Bowling For Columbia

Bowling For Columbia

Bowling For Columbia is a documentary in which the director "Michael Moore" expores the violence and gun control around America and is made after the school mascare in school in at Columbia school, and it explores Americas violent history round over mascares in America and mascares Americans have set upon the world. 

I feel that this documatry really rases some unanswered questions and how dangrous America is as a country and how much of a layed back appraoch a lot of them have towards owning a gun and how easy it is to buy one, examples of this are there local supermarkers (K Mark and Walmart) you can go into them are just buy bullets as easyly as buy a DVD and the two teenagers that comited the mascare in the school did that and which lead in lots of deaths and familys that will never been seen, i feel the documentary really gets you too try and feel how the parents and town felt after this shooting by showing real CCTV footage of the two teenagers throwing bombs and shooting and news footage of interviews of students and parents talking about it with real emoution, it is one of many bits of eviendance which leads questions to why is it so easy for people to buy dangrous weapons to harm people and what does it come down too? Film? TV? Music? violent history of America? or the upbringing? in a way all of them.

I would say in a way yes film, tv and games do give a impression on how cool it is too have a gun and be an action hero but i wouldnt say its the reason why there is gun and violant crime in America but some people are easyly lead on by things and get into there head they can be just like people who are on the tv, films and games. While its not just those elements that make people use guns or kill i feel like it all comes down too upbringing and the violent hisotry America have had and how war is glorified in every part of the Americans day to day life, its also the whole "American Dream" a happy family a good job coming home with dinner on the table but also a gun in one hand it kill anyone who will get in the way of the "American Dream".

The first part of the film (20 mins) is all about pro guns and interviews people who love guns and belive in the "American Dream" and every American should have a gun and what keeps them safe are guns, while the rest of the film goes on to show the masscaures involing schools and the youngest killing with a gun in a school being six year old girl who was shot by another six year old in her class this made me feel discasted, in the fact the six year old was able to get a gun in the first place and i think a mirror needs to be held up too America and show them everything that is really wrong with it and i feel this documentary is just that but too some people i feel this documentary will be one of those fun fair mirrors which are fake and they will not see there probluem and this film is just showing how much worse America is getting with violence and gun crime.

My pre notes on the film before i watched it were about what i throught would be in the film and what would it show and be about and i feel like I got it right with what i predictated by saying that i would have things such as;

• People against war
• People with an open mind
• Pros and Cons about guns
• People who dont like either America or how America has turned out like
• Americans who want there country to change for the better or that guns is the future of safty
• News/Archive Footage
• Elements of humor
• Interviews

I feel like the documentary had this all and more it also had examples of how much the news has a strong empression on people, it can make them scaried in one news report and if its something serious gun sells start to rise and scaired nervous people with a gun dont seem to end up well and leads into more violence which is another bad empression on childern maybe this is one of the reasons children and teenagers are doing these guns crimes and masacures.

My overall reaction too the documantry is shock in already knowing that gun crime over there is bad but to just see how bad it really is and how easy it is get buy a gun is shocking and the surrport guns have as well is so ridiclous something that can damage someones life with just one pull of a trigger should not be so easy to get and it all comes down to America wanting to be the most powerfully country but for them too do that it comes with a cost but how long and how many dead children and people will it take for America to realise that the cost is too high and i feel like Micheal Moore really does a good way of showing this and has made me really look at America in a different way.