What does it feel like to be on crack-cocaine? “Bowling for Columbine,” Michael Moore’s blitzkrieg of a documentary, may be a comparable substitute for those of a sober heart and mind.
How does a gun flick turn into U.S. foreign policy in a pill? And who knew Michigan law allows a dog to shoot its owner? Viewers susceptible to mental whiplash are strongly advised to stay away from this film.
If the questions posed have no answers, that leaves time to ask more questions. Questions without answers? It’s true. According to Moore, the only certainty is that the United States is run by a bunch of stupid white men … with guns.
For the past few years, Moore has been compiling found footage and footage of his own, working toward a film that he admits was his fallback plan. Moore’s initial scheme, running for the NRA presidency, fell through when he vowed to dismantle the association if elected. Moore’s uncanny flair for David inspired a two-hour onslaught of fact, moving beyond the NRA, attempting to slay the present day Goliath — America’s culture of fear.
The byproducts of fear were right in Moore’s backyard — Flint (and Michigan in general) is a gun-toter’s delight. The opening scene of “Bowling for Columbine” shows Moore opening a savings account at a local bank. The free gift: a gun. Turns out, the bank doubles as a licensed firearms dealer.
Moore is encouraged by the bank manager to check the rifle’s sights right in the main lobby. And as Moore points out to the manager, “maybe a bank’s not the best place to be handing out free firearms.”
Moore’s real-life comedy of errors continues for a good half hour. He saddles up with the Michigan Militia for a day at the range. Everyone and his uncle has a funny hunting story, but it’s during this visit that Moore comes across a story for the ages — a shooting dog caught on tape. Dressing a dog in camouflage and slinging a loaded rifle on its back can be a bit risky, but all in good fun. The dog’s aim wasn’t very good, resulting in a mere flesh wound to the owner’s leg.
Michael Moore explores the Militia’s darker side with a visit to James Nichols’ home. He’s the brother of Terry Nichols, good friend of Timothy McVeigh and strong supporter of the Second Amendment.
Nichols believes in guns for personal protection. Good enough, but can a man linked to this country’s second-largest act of terror bear arms? You bet. Cocked and loaded, Nichols presses the barrel to his head … for fun. Moore is scared stiff.
He also tests Nichols’ knowledge of the Second Amendment. What are “arms?” Moore insists that every citizen should have the right to bear weapons-grade plutonium. Nichols doesn’t agree. He informs Moore that there are real whackos out there. Responding to this, Moore asks Nichols if he supports Gandhi’s non-violent ways of conflict resolution. Nichols didn’t know of any Gandhi. At least he can play with his guns.
How is Michigan related to Columbine High School? One of the shooters was born and bred in Moore’s home state, and Michigan’s largest air base is stocked with ammo from Lockheed Martin, Littleton, Colorado’s largest industry. While politicians pointed fingers at the likes of Marilyn Manson, Lockheed Martin’s presence never fell under scrutiny — until Michael Moore came to town, bowling for Columbine.
The right wing may want to run and hide. “Bowling for Columbine” slowly departs from light humor to expose an ugly American agenda. What is the cause of gun violence in America? Music, movies, video games, divorce, poverty, ethnic diversity and stockpiles of guns, right?
The fact is, these factors exist at much higher rates in many other developed countries. These other world powers, when added up, suffer approximately 1,000 gun homicides per year, compared to 11,000 U.S. casualties. Seventy percent of Canadian homes contain firearms. And as Moore displays by walking into many strangers’ homes, they always leave their door unlocked. Of course, the overwhelming majority of Canadian firearms are unloaded hunting rifles, not pointless handguns designed to kill other people.
So, America is under siege today by the likes of snipers and Iraq. At least, that’s what President Bush and the media would like the general public to believe.
Moore pieces together a chilling montage, documenting the amount of innocent lives U.S. foreign policy has cost the world over the last 50 years. The answer is well over a million.
On the day of Columbine, the United States bombing of Kosovo reached a pinnacle. We are supposed to fear outside forces? Moore presents the obvious hypocrisy. Fear breeds the need for consumption, and Americans have plenty of money with which to consume. Television news could focus on the recent car crash on Wisconsin’s I-43 (which claimed more lives than the D.C. sniper) but chooses not to.
President Bush proclaims that national security needs to be our top priority. The annual homicide rate due to guns is more than three times that of the amount of people lost on Sept. 11.
This brings us back to Lockheed Martin. Striking fear into the hearts of Americans pays off. The best way to combat box-cutters is multi-million dollar bombers. Our nation needs this.
Lockheed Martin, gaining leverage, decided to venture into Michigan’s welfare-to-work program. This program forces single mothers to bus 50 miles each way to earn minimum wage in rich neighborhoods. It’s the same program that uprooted a single, black mother from her home when her six-year-old son shot and killed another little girl. Politicians blamed it on bad parenting — the same politicians who support welfare-to-work, who helped Bush and the boys snatch a few extra pennies from the poor.
Guns and the NRA are just the tip of the iceberg. Moore provides no easy answers, but he believes the United States can do much better. Canadian teenagers laugh when they hear Americans’ stance on health care, citing “the right to live” as pure common sense. Canadians get free health care.
Despite recent sniper attacks, President Bush opposes ballistic fingerprints for firearms, citing “the right to bear arms,” which is backed by an organization founded the same year as the KKK and which outlawed African-Americans’ right to bear arms well into the 20th century. The NRA is only four million strong.
What about an entire country’s right to live, Mr. President? His answer is far too predictable: Iraq. Beat up on the weak without listening to them. This has become the American way. This is the treatment Eric and Dylan received at Columbine High School. Our foreign policy was shining bright that day.
“Bowling for Columbine” debuted at the 55th Cannes Film Festival this past summer. It was the first documentary to be screened there in 46 years. The social commentary received a 13-minute standing ovation — and it never answered any questions it posed.
Michael Moore comes from impoverished Flint, Michigan. This is a town of people whose work ethic far exceeds anybody who tries to help them, but unfortunately they are on the downside of advantage. Flint is a lot like the rest of the world, where “we” still carries more weight than “me.” A world where listening to the less fortunate provokes thought, not fear. A world where taking advantage of the less fortunate requires more effort than providing them with aid.
A closed fist and greed may be right for “me,” but an ear and understanding is better for “we.” “Bowling for Columbine” forces any American to face a harsh reality. Dylan and Eric revolted against a society of “me,” and the rest of the world knows this.
A 13-minute standing ovation is just the beginning.
Grade: A
