"Bowling for Columbine": The Culture of Fear
"American gun violence is largely caused by a culture of fear." This is what Michael Moore wants to tell us in "Bowling for Columbine". Violence is the product of fear. In episode 16 ―─ "Opening doors in Canada", I can see Canadians are not afraid. They do not worry about criminals who would break their doors and shoot. Americans can get guns easier than Canadians. Nevertheless, many Americans worry about criminals killing them. They are afraid of someone attacking who is armed so they resort to guns in order to protect themselves. When episode 19 shows―─ "Mark and Richard go to the K-Mart", they believe that if no one sells guns, no one will get hurt from them. People can get guns so easily. For example, in episode 1 ―─ "Bank that gives away guns", everybody can receive a free gun if they open a bank account and do the criminal background check. Michael Moore uses this example to show us that it is so common to own guns in America. It is like any gift from a bank such as candy or discount tickets. They are supposed to treat guns more seriously. They are weapons. It is not difficult to use them for killing people. In addition, I remember that Michael Moore has put in a surveillance video. Victims who are still alive said that the criminals legally purchased the guns from the gun store. People are not able to trust each other. Criminal background checks exists in name only. People change all the time. Last, Michael Moore chose"Interview with Charleton Heston" to be the end of his film. He wants to show people Heston's thoughts and standpoint. He uses so many examples to tell us the product of fear is violence. Michael Moore asked Heston for an apology to Columbine's victims, but he chose to ignore that instead of making an apology. American gun violence is a big issue. Episode 20 shows that we still need to work on this issue. The film has shown us that many people died from shootings in America because of the...