Review: Bowling for Columbine

I couldn't believe that I could stayed up the night of a weekday for a one hour and 59 minutes until 2 am in the morning to watch a documentary on guns, moral, and socio-economic maladies in the United States.

Nevertheless, the brilliance of Michael Moore in his Bowling for Columbine that grabbed the Academy Awards for a documentary feature is a very honest insight and analysis to all the problems crippling the social values in the America.

Moore explored the two events that set the main theme of this entire production, the Columbine school shooting and the 6th grader killing by another 6th grade kid.

The American historical background against other countries, the interviews with the victims and suspects (of Oklahoma bombing, Waco, Columbine, Littleton, etc), the case against the National Rifle Association (NRA), the byproducts of those events, the counter and balance argument against why did those things had to happen, the new reality in the changing economic landscape and welfare program, and the petition against Kmart selling of shotguns and ammunition probably best describes this entire documentary.

Thus, for me watching this documentary is like going through a social analysis and its historical backdrop of America. Little did I know that:

1. Columbine is located near the Lockheed Martin weapon plants,
2. South Park was actually a derivate of the Columbine 'massacre',
3. America dropped more bombs and killed more people in the Kosovo war more than any other days during the battle on the same day of the Columbine killing, that President Clinton, went out on national television twice that day,
4. Reform in welfare program has taken a dimension that it dehumanize the goal of its program,
5. The students who were shooting at the Columbine high school were at the bowling alley the morning of the tragic event,
6. Charleston Heston dared to rally alongside the NRA in both towns just after events took place,
7. Mairlyn Manson was the main blame for he was the idols to those kids who did the shooting
8. Most importantly, if one is to answer why those events unfold in America, there couldn't be any single answer to it. Moore attacks all his interviewee reasoning by logical arguments that you couldn't deny. At least, Charleston Heston in the final interview of the documentary failed to argue with Moore points.

If you are (or were) or somewhat took a course or two or majored in political science or economics, this is a good source of ‘edutainment’. Or perhaps if you would want to understand the history of America, there's a good cartoon slot in this documentary that satirically done it well.

In all, I think the purchase of this DVD worth every single cent of it for it has given me a lesson to look into things from different angles. Kudos, Moore!

Comments

[Andrea]

you obviously are one of those people that take everything at face value and didn't look into the real facts of this movie. The NRA had to still go to Denver because they needed 10 days notice to change the venue but the shootings happened 11 days before the convention was to be held. the speech he gave and is shown on the video it spliced by moore and isn't even all from the same speech. If you watch closely, he is wearing a different suit and tie. thats because he gave that second speech a year later. There is lots more if you acutally open your eyes and look around.

[Dylan]

HI, Wow.. this is a very informative website! I enjoy your site very much! Keep up the good work!

Dylan

[zlanz]

Just watched BFC last nite! Excellent documentary. Marylin Manson seems more knowledgeable than Charleston Heston and Dick Clark! and Bush for that matter..

[izwan]

halo there i also heard many thing about BFC and then UBU had show the documentary and sobranie this weekend will come up the screening and i will lose the chance to catch it up....welll i will search it till the end man ...can u give me the palce how to get it well i kinda hungry for diz BFC tahnks.....