Year: 2002
Director: Michael Moore
Country: U.S
Language: English
About a year ago I reviewed Bill Maher's Religulous and gave it a horrendous "piss on it" rating. Mainly because it was a trashy film that used editing and terrible interviewees (an actor who plays Jesus) to answer incredibly thought provoking questions. Michael Moore essentially does the same thing, yet he's better at hiding his pseudo-intellectualism. Though Bowling For Columbine may have a good message (guns are bad) Moore presents it in a dishonest way.
In Bowling for Columbine, Pseudo-intellectual Michael Moore sets out to explore the roots of gun violence, or violence in general, in the United States. He finds his answer: Guns!
A small synopsis of Bowling for Columbine, but that's essentially what this film is about. Michael Moore saying "guns are bad" in as many different ways as he can. He doesn't bother to go into any deeper issues like poverty, homelessness, racism and various other factors that have been proven to be causes of violence. He points his finger at ONE issue in which he doesn't do much research on. K-Mart sells guns! OMG! You can get a gun at a bank! OMG! This film's entire success is based on the fear and anxiety of the American people.
What Moore didn't mention is that while that particular bank does give out guns, they're much harder to get than the film shows. There is a criminal background check including photo ID check and an FBI background check. Then, to get the gun, you have to open a 10 year Certificate of Deposit. The gun also doesn't come with ammunition. While I don't particularly like the NRA, Moore attempts to link the NRA to the KKK which is dirty considering the founders of the NRA were against slavery. His attempts to belittle the great Charlton Heston are cruel, he was an ill 80 yr old man who has been an active member of the civil rights movement. Moore "cleverly" edits their conversation to make Heston look like an angry fool. If I was Heston I'd be angry at Moore's disrespectful attitude too.
In conclusion, while Moore criticizes the media for being narrow minded on this issue and blaming videogames or music, he forgets that he's doing THE EXACT same thing with guns. I'm not defending the NRA or guns because I strongly dislike them both, I'm just saying that Moore simplifies the issue and even when it's just about guns he doesn't make an intelligent argument. He creates fear through dirty tactics like harrasing a movie star with alzheimer's. All his films repeat the same formula but with a different topic, so only one review of a film of his is necessary. Piss on it! 0/5
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