Abstract This paper studies Michael Moore's award winning docudrama "Bowling for Columbine" (2002), which provided an eye-opening look at the social problem of violence in the United States, particularly violence with guns. The film focused on events leading up to the Columbine High School shootings. The paper demonstrates how, from a sociological perspective, Moore effectively showed that both social institutions (e.g., the community, the school) and social relationships (e.g., within the community, between students) played a role in the Columbine tragedy. The paper also lauds Moore for effectively presenting the causes and consequences of this recurring social problem (i.e. gun violence) in an effective manner.
From the Paper "One portion of the film that I found extremely revealing was when Michael Moore went up to Canada with his film crew for this movie, and interviewed people up there, who seemed less afraid, and said they were less afraid, than Americans he had interviewed for the film earlier. These two sets of interviews illustrated the point, very convincingly, that America has far more general fear bred into its culture, in terms of anxieties people feel just living life, than does Canada. For that reason, Moore implies, many Americans feel they need guns simply to protect themselves against the frightening elements "out there", a feeling that then feeds on itself, with more fear and more gun ownership. In contrast, Canadians who were interviewed for the film do not even lock their front doors, and most do not own guns or feel any need to own guns. Moore convincingly explored, also, how the mythology of the Wild West (e.g., Western movies starring actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood) are so much a part of the American identity that Americans actually also identify with guns and gun ownership as if it were needed in order to feel safe."
Abstract This paper provides an examination of Michael Moore's documentary film, "Bowling For Columbine" as a work of propaganda. It looks at Moore's exposure of the roots of violence, his techniques and how they support his thesis. The paper also looks at Moore's desire to provoke as well as to inform.
From the Paper "When Michael Moore's film Bowling for Columbine was released it was certainly a controversial film. Closely following the tragic incidents at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado Moore's film set out to expose the root of the problems behind such acts of violence. In doing so he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent ..."
Tags: bowling for columbine, michael moore, propaganda
Abstract The paper illustrates how the cinematic techniques used by the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" are crafted upon the use of irony. The paper also shows how "Bowling for Columbine" is compelling because directory Michael Moore uses slice-of-life film in 'real time' to show how he, along with the viewer, is searching for answers as to what is real, in a culture where so much unreality characterizes the depiction of American violence. The paper discusses Moore's belief that greater corporate and individual responsibility in America is necessary to prevent the Columbine tragedy from occurring again.
From the Paper "The cinematic techniques used by the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" by Michael Moore are entirely crafted upon the use of carefully delineated irony. The film contrasts the real need to protect the nation's citizens with the zealous love affair that Americans have with guns. The title of the film refers to the tragedy at Columbine High School, Ohio where the all-too typical adolescent angst of a group of troubled teens was the tinder that combined with the spark of easy access to guns. This cumulated in a conflagration of violence, as they vented their frustrations upon their fellow pupils. Only in America, Moore suggests, could such a horrific event occur. It is not that teens are not unhappy or bulled in other lands, but no other land makes it so easy and acceptable to wield the deadly power of firearms as a way to vent anger."
Abstract This paper discusses the different explanations and rationalizations offered in an attempt to understand the horrific events that took place at a high school in Columbine, Colorado. Much of the focus of the paper is devoted to literature concerned with the pain of being unable to articulate or assert the self and how this type of pain is what triggered the Columbine tragedy. The paper continues with a discussion of the gender differences in acting out emotional pain and turmoil and concludes with the admonition that undoing the causes of self-destructive behavior in teens will take a cultural excavation and a reconfiguring of male and female identities.
From the Paper "One does not need to look very far to find individuals who are similarly conflicted in their inability to articulate themselves and find ways to do that are often bizarre and unrewarding to themselves and society as a whole. The tragedy that occurred four years ago, in 1999, at Columbine high school is an example of such a tragedy. A Website erected on the Internet in honor of the event describes the event as such. ?Two students in black trench coats killed twelve schoolmates and a teacher Tuesday at Columbine High School, most of them in the library. The gunmen, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, then apparently killed themselves. They were called the "Trenchcoat Mafia"? before the incident occurred."
Abstract This paper examines how "Bowling for Columbine" is a piece of filmmaking designed to provoke viewers regardless of their political beliefs and how underlying the film are solid truths about the history of and current state of affairs in the United States. It looks at how it examines in particular three main themes: racism, gun control, and the psychological and sociological impacts of mass media by using the Columbine shooting incident as an anchor.
From the Paper "No one need watch Bowling for Columbine to discover that race relations in the United States have been poor since the birth of the nation. Wresting millions of Africans from their home countries, treating them worse than cattle, and enslaving them and their families in deplorable conditions for centuries do little to foster good race relations. The abolition of slavery contributed little to the improvement of white-black relations in the United States, since Reconstruction was a dismal failure in this respect and in fact permitted hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan to thrive. The animated sequence in Bowling for Columbine, combined with Moore's treatment of racial profiling, show that Moore is keenly aware of and sensitive to race-related issues. Moore also shows how race relations in the United States contributed indirectly to the Columbine shootings, which occurred in a mainly white, middle-class suburban town. According to Moore, blacks have been convenient scapegoats of violent crimes."
Abstract This paper explains that a number of theories regarding the motives of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the killers in the Columbine High School massacre, have been offered since the shootings. The author points out that many people argue that both Klebold and Harris felt isolated from the rest of their classmates; however, this theory seems to have been debunked. The paper relates that, nonetheless, in reaction to Columbine, schools throughout the country enacted programs designed to expose and prevent bullying in the classroom. The author suggests that another theory is the boys' attraction to violent video games and movies. The paper states that the only things society can do to prevent violence is to pay close attention to warning signs, increase security and to be cautious especially, as in this case, if there is abnormal behavior.
Table of Contents:
Setting
Aftermath
Our Stance
From the Paper "At 11:14am, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried two propane bombs into the school cafeteria concealed in duffle bags. Luckily, these bombs failed to detonate, possibly preventing hundreds of further casualties. Five minutes later, Harris and Klebold began their shooting spree from the top of the stairs leading into the west side of the school. At 11:23am, the first 911 call is made coming from the school. Two minutes after the call, the first police car arrives on scene at the high school. A pipe bomb (much smaller than the malfunctioned propane bombs) explodes in the cafeteria at 11:27am creating smoke and scattering students."
Tags: zero-tolerance programs, video games, evilness detectors
Abstract This paper takes a look at the cultural conditions and emotional settings that exist within American society that may cause such atrocities as the one that occurred in 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
From the Paper "No sooner had the gunfire begun around 11:30 a.m. on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, than accounts of it began to emerge, ranging from what happened to why it happened. In no time, culturally saturated "narrative truths" merged with the "historical truths" of the event and came to define it. It soon began to sound similar to other cultural stories in its cast and type of characters, sequence of events, story line, motivational inquiry (why the actors did what they did), the boundaries of the event (who was and was not on stage), and the like. The massacre quickly became woven into often-competing discourses, diagnoses, or interpretations which variously foregrounded parental responsibility, the power of the peer group, bad genes, and vulnerable temperament. Certain cultural categories quickly emerged as part of a recognizable taxonomy: Violence, schools, teens, gangs, adolescence, workplace, safety, and control. The Columbine shooting became part of standardized ways of accounting for the way events like this happen. Psychohistorian David R. Beisel (1999) describes how his university classroom discussions on the day following the Columbine shootings echoed the discussions in the media. The unsaid and the culturally unsayable are the underside of the said and the sayable. It is almost as if the media provide the secondary elaboration rather than the dream work itself -- yet claim to present the dream itself and are believed. Beisel (1999), states that the media not only provides information, but also performs a defensive function."
Abstract This paper discusses the different approaches of persuasion in the two movies "Bowling for Columbine" and "Elephant". Particular emphasis is placed on poetic and argumentative rhetoric. The paper focuses on the way that the movies deal with the issue of violence in society.
From the Paper "Violence is a problem that every society has experienced as far back as we have any evidence of humans living in groups; ancient man with their skulls bashed in, the crusades, world wars and many others are just a few examples. One may even argue that it is in human nature to commit violence upon one another to create a hierarchy such as many animals do, however living in a society requires to get rid of the impulses driving such behavior because the essential reason for the existence of societies is to achieve a level of safety and security that can otherwise not be reached. The question that logically follows from this is how does society affect the level of violence of all its members? Assuming that one can consider different countries as different societies it is legitimate to compare different countries in order to try to answer this question."
Abstract This paper provides a summary and review of the film, "Bowling for Columbine", which explores the problem of guns and casualties resulting from them in American society. The film is made against the backdrop of the Columbine high school shootings, and the paper shows that, through his documentary, Michael Moore searches for answers of why this kind of tragedy happens in America.
From the Paper "Towards the end of the film, Moore got in touch with two Columbine survivors. Both of them had the bullets purchased from K-Mart still in them, and one has been confined to a wheelchair ever since he was wounded. The two boys accompanied Moore to a K-Mart convention and asked the corporate executives if they would halt all sales of ammunition in their stores. After the first try resulted in little progress, the three of them returned to the convention with the entire inventory of ammunition from a local K-Mart. This time they listened. Since then, gun ammunition is no longer available at any K-Mart store in America."
Abstract The paper researches, via an Internet search engine, the subject of 'subculture' in order to determine what kind of 'subculture' the perpetrators of the Columbine shootings belonged to. The paper describes the information found on the Internet about teen subcultures. The paper discusses how it is clear that something was missing in the lives of Eric Harris and his cohort. The paper explains that had these two boys had different opportunities or options, or perhaps even a forum in which to voice their opinions, perhaps they would not have felt the need to gain attention and express themselves in such a tragic manner.
Outline:
Objective
Introduction
Exploration of the Goths and Other Subculture Elements
Columbine Killers
Media Study Sponsored National Online Teen Outreach
Discussion
From the Paper "However, the writings of Eric Harris, one of the perpetrators at the Columbine school reveal something very dark and sinister. In Eric's diary, he begins by stating: "If you recall your history...the Nazis came up with a 'final solution' to the Jewish problem: Kill them all. Well in case you haven't figured it out yet, I say 'Kill mankind.' No one should survive." (Cullen, 1999) The report goes on to relate that Eric fantasized about many areas but settled on Columbine school with the intent to kill all of the school's occupants that day and left behind Eric was a paper trail on his computer and in his diary."
Abstract The paper analyzes Elliot Aronson's work, "Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion After Columbine", which deals with the causes of extreme forms of aggressive behavior in schools and, in particular, the horrifying events of the Columbine school massacre. The paper discusses Aronson's ideas on what precipitated such extremes of violent behavior among students and considers Aronson's solutions and methods for dealing with school violence. The paper posits that Aronson's work is an important investigation of the real causes of aggression at school level and among adolescents.
From the Paper "In brief, Aronson's work finds that there is an atmosphere of fear, intimidation and bullying at many schools. This is exacerbated by extreme competitiveness and an exclusionary and cliquish social atmosphere that pervades many educational institutions and schools. ( Aronson, p. 15) The combined effect of these aspects coalesces to create the atmosphere of alienation and exclusivity at many high schools in the country. The author identifies this as the central cause of violence behavior. In fact, this behavior is seen as reaction to exclusion and alienation."
Abstract This paper discusses the recent outbreak of school shootings in the United States. The paper focuses on the Columbine Massacre, by going over the events of the day leading up to the shooting. This essay also outlines the parallels between the school shootings with the novel "Lord of the Flies", by Sir William Golding.
From the Paper "In the past four years, violence in schools has, unfortunately, become a very frequent news topic.There have been fifteen cases of school violence everywhere from Bethel, Alaska, where a 16-year old student killed another student and the schools? principal, to Jonesboro, Arkansas where two boys who were 11 and 13, shot and killed four girl students and a teacher. One of the most recent cases of a deadly school shooting happened in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999. This was probably the most infamous, and the deadliest of all the cases of school violence in U.S. history."
Abstract This paper uses of the characters in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," as examples of deceit and naivete, and parallels them with examples from current history. Naivete is illustrated using examples of how both Caesar and the US were unaware of the warning signs of an impending attack. Deceit is illustrated using the fact that the terrorists lived in the US and no one knew, and that Caesar's friends plotted and he never knew. Columbine High School, where two "normal" students went on shooting rampage, is used to illustrate deceit and is compared to Caesar's supporters also going on a rampage and killing him. The author illustrates how Caesar never had chance to change while on the other hand, American is changing and needs to evolve with these changes.
From the Paper "Deception, of course, correlates with the terrorist attacks, too. These Taliban members lived within our communities, shopped at our grocery stores, slept next door and might have even dated a few of our women. All the while, they were secretly plotting a nationwide attack for September 11, 2001. Caesar is also betrayed, though the Senate is supposed to be his supporters. Brutus is his best friend, his confidant. Yet all the while, Brutus is being persuaded to conspire against Caesar. Brutus does conspire, as well as others who once supported Caesar. The conspirators lie, sneak around and deceive their family and friends in order to do what they feel is right for the state of Rome. Eerily, the suicide bombers of September 11 also lied, and snuck around. Perhaps one of the most damaging results of their ultimate deception is that now Americans don?t know who to trust, which leads to many citizens preferring not to trust anyone. (Webb, EDN)"
Abstract This paper examines how, traditionally, people have looked for cues about how they should behave in their social environment from peers, family, school and church, and how, increasingly, these social cues regarding acceptable behavior have come from the media. It looks at how incidents such as the Columbine High School shootings were inspired by movies and the television. It discusses how television has a tremendous opportunity to instill good values and principles in today's youth, but because of the amount of violence shown, it instead inspires violent behavior in children and adolescents in a variety of ways, as well as a certain long-term desensitization towards violence.
From the Paper "By inflating the prevalence of violence, television contributes to increased perceptions of the world as a dangerous place (Center for Communication and Social Policy 28). This increases the motivation of a child or teen to carry a weapon. Among urban youths, studies have shown that interpersonal violence is the greatest cause of death and injury. Gun violence has replaced accidents as the leading killer of children and adolescents each year. Although violence on television is not the only factor in these deaths, pediatricians have recognized exposure to media violence as a significant risk for their constituents (Hogan et al)."
Tags: desensitization, gun, violence, columbine, movies
Abstract This paper explores the issue of school bullies, in light of the Columbine School shooting. The writer shows how the two students who carried out this awful massacre had been subjected to intense bullying and trauma and, as a result, had carried out the attack. The paper includes recent studies and statistics on the issue and shows how parents, teachers, and even students can help to prevent it from happening.
From the Paper "Although large groups of both boys and girls report experiencing harassment, girls are more likely to report being negatively affected by it. 83% of girls and 79% of boys report having ever experienced harassment. The number of boys reporting experiences with harassment often or occasionally has increased since 1993 (56% vs. 49%), although girls are still somewhat more likely to experience it. 76% of students have experienced non-physical harassment while 58% have experienced physical harassment. Non-physical harassment includes taunting, rumors, graffiti, jokes or gestures."
