Bowling for Columbine
Lam
ENG 3U
Ms. Teacher
September 25th, 2014
Bowling for Columbine
Michael Marshall once said “you can’t stop being afraid by pretending everything that scares you is there” that evidently means that fear is not real. It is the product of thoughts you create, however danger is real, but fear is a choice. When following Michael Moore’s journey in the documentary Bowling for Columbine, it is proven that most, if not all Americans live in fear. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns ultimately lead to America’s culture of fear, bigotry and violence in a nation of widespread gun ownership. Moore’s implementation of symbolism, satirical techniques and imagery support his criticism against the firearm regulations in America. He brings in the attention of how unstable the American gun culture is as he emphasizes the consequences to generate change in the American system.
To begin with, Moore’s adaptation of symbolism is bold and conveys a message to the audience that fear is nothing more than an obstacle that stands in the way of progress. For example, guns portray as a sense of security as over 39% of Americans own a gun within their households. For instance, Charlton Heston said, “The second amendment gives me the right [to own a gun]. Let’s say it’s a comfort factor to allow me to feel safe and not worry about it”. Yes, Charlton Heston has the right to have a loaded gun. However, having a loaded gun symbolizes fear of not knowing what may happen and so by having it at all times creates a comfort zone and one must rely on it constantly. People preaching to gun use are cowards; so afraid of the world they need an inanimate object to protect them when all else fails. They live their lives in fear and project that fear into violence as an attempt to make others as frightened as they are. Secondly, whenever there is an action there will always be a reaction. For example, the two perpetrators for the school shooting in
ENG 3U
Ms. Teacher
September 25th, 2014
Bowling for Columbine
Michael Marshall once said “you can’t stop being afraid by pretending everything that scares you is there” that evidently means that fear is not real. It is the product of thoughts you create, however danger is real, but fear is a choice. When following Michael Moore’s journey in the documentary Bowling for Columbine, it is proven that most, if not all Americans live in fear. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns ultimately lead to America’s culture of fear, bigotry and violence in a nation of widespread gun ownership. Moore’s implementation of symbolism, satirical techniques and imagery support his criticism against the firearm regulations in America. He brings in the attention of how unstable the American gun culture is as he emphasizes the consequences to generate change in the American system.
To begin with, Moore’s adaptation of symbolism is bold and conveys a message to the audience that fear is nothing more than an obstacle that stands in the way of progress. For example, guns portray as a sense of security as over 39% of Americans own a gun within their households. For instance, Charlton Heston said, “The second amendment gives me the right [to own a gun]. Let’s say it’s a comfort factor to allow me to feel safe and not worry about it”. Yes, Charlton Heston has the right to have a loaded gun. However, having a loaded gun symbolizes fear of not knowing what may happen and so by having it at all times creates a comfort zone and one must rely on it constantly. People preaching to gun use are cowards; so afraid of the world they need an inanimate object to protect them when all else fails. They live their lives in fear and project that fear into violence as an attempt to make others as frightened as they are. Secondly, whenever there is an action there will always be a reaction. For example, the two perpetrators for the school shooting in