Movie review
Bowling for Columbine
Michael Moore, the acclaimed muckraking moviemaker, has done it again with Bowling for Columbine. As the title implies, he opens with the 1999 high school massacre in Littleton, Colo. – but that’s not all. In this hard-hitting inquiry into our country’s epidemic of gun violence, Moore examines, and goes beyond, several conventional explanations of its causes. His main conclusion: it stems from fear, mass-produced by the commercial news media. He makes clear that the manufactured fear is based on racism and class discrimination. He also emphasizes the role of the National Rifle Association and its false concept of “freedom.”
In his usual biting, satirical, “cut the crap” style, Moore draws connections between gun violence and such things as the horror of welfare “reform,” the domination of the Denver area by military contractor Lockheed-Martin, U.S. imperialism’s world-wide terrorism, the hypocrisy of President Bush, and other issues. As always, there is a bitter irony that would be hilarious if not so tragic, though there are several truly funny scenes. In Moore’s films, humor is a powerful tool for indicting the crimes of capitalism.
If this film shows anywhere near you, don’t miss it! And if it isn’t being shown in your area, call your local movie theaters and ask them why not.
– John Morris and Louise Paul
The authors can be reached at pww@pww.org
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