What Is Bowling For Columbine Persuasive Speech

Bowling for Columbine is a participatory convention documentary written, directed and starring Michael Moore. Michael Moore is an accomplished, distinguished and controversial documentarian. He is somewhat deceptive in his techniques, but is overly effective in gaining the audiences support of his viewpoints. This is no different in Bowling for Columbine. Bowling for Columbine highlights America’s obsession with guns and attempts to uncover the flaw in the American psyche which has led to this obsession. Furthermore, Moore try’s to show the violent and deadly effect that guns can have in the wrong hands. The ideas that are presented in Bowling for Columbine still remain topical in American society some 14 years after the film’s release. Michael

One of the explanations that some people concluded was that Marilyn Manson and his music drove the deranged boys to commit the shooting. Both listeners of Manson’s music, the artist came under huge scrutiny and criticism for his songs and especially the lyrics that they contained. In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore interviews Marilyn Manson in an attempt to disprove these previously held prejudices. Interviews are used by Michael Moore throughout Bowling for Columbine to attempt to show the ‘truth’ and what is real. In the Marilyn Manson interview, Michael Moore sets up the interview so that what is seen by the audience is the ‘real’ Marilyn Manson. Instead of seeing a dark and evil like personality we actually see that Marilyn Manson is not who people think he is. “I can see why they target me. My face is easy to put on the T.V. Im a poster boy for fear, I represent what everyone is afraid of”. Michael Moore purposely included this quote from Marilyn Manson as it disproves the prejudices that we as the audience has before watching this interview. This interview is made effective by Michael Moore with effective use of editing the interview and including and excluding sections of the interview. The Marilyn Manson interview is a direct interview as we hear Michael Moore asking Manson questions on the screen. This direct

The techniques that are used throughout the film better illustrate the purpose and meaning of Bowling for Columbine. Michael Moore brings the issue of guns back down to a personal and individual level, using the destructive Columbine shooting as a catalyst to enhance his point of view. While manipulative and sometimes untruthful, Bowling for Columbine is a great piece of advocative material for gun control. The two scenes that I analysed; ‘What a Wonderful World’ and the Marilyn Manson interview scene both clearly display Moore’s wider purpose in creating this film. The aspects of these scenes which I discussed, purpose and the use of interviews, further develop the viewers understanding of Moore’s work. I enjoyed Bowling for Columbine as even though the gun issue is not as relevant in New Zealand society, it is a growing issue and many experts are predicting that another mass shooting similar to the 1990 Aramoana shooting will occur again if we don’t tighten our gun laws. The overall success of Bowling for Columbine has not reached the level that Michael Moore would have hoped when he was making the film, while Moore received an academy award for the film, gun ownership is at an all-time high in America and mass shootings are a regular occurrence. Just two months ago there was a shooting in an Orlando nightclub that killed 49 and