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POLITICA >>Reviews | ||||
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Politica is a forum for independent analysis of political events around the World |
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Moore, M. 2002. Bowling for Columbine. Rating: JJJJJ About the Author: Michael Moore is a writer and a film maker. His most recent book, "Stupid White Men" is reviewed elsewhere in Politica. He lives in Michigan. Publications by the same author:
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Review The documentary genre is a rare occurrence in the modern cinema, where fiction reigns supreme. And yet, as Michael Moore's brilliant speech at the Oscars reminded us, we live in "Fictitious times", where America is ruled by a "Fictitious President" who sends his nation to war for "Fictitious reasons". Moore's speech shocked the audience because, like his film, it exposed the truths that nobody dares think about. These truths are that something is very wrong with America, which is run by a white society permeated by a culture of fear. Fear of the foreigner, fear of the terrorist, fear of the blacks. Bowling for Columbine purports to analyse the ultimate causes behind the fatal shooting of several students and a teacher by two marginalised pupils at Columbine high school. But in fact it is far more than that: it is an indictment of the violence of the American state against so many nations of the World, of the powerful and insensitive gun lobby which ensures that an already paranoid society has enough firepower to inflict casualties on a massive scale. From the outset, Bowling for Columbine rejects the false objectivity of fly-on-the wall documentaries; it is unashamedly reflexive, with Moore appearing in front of the cameras and getting personally involved with the main subjects. The fallacy that there is no interaction between subject and filmmaker in non-fiction is thus exposed. Moore is not neutral about the issues of violence in America, and the editing blatantly leads the viewer to Moore's own conclusions. Moore made his interference so apparent for a reason: to show us how easily facts can be manipulated to fit any ideology. By doing this, he makes us think twice about the mainstream news, often heavily biased, but where great efforts are made to hide the manipulation of the facts from the viewer. Also, Moore's deliberate juxtaposition of contradictory scenes is a marvel of counter-propaganda. For example, the comments of a Lockheed-Martin representative expressing condemnation of the school shootings are followed by scenes from the Gulf War and other American aggressions, with American weapons (mostly manufactured by Lockheed Martin) causing carnage among thousands of innocent civilians, whose deaths were never mourned, as opposed to the handful of Columbine students. Bowling for Columbine not only brings the documentary genre back into the limelight, it is an emotional and yet realistic chronicle of the American Way, an exploration of the roots of violence in modern American society, a violence that all too often spills out onto the rest of the World. This film will make you laugh and it will make you cry, but above all, it will leave you better informed than ever before.
Last updated 01/04/03 |
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