Bowling for Columbine
By Michael Moore

This movie is a documentary about the American gun obsession. Michael Moore, the writer of the film, tries to get answers to the following questions:
¨ Why do Americans have so many guns?
¨ Why are there in Canada just as much guns, but only a few murders?
¨ Who is to blame for all these victims each year?
¨ Why are Americans so afraid of guns, more than of e.g. pollution, which take many more victims than gun murders?

This documentary is inspired by the massacre on Columbine High School, Littleton by two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. They shot one teacher, twelve students and finally committed suicide.

Moore clearly questions the need of so many weapons. But lots of Americans tell him: ‘You’re not armed, you’re not responsible’.

The film also contains a cartoon from South Park, ‘a brief history of America’, which briefly shows the origin of the American fear and aggression, including the discrimination of black people and the ‘bus’-part about Rosa Parks.

Moore went to Canada to ask the Canadians why they have so few murders. He came to the conclusion that the American media frightens people. This is not the case in Canada. People trust each other in Canada. They don’t even lock their doors!

The part that touched me most, was the story about a 6-year old little boy who shot a tiny little girl called Kayla Rowlan. The boy could reach the gun, just because his parents hadn’t put it away well enough.

There was also a part about the K-mart in this documentary. Two victims of the Columbine massacre went there to give the K-mart it’s bullets, which were still in their bodies. With no success. The next day, one of the victims came up with the idea to buy all the bullets from the nearest K-mart, taking the press with them. And their plan worked. K-mart promised that from that day on, they would sell no bullets anymore.

I quite liked Bowling for Columbine. I agree with Michael Moore that so many weapons are useless. Although Moore is definitely trying to manipulate the watcher (e.g. look at the typical American baseball cap and jeans), he gives objective facts as well.