Bric
Assignment #5
12/08/2012
Bowling for Columbine Michael Moore’s engaging documentary “Bowling for Columbine”, depicts the causes of America’s obsession with guns, and also takes an in depth look into what sparked Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to do the Columbine shootings. Moore is a decorated American left-wing filmmaker, author, social critic, and activist; Moore also has several critically acclaimed documentaries. Moore explores many reasons to why America is so obsessed with weapons, and mainly uses the Columbine incident to support these reasons. Moore claims throughout the documentary that America’s obsession with violence is correlated with the media, the violence that is conducted by America on other countries, and America’s gun control policies (Moore). Although Moore’s controversial documentary exposes many hidden issues about America’s leniency towards violence and gun control, there are also weaknesses to Moore’s documentary. Moore uses very weak evidence to support some of his claims; he lacks appropriate credibility in some areas, and also manipulates footage in order to convey his points across to the audience. Moore does an excellent job of exposing America’s obsession with weapons and violence; however he uses weak examples and lacks proper credibility in many of his claims. Michael Moore cover’s a broad range of controversial topics and relates them to America’s gun control policies in a very effective and unique way. Moore’s key supporting claims are the connections he makes between Canada’s lack of gun violence compared with America’s over usage of guns, and the fact that America instills fear into their citizens so that they feel the need to own a weapon (Moore). Moreover, Moore also demonstrates in many instances how easy it is to obtain a gun in America. To begin with, Moore compares Canada’s amount of killings in a year with America’s and Canada’s is drastically lower than America’s. This is a very effective argument because Canada
12/08/2012
Bowling for Columbine Michael Moore’s engaging documentary “Bowling for Columbine”, depicts the causes of America’s obsession with guns, and also takes an in depth look into what sparked Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to do the Columbine shootings. Moore is a decorated American left-wing filmmaker, author, social critic, and activist; Moore also has several critically acclaimed documentaries. Moore explores many reasons to why America is so obsessed with weapons, and mainly uses the Columbine incident to support these reasons. Moore claims throughout the documentary that America’s obsession with violence is correlated with the media, the violence that is conducted by America on other countries, and America’s gun control policies (Moore). Although Moore’s controversial documentary exposes many hidden issues about America’s leniency towards violence and gun control, there are also weaknesses to Moore’s documentary. Moore uses very weak evidence to support some of his claims; he lacks appropriate credibility in some areas, and also manipulates footage in order to convey his points across to the audience. Moore does an excellent job of exposing America’s obsession with weapons and violence; however he uses weak examples and lacks proper credibility in many of his claims. Michael Moore cover’s a broad range of controversial topics and relates them to America’s gun control policies in a very effective and unique way. Moore’s key supporting claims are the connections he makes between Canada’s lack of gun violence compared with America’s over usage of guns, and the fact that America instills fear into their citizens so that they feel the need to own a weapon (Moore). Moreover, Moore also demonstrates in many instances how easy it is to obtain a gun in America. To begin with, Moore compares Canada’s amount of killings in a year with America’s and Canada’s is drastically lower than America’s. This is a very effective argument because Canada
Cited: Cruriel, Jonathan. "Bowling for Columbine : Reviews & Acclaim : Articles & Press." Bowling for Columbine : Reviews & Acclaim : Articles & Press. N.p., 18 Oct. 2002. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. Kopel, Dave. "Bowling Truths - Dave Kopel - National Review Online." NRO. N.p., 4 Apr. 2003. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. Waak, Erika. "Bowling for Columbine: Are We a Nation of Gun Nuts or Are We Just Nuts?" The Humanist Mar.-Apr. 2003: 41. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Dec. 2012.