An Analysis of Bowling for Columbine

Michael Moore made a political documentary called Bowling For Columbine and in

it, he relayed the fact that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had a bowling class.

Before shooting up the school, they went bowling, which explains the title. But

the film was really not about the Columbine massacre. That was just a way to

introduce the subject of violence. That said, the film was not exactly about

violence either because at the base of this documentary was the impression that

America is just not fair. Michael Moore makes the point by taking the argument

to Canada. Why is it that Canada has guns but the crime rate is lower? The

obvious answer--that the audience simply has to surmise-- is that America is

class based.

        

Behaviors and events depicted in the film Bowling for Columbine are carefully

crafted to portray this point of view. It is not meant to take a fair look at

the subject. Rather, as in all of Moore's films, he likes to surprise those

included in the film. Many of his tactics are questionable, but his logic is

mesmerizing. While one can point to flaws in his ideas, it is hard to completely

oppose his points. He makes extremely interesting connections between events. He

goes from Columbine to his home town where a shooting takes place in grade

school. It is an unfortunate event, but the event takes place not because the

boy did not have a good mother, but because his mother was poor. Rather than the

government giving her public assistance so she could raise the boy, she would

have to work for her money. It seems fair, but the reality appears less than

fair. She had to commute a long distance for a low wage job and because she was

never home, the single mother could not adequatel!

y supervise her child. Living with relatives--one of whom did have a gun--the

boy found the gun and took it to school. The end result was tragic. Of course,

the message is hardly about guns, but about social stratification. The point is

that America is violent and it is not the only country with guns.

        

Wrightsman, Lawrence, Greene, and Nietzel, in their book Psychology and the

Legal System, look at a variety of issues. For example, they relay the belief in

a just world (70). Might Moore be taking this position when he examines America?

There is a sense that justice must prevail, but it is a justice based on equity.

For Moore, this sense of justice is clear, but for others, that is not

necessarily the case. Many Americans pride themselves on a work ethic and do not

believe that the money should be distributed evenly. They believe that they have

a right to amass wealth and that the poor must survive on whatever they can.

They claim that there is a trickle down effect or that the private sector will

pick up the slack. Although money is not distributed