's next provocative examination of our (sorry,
yours!) society. Thanks for having seen this! Alex
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