Bowling for Columbine

If you’re after a light-hearted film that offers a couple of hours of escapism and a chance for your brain to switch off, then this may not be the film for you.

However, if you like to think a little more deeply about some of the things that are wrong with modern society, then Bowling for Columbine, winner of the 2003 Academy Award for Best Documentary, is a must-see.

Director Michael Moore (who is also the author of the best-selling and very funny book Stupid White Men) asks some tough questions about the American culture, particularly the love of guns and the obsession with violence.

Why is it that the number of gun murders in the US is so much higher than in other nations, including Canada (similar rates of gun ownership and higher unemployment), Britain (higher rates of marital breakdown), Germany (violent history of wars, and much more Gothic and heavy metal music), and Japan (source of most of the world’s violent video games)?

What is wrong with the following pictures?

• a bank handing out a free gun with every new account opened;
• a young mother dressed from head to foot in camouflage with babies crawling over her lap, explaining why it is her national duty to protect her family with a gun;
• an executive from Lockheed-Martin (manufacturer of missiles and military aircraft) standing in front of a half-built “weapon of mass destruction,” telling the cameraman that his company has made a large donation to Columbine High School to fund anger-management programs for the students, “to teach them alternative ways of dealing with anger rather than violence.”

The troubled teenagers who shot and killed their fellow students and teachers at Columbine High School had spent that morning at the local ten-pin bowling alley. Why was everybody blaming heavy-metal music and violent TV shows for the carnage that followed, when it is just as likely that bowling played a role?
Why do people lock their doors in the US but not in Canada? Why do Americans seem to fear each other so much? Why is the suspect in any crime always a black male until proven otherwise? And following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, should a nation of people who are so out of control with fear be trusted with guns?

To answer these and other questions, Moore interviews a wide range of people, from survivors of the Columbine High School massacre and the parents of those who died; members of the Michigan Militia (of whom the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was a member); actor Charlton Heston, leader of the National Rifle Association; heavy metal musician Marilyn Manson; as well as police, teachers, politicians and ordinary people on the street.

The resulting film is humorous (but never frivolous), moving, irreverent at times, but always thought provoking. Watch this film with friends or show it to your church’s youth group, and be prepared for the lively debate to follow!