Bowling For Columbine Essay

Michael Moore's documentary, 'Bowling for Columbine', highlights the devastating state of gun violence within the United States. He also examines the events leading up to the tragic events that occurred at the massacre at Columbine High School as well as the impacts this had on society. The film was released October 11th, 2002 and was met with both critical and commercial success. It is now considered to be one of the best documentaries to ever be created, according to The Guardian.
The premise of this film is to uncover the reasoning behind America's huge issue with gun violence and how this has contributed to the Columbine High School shooting. It also aims to question the motives of the two perpetrators and discover what is really to blame for this devastating event that accounted for the death of fifteen people and the injuries of more than twenty others. Moore's techniques into uncovering and delivering information include interviews, statistics, the juxtaposition of information during montages and in specific the use of irony and sarcasm during narration which creates an odd mixture of humour and tragedy throughout the film.
Moore's commentary heavily focuses on the use of irony and sarcasm. In this film,
Using statistics proves the validity of the points being made and offers evidence as to why certain topics are issues that must be addressed. For example, during 'Bowling for Columbine' shares the scary statistics of the rates of gun violence from country to country, showing that the United States is unusually high for a developed country. This helps prove the fact that America is more trigger-happy than any other nation. It also shows us that there is no real reason as to why America needs these guns, if every other country is able to function with much stricter gun laws than why can't the USA? It contributes to the idea of pro-gun opinions being dangerous and highly