Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Bowling for Columbine
In his documentary, Michael Moore paints Americans as a bunch of gun lovin', fear-mongering, violent people. He blames the U.S. gov't and television among others. Is he right? Why are we here in the U.S. more violent than other countries? Is it our history, as many people tend to claim? What parts of the movie were the most poignant to you and why?
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I definitely feel like the American media has a huge influence on it's people, and neagtively for the most part. Almost all aspects of the government are displayed through the media; therefore it is mainly the media that is to blame for most things. Not only is the media heavy on violence and advocate what people should be doing, but they advocate for what people should look like as well. For example, Anorexia is asscociated with Western culture, namely Americans. In places like Africa, those who are plump are envied because it resembles wealth and beauty. American media definitely skews things and takes them to extremes, so they definitely impact people and what they do in terms of violence.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think that the United States may be more violent than other countries because we are one of the most, if not the most diverse nation. People bring new cultures into the United States and new ways with them. As much as it seems like racism has diminshed, it is far from being resolved. People commonly fear what they don't know and don't understand and bacuse there are so many different people with different customs and beliefs people walk around uneasy and suspicious, feeling the need to bare arms because they don't understand what another person is about.
To me the most poignant part of the movie was hearing and seeing the tapes from Collumbine. The voices on the tape sounded so distressed that it was suspensfully fightening to watch.
In America's current society, we are dominated by fear. Michael Moore accurately depicts this through "Bowling for Collumbine" and shows how America is dominated by violence. As Moore shows, the media and the government both serve as major reasons to why thre American culture is corrupt. Actions taken by the U.S. governement as noted over time have been potentially dangerous to the American people. Because America acts like a "police" when other world conflicts arise, it brings the logic that violence is the only answer in the minds of Americans. THe media does not help either. When something small or irrelevant occurs, the media turns the situation into mayhem, causing havoc in the minds of Americans.
ReplyDeleteAs Moore also shows, the number one reason why violence is so high in America is because of fear. For example, when a robber tries to rob a bank, he carrie a gun because he fears getting caught. Likewise, everyone in America has the right to obtain a gun becuase they feel they are protected by it. Even dating back to the pilgrims, they brought guns with them to America because they feared what would happen to them in the New World. It is accurate to say our history has always been a violent one.
In the film, the most poignant parts to me were the parts that compared AMerican culture to Canadien Culture. It amazed to see how Americans didnt even lock their doors while Americans use mutliple locks on each door. ALso, it was interesting to see how the NRA would travel across the country promoting the possession of guns when sensitive and serious matters such as the Columbine massacre toomk place. Overll the movie was interesting to see and enjoyable.
I do believe Mr. Moore is right, it is an apt description to call us "a bunch of gun lovin', fear-mongering, violent people." I believe it is mainly the fault of new media, as everyday the news is just depressing and sad, x number of people died in Libya/Iraq/Afghanistan/etc. or someone was violently murdered or raped and the suspect is still at large. Instead of focusing on the good things of life, there will be one story about a cute animal or baby among countless of the same old depressing scenes of death and abuse. The government does not help either, as they tell us the same things as the news and also make the decisions to go to war or bomb other countries, trying to make us feel safe but instead just adding to the fear frenzy.
ReplyDeleteI think our history does play a major part in our violent tendencies, as we have been fighting ever since we became a nation from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror we never stop fighting. In this I see that we have the mentality that the only way to live in this world is to fight and keep on fighting, even if there are other, better, and safer alternatives. I also do think the ease at which we can acquire weapons and ammunition also factors in, as if bullets cost $5,000 like Dave Chappell said, there would be far less murders due to guns here. I think it is sad that a country that is such a melting pot of culture and diversity is plagued by endless violence and death, we are the world's leading super power and yet we have much of the world’s domestic violence at rates not even comparable to other major countries.
The most poignant part of the movie for me was the clip montage of all the terrible things the U.S. as done abroad juxtaposed against Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." It was a moving and eye opening scene and gave more to understanding why we are what we are in terms of violence. I also think seeing the footage from Columbine and hearing the phone calls was disturbing and suspenseful. Overall I really enjoyed this film and it opened my eyes to a lot of information I did not know about violence in America; I only wish it was more recent with updated statistics, as I'm sure a lot has changed in 8/9 years, probably for the worse.
The united states is one of the most violent countries in the world. We take it upon ourselves to "act" on the behalf of other countries. We as a nation have "helped" other countries through billions of dollars in weapons for their "freedom fighters".
ReplyDeleteWe as citizens of the united states are a proud people. Proud of our diversity and of our history, of how we fought as a nation to trump tyranny and do battle against those who do not wish for a republic to flourish under a country run by it's people. Is our history an excuse for being a violent nation? No it is not. Germany has less murders per year than we do, so does Russia, and Britain and France. So what sets us apart from them? We as a nation glorify violence... We put it in our books, in our movies, on the news. We glorify violence. Now that is partly our fault for viewing it and the nes medias fault for putting it up there in the first place. But the blame cannot be laid on one sole person because we are all to blame.
What struck me the most was the disrespect of NRA head. I personally would have dropped him when he showed up at columbine for the gun show. Also Chris Rock's sketch about setting the price up there was actually a good idea. But the thing that struck me the most was the availability of firearms and ammunition in the united states. The fact that you could walk into your local k-mart or walmart and purchase thousands of rounds of ammunition without so much as a question why from the employees. That really resounded with me
-Will Anway
I agree with Michael Moore's statement, and I think that the media plays a big part. I feel like if I turned on the TV, not only would there be news reports on acts of violence but also TV shows that seem to advocate violence. We see violence everywhere and it becomes the norm. The government also has an impact because as we've seen throughout history, they have done things that, over time, be perceived as acts of violence, and people seem to think if our government is doing such things, then so can they.
ReplyDeleteThe United States is more violent than other countries for many reasons but the main reason I think is because of our past. We have been known to intervene in the affairs of other countries and it gives the sense that we need to have violence in order to solve problems. Also, someone else brought up a good point, that the ease at which we can buy weapons definitely contributes to the fact that we are more violent.
The most poignant part of the movie for me was learning about the low violence rate in Canada. It wasn't that I thought they were a violent country, it was more of the fact that they didn't seem to think about violence at all. Most people were completely at ease with not locking their doors at night, which just seems incredible to me.
I definely do agree with what micheal moore said only because what he is saying and showing us is the truth. We have a real oroblem here in the U.S and we need to fix it. we go into countries saying were helping and helping them fix there countries when we haven't even fixed our own.
ReplyDeleteThe government does play a big role in this because they make it so easy to buy ammutions or even guns.They are basically putting guns in peoples hands. the U.S gov't does need to have tougher restriction on buying weapons without violeting peoples second amenement.
I don't think that our history has anything to so with us being violent because many countries like France and Germany have violent historys, but yet they don't have as many violence as we do here today. I think the only reason is because violence sells. Many news channels will choice vioences over something like a baby dying because it's more intersting and people would want to listen to someing like gun shooting. Like Micheal Moore said, we just glorify violences.
What shocked me from the movie was the fact that it was so easy to buy ammuntions just by going to K-mart. I was shocked because by doing that we are basically saying to young kids go a head and get a gun and kill people. since we proved it in places like K-mart. It's actually really sad to see.
I disagree with the fact that American media strikes more fear into the people than other countries. I've watched news in other countries are just as frightening as the United States. It is a our ambitious and aggressive nature to show and prove that we are the best in the world that we have such large firearm problems in school. Our leaders have always been aggressive towards enemy countries and this influences civilians to be aggressive towards their own enemies. Our history of always trying to fight and defend against the force of evil began ever since the colonists landed in America. I agree with Moore when he begins the movie by saying, "the President bombed another country whose name we couldn't pronounce." Ever since I stepped into American land, the United States has always been in war. It wasn't surprising to me when I heard recently that we will intervene into Libya to stop Qaddafi soon.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong; I don't believe that all Americans are violent and vicious with weapons, but too many people have access to firearms that shouldn't. I agree with the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms, but it should be with strict limits to self-defense only.
The parts of the movie that were most poignant to me me were the specific stories presented. I found the stories heartbreaking and it provoked thoughts of how much I am risking my life by going to school. Columbine is a high school like mine with probably just as much stress as mine. This movie made me believe that someone could very well come to school with a gun. I have felt much anger and stress in school so I could imagine someone with weak mental abilities could do something irrational and crazy...
I think Michael Moore is right. Television is such a big influence on us. Every channel seems to have some sort of violence on; news reports or soap operas, reality TV, any show basically displays violence. At such a young age kids are introduced to violence. For example one night I was babysitting these 5 year olds and they were watching Aladdin. The movie displayed guy stealing bread and 15 huge men running after with sword. During that scene the kids started to hit one another with plastic sword. It’s plastic sword now but later will it be? Just at a young age kinds are introduced to violence and they assume that violence is the way to go and on top of that it is introduced by media. Through media our government shows violence and when people see that they think it is alright to show violence. It is like the domino effect if one domino falls then the rest follow and fall too, just like in this case if the government thinks violence is the key to everything the rest will follow. And basically it’s something we have seen throughout history. The main reason why we are known to be more violence is because of we think that violence is the only way to solve problems. We think it is necessary to bring out the guns whenever possible and I think that is wrong. I totally understand when there is the need for guns to be involved but all they show is a big threat and I think that, that’s why the US seems to be more violent than any other country. I remember in the movie when they said it is so easy to get a gun over here. It probably is easy to get a gun but in other places it might not be. Because of our 2nd amendment I think the ability to get a gun is so much easier. The most poignant thing to watch was the little boy bringing a gun to school and shooting a little girl. IT proves my point that little kids get influenced at such a young age. The movie wasn’t sure if the boy had brought it intentionally but why just that little girl he just had to shoot. There were many other kids in the school that he could have. I am not saying he did it intentionally but just the fact he brought it to school is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Michael Moore's claim is exaggerated but rooted in truth. While there are certainly some people in the U.S. with the violent, scared mentality presented in "Bowling for Columbine," there is also a significant portion of Americans (mostly liberals) who strongly criticize the use and availability of guns in the United States. I think that a large part of America's glorification of guns and reliance upon them as a supposed means of assuring safety is caused in many ways by the fact that the U.S. is a relatively new country, thus coinciding its creation with the invention and popularization of guns. The use of guns in war was essential to the U.S. in gaining independence and, in combination with the fact that many American nationalists today place a huge value on our country's history and founding, the use of guns as a means of achieving success and asserting freedom has become a predominant idea in United States culture. I don't think that the U.S. government has influenced this mindset very significantly, although gun laws do play a role in our society's approach to guns. However, I do think that television and the media in general are major contributors to the massive number of gun-related deaths and injuries in the U.S. The portrayal of movie heroes, music celebrities, and other cultural icons as gun-toting, violent people desensitizes the public to the magnitude of damage that guns can cause (thus making people more likely to use them without understanding the consequences) and makes them seem like a method of protection and fulfillment one's civic duty rather than a weapon that promotes aggression and recklessness. Nevertheless, the American media's depictions of guns and violence have been shaped by the U.S.'s past culture and pre-existing beliefs, so television and the like create a cycle of increasing gun-glorification but did not cause it in and of itself; therefore, it still seems to be the parallel between the creation of the U.S. and the creation of the gun that cause our country to have much higher gun violence than others. The most poignant part of the movie was the footage from Columbine shooting and the student interviews given on that day; this showed how real individuals are affected by the widespread prevalence and acceptance of guns in this nation rather than merely presenting statistics and abstract concepts, and was much more effective than hearing people with little real-life experience speak about gun violence.
ReplyDeleteMichael Moore’s documentary succeeds in that it raises valuable questions concerning American culture. Parts of the movie were quite poignant, such as the footage of the Columbine shooting and the comparison to Canadian culture, which endures little gun violence. While watching the movie, this information had me convinced that Americans are, indeed, a bunch of “gun lovin’, fear-mongering, violent people.” The discrepancies in gun violence between America and other developed countries had me astonished. I could not believe that Canadians left their doors unlocked.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I found myself agreeing with a lot of Michael Moore’s points throughout the documentary, further research does not have me entirely convinced that the U.S. government and media are to blame for the gun violence within the U.S. While mass shootings are occurring with greater frequency, violence, in general, seems to be declining in the U.S according to a few articles and statistics on the internet. This trend does not correlate with the trend of the media’s increasing fear-mongering. Moreover, Canada is exposed to just as much violence through movies, T.V. shows, and video games as the U.S., but it has significantly less violence. Gun control is a large debate and the argument can go both ways, but trends generally reveal that areas with more gun control also have more violence.
I also do not think the U.S. is more violent due to its history. Japan is just one example of a country that witnessed much violence throughout its history, but remains less violent than the U.S. I believe U.S. may be more violent than other countries due to a culmination of various factors: the decadence of the family unit and education, the “thug” mentality, and the cultural diversity which leads to gang violence.
Honestly, i do now know why America has a higher murder rate then other countries. Maybe its the television, or maybe its the fact that the country is very diverse. However, i do not think that the government is to blame why America likes guns. We do have a violent past, but no more violent then any other country. i truly believe that any violent act the government brings is because of necessary means. They do not try to support violent acts and people (especially with the recent swing to a Liberal Presidency.) I would agree that america lives in fear but this is no the reason for so many guns. Do you really think that the Columbine massacre was fueled by fear? Absolutely not. If they were scared then they wouldn't have shot those people. I really can not tell you the true reason why they killed those people. This is a question that people have been asking for hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteThe most poignant parts of the movie to me was the timeline of september 11th. I was shocked when I heard that the CIA trained Osama Bin Laden. In retrospect, the whole situation seems very stupid. It doesn't really make sense to me why we would support the Taliban and then suddenly change our opinions so quickly. I feel like america has a problem with getting involved in business we don't need to get involved in.
I believe that Mr. Moore is correct as well. I do not think that our history plays much of a role, seeing as many other countries have just as (if not more) violent histories than ours. I believe that the media plays a major part in our “violent” ways. For example, if I was to look at what was being shown on TV right now, I feel fairly confident that there would be at least one crime drama, and several violent movies. This, in addition to the fear-inspiring news, causes more violence. Also, the violence portrayed is often glorified, where the way of the gun is the only way to “defeat the bad guys.”
ReplyDeleteThe most poignant part of the movie to me was the part where the little girl was shot by the little boy. It seemed apparent to me that the deaths were not truly the responsibility of the children, because they were so young. I viewed their deaths as directly caused by their violent society.
Michael Moore's documentary, "Bowling for Columbine" gave significant evidence proving that violence in the media has lead to the massive amount of gun violence in the United States. Every news channel in the United States will show violence and acts made to put fear in the minds of the viewers. The media believes that this is what sells and gets people to watch. Michael Moore shows that this violence in the media could be the reason that there are so many gun problems in the United States. The differences in the Canadian news and the United States show significant proof that the amount of violence shown to the general public could account for the differences between the levels of violence in each nation. Many of the reasons showed for gun violence shows that the people involved were reacting to fear or anger. Both of these can be caused by what is seen in the media. People today see the violence in the media as the norm. This causes many problems especially with children. If children grow up seeing violence as normal and inevitable, it will be nearly impossible to bring down the massive amounts of violence they may cause. Michael Moore showed this through the several examples of school shootings and violence involving children.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the government cannot be blamed for the amount of gun violence in this nation. The laws put in place by the government involving guns and weapons are similar to those in many other countries yet the United States shows a great deal more violence. It is very difficult to place the blame on one thing as to what causes the amount of violence in the United States but I believe that the evidence does not prove that the government has a great deal of power and influence over the gun violence. To me, it seems as though the major problem is that people see violence as normal. So much violence is shown everywhere that people have become immune ti the pain and violence that they see. It is merely considered normal.
In my opinion, the most poignant part of the documentary was the discussion of the Columbine shooting and the shooting involving the six-year olds. Each case showed so much sadness and pain in the communities and each act could have been avoided. It was extremely influential to see how those acts influenced so many people It is very sad to see children so young acting with so much violence.
After watching the bowling for columbine movie, I feel that the reasons why America is so violent were made clear. While I am aware that this is a documentary and could be considered biased, the depiction of American people was done well. People in America are violent. Violence is all around them, and has become a part of our everyday lives. Kids grow up playing violent videogames, they watch violent movies, and see violence on the news. Every single day, for the most part, if you turn on the 7 o’clock news, you will watch a story about someone, somewhere in the United States, being killed by a gun. Also, the United States has an extremely violent past, as well as present, and probably future. Although people protest war constantly, I feel that to the majority of people, war has become a lesser term. People do not understand how many people are killed from wars, and how often our country goes to war.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the movie was when Moore went the K-mart headquarters with the two kids from Columbine High who were shot but survived. I think that what they presented to the people of K-mart was very powerful stuff, and K-mart understood that so they retracted the sales of bullets at their stores.
I think that Moore did a good job of displaying multiple reasons or possibilities of why we are such a violent country.
In his documentary, Michael Moore raised many questions as to why gun violence is much worse in the U.S. than other modern industrialized nations. In this he did a good job. I don't think that you could point to one thing and say that it is the one reason why gun violence is this much worse, because it is that much worse, there are many underlying reasons as to why it is.
ReplyDeleteA big part of the gun violence is the second ammendment. Because it says in the Constitution that everyone has the right to bear arms, people think that it's their civic duty to go out and buy a gun and this makes them feel that they are doing something patriotic.
The corporate news in this country and the stories they choose to show and how they present them is also a factor. The manner in which they present the news does spread fear among people. For instance, recently news on the west coast has reported that radiation from Japan reaching California could be dangerous. In reality the radiation is in such small amounts that it is harmless once it reaches the U.S. But the people became caught up in the hysteria and bought massive amounts of unnecessary medicine that is very dangerous when taken improperly. The same effect happens when they exaggerate reports on crime and then many people go out, buy guns, and put bigger locks on their doors.
i think that America has so many guns because Americans are scared. it is the news' fault in my opinion because they always seem to show bad things on the news that makes people scared. It's always seems the same the news is all serious dangerous topics being discussed throughout and they usually to a two minute piece at the end about something nice or fun. i think that we are more violent then other countries because of the influences we surround ourselves with. think about it the most popular anything in are surroundings involves guns or drugs or sex. the musics all sex and drugs and killing. the popular movies are dramas where most likely something bad happens to somebody in it. the most popular video games are shooting games, killing people. i don't think it has to do with a violent history though. i really liked learning about what really happened at columbine, because it was a very intriguing happening. I'd say i also found the cartoon very interesting for the thoughts it brings up
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything Emmett wrote. Americans are scared, we only see the negative on the news at night and in the morning. The news as heard in the movie would rather show a murder than the fact that our planet is being destroyed by our car emmissions and toxic waste. A lot of music these days especially heavy metal and rap are about either sex drugs or shooting people, this influences people from a young age that this may seem ok because famous people do it or else its the gangster life. Why i think there are so many guns on the streets is because 1 people are afraid because of the media, they show robberies, murders and rapings. This makes the average american afraid that he will be robbed one night or get shot if there is any confrontation. 2 is because of orginizations such as the NRA and also the 2 ammendmant which is the right to bear arms. It is so easy to go purchase a weapon today, my cousin recently opened a night club in a not so nice part of new haven, you know what he did the first time there was any problem? he went and bought a .45 and 2 shotguns, he has no gun license, all he did was go to a gun expo with some cash, got a background check and walked out with 3 guns. If anyone can do that then whats stopping someone with a motive to kill to go and purchase a weapon. The part in the movie that i thought was most influencial is when the blind man was shooting the revolver and pull out an kalashnikov ak-47 which is illegal in the states because of it fully automatic capabilities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael Moore, the way he caries things out is a little extreme, but yet at the same time being too "quiet" didnt exactly make a huge impact either. so in a way i guess his attitude towards the issues was beneficial. I thnk that the U.S. is violent because in many parts of the country people believe that it is their duty to be armed because of their constitutional right, but i also agree with emmett when he says that people are scared. Having and hearing about so much negativity and violence daily in the news or on popular tv shows definetely adds to the fear. im not sure i agree with the fact that our history is to blame, people have to take reasonable responsibilities for the present, worrying about the past too much will make people more scared and make people want to protect themselves more which will lead to more weapons. it would be a vicious cycle if the mentality stays the same. the most poignant part of the film for me was probably how little responsibilty people were willing to take for their actions and the consequences, including the political figures or higher figures of authorites for specific organizations. it is sad they cant admit to their faults because no one will learn.
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