Bowling For Columbine

Hulu is a great place to watch some off-beat movies that are not huge blockbusters, but are good little flicks anyway. Tonight I watched Bowling For Columbine, the hugely controversial documentary that won Michael Moore an Oscar. It was a dark, quirky little movie. There are definitely a few claims made by Moore that are sketchy at best. But where the movie really hits its strides is in the abstract philosophizing that Moore includes about the root of violence in America. Yes this is on the surface, a movie about gun control. But it is more deeply a blistering indictment of the culture that has developed in the media of selling news for profit. Fear sells is Moore's point. He repeatedly asks the question why does America have 11,000 firearm related homicides a year when other countries like Germany U.K. and France have from 65-380. In the end I don't think he makes the argument about gun control. It's more about the culture of fear that is promoted by the news networks. While certainly not a factually perfect film, (Moore uses some sketchy data about U.S. funding of foreign militaries and makes some accusations about U.S. backed assassinations that are less than factual.) this documentary has heart.

Moore somehow gets great access to some people that are central to the debates. He has an interview with Charlton Heston, with Marilyn Manson, with survivors of the Columbine shooting, with the freed Olson brother who was involved in the OK city bombing and even Dick Clark (for a few seconds). This movie was enthralling to watch. Moore is certainly a master of the documentary format. He knows how to weave a narrative that gets his point across. This film succeeds the most when it uses quiet thought and real people to contemplate the ideas that Moore has. This is not the inflammatory mockunetary that Farenheight 9/11 was. It is a very thoughtful exploration of the root cause of violence in America. It is a very poignant tribute to the victims of the Columbine high school shooting and it was a great documentary to watch.