Bowling for columbine Michael Moore’s bowling for
Columbine was the winner of best documentary in 2003. It was made on a budget
of 4.3 million dollars and turned over a worldwide profit of 58 million
dollars. The film sees Michael Moore investigate America's obsession with guns,
and the gun culture, in
his own unique fashion using the
Columbine Massacre as a back drop.
The target audience is
mainly in the age range of 15 to 25 year olds which are statistically most
likely to go to the cinema and watch the film and people who are genuinely
concerned about the issue of gun ownership in America. It is also aimed mainly
at an American audience as all of the events which are discussed are in America.
The purpose of the film was
to make a profit, entertain, to encourage people to think more about gun
control in America and show people they can make a difference. The genre is
documentary and through the 3 documentary modes, expository, observational and
interactive, Moore is able to manipulate people’s representations to justify
the issues and themes put across in the film. Moore deliberately chooses to use
film as his medium because it is widely accessible and uses audio and visual
codes to serve his purposes. A variety of tones are used in the film which
Moore uses when appropriate such as comic but also uses a more earnest tone
when discussing more moving events in the film.
In this essay I will show
how the representations in Bowling for Columbine are constructed through
language to serve the institutions and their purposes. I will be looking
closely at the representations of Michael Moore himself, the American media and
the gun lobby of America. By using film techniques such as
irony, juxtaposition and sarcasm, in a remarkably powerful way, Moore
leads the audience through a deeply emotional and informative journey in his film,
bowling for Columbine. He clearly highlights the flaws in American society and
the terrible fact, that American gun culture is based upon fear which is
leading to the knocking down of much of their society. Through these
techniques, Moore invites the viewer to reflect on the values and attitudes
about human frailty and depravity and to question whether the gun laws in
America need to be altered.
Moore outlines the flaws in American society simply
by using juxtaposition as a technique of satire. Moore's effective
juxtaposition conveys the problems with gun control in America. Juxtaposition
between the "Wonderful world" music and the horrific scenes of all
the death America has caused is extremely effective as it shows that America
claims it is making the world a safe and "Wonderful World", whereas
the truth is that this is the complete opposite. Another example is the fact
that the town of Littleton, Colorado is seen as "a great place to
live", yet there is a stark juxtaposition with the world's largest
weapon’s factory situated right next door, and the town’s unpleasing history of
burglary and rape. Michael Moore is extremely successful in
communicating this technique, as he has achieved an excellent portrayal of the
problems in American society, being an American citizen and himself growing up
around guns. The gun problem is emphasised when Moore points out the shooting
of a six year old shooting a six year old in the town of Flint Michigan and
this is juxtaposed with the image of the NRA coming to the town to promote guns
The lift
The primary target audience for this
documentary is 18-40. There’s a broad age group included as the documentary,
been a short film appeals to a vaster audience that full length documentary,
younger audience would be more inclined to watch a shorter documentary as they
may lose interest with a full length documentary. The age is very young only
because of the feedback gained from the questionnaire; two 18 year old seemed
interested in the concept on the documentary. The content of the documentary
doesn't conflict with any age group and the participants of the interviews
throughout the documentary cover a range of different ages.
Marc
Isaac was born in the North of London, close to where he filmed his
documentary, The Lift. The 34 year old started working as an assistant producer
in 1995 before his 2001 documentary, The Lift. Since filming the lift he has
made 10 documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4, wining Grierson, Royal
Television Society and BAFTA Awards on the way.
I think
the documentary is very effective is giving an insight to life in London and
the diverse community of people it is home to. The documentary allows close and
intimate interviews with everyday people. Marc Isaac only asks general
questions and allows his subjects to express a free flowing answer which gives
the documentary a unique ability to really expose people’s inner feelings and
true lifestyle. I would certainly agree with the review I read about the
effectiveness of its simplicity and inclusive of diverse people, which is
representative of London’s multi-cultural society. The lift also
shows people’s attitudes to one another, and the divide of people in the block
itself. This is a point that is picked up in the review I read.
As he
commits to his two-month long documentary he begins to build trust among the
residents of the block and this is due to the confined and intimate space he
forces residents to share with him. His familiarity also allows him to ask more
personal questions to his subjects. A lift is a very unnatural setting, with a
very cold and mechanical feel where even the light isn’t natural so the real
and emotional response’s he receives emphasize the depth of human emotion and
mind.
Conclusion and comparison
The
documentary is very different to that of Michael Moores Bowling for Columbine.
Michael Moore is an icon to many viewers and has a strong fan base; this is
manipulated in Bowling for columbine with his heavy involvement and present. In
comparison to this Marc Isaac isn’t seen in the documentary and talks behind
the camera. There are also no archived clips in The Lift giving everything much
more realism. The was no change in setting as well making the
documentary much more focused on the people and what they have to say.
