Abstract
This paper discusses Michael Moore's thesis in the film "Bowling for Columbine" and examines how Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim might respond to Moore's analysis of the culture of guns in America.

From the Paper
"In the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" writer-director Michael Moore argues both directly and by illustrative evidence, that ready access to guns goes far to explain the high incidence of death and injury in the United States, due to the use of guns as weapons, whether illegally or legally obtained. As Moore points out, the annual U.S. toll of gun deaths accounts for the combined gun death toll of several of the world's industrialized democracies including Great Britain and Canada."

Tags:Gun control, Michael Moore, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE

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
This paper explains that bowling, one of the largest participatory sports in the world, is enjoyed primarily by the older population but has a place in the entertainment of pre-teens, families and middle-aged groups. The author points out that, due to the increasing costs of maintenance and equipment modernization, the cost of a family bowling night has increased dramatically making it more difficult to afford an evening out with the family. The paper relates that the decline in leagues has caused a steady drop in overall revenue in the industry; but open bowling style has increased, which indicates bowling is returning mostly to a recreational sport.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Provided Services
Service Demand
Cost & Technology
Market Structures
Economic Forecast
Conclusion

From the Paper
"With the bowling lane now being controlled by computers, customers find that score keeping and other functions are very simplified. New computer software is used in controlling each lane and must be updated when available. The new computerized system was designed by the National Bowling Association, operates within the professional bowling guidelines, and costs over $100,000. A price increase was put in to effect due to the fact that the building was in need of repairs, such as new carpeting, new electronic consoles for each lane, and some roof repair. This necessitated a price increase. Several complaints and negative comments were made and the center also lost two of its regular leagues, who transferred to another bowler center."

Tags:recreation, leagues, costs, structure, food

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."

Tags:gun, control, firearms, weapons, shootings

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that in his book 'Bowling Alone', Robert Putnam offers an interesting image of how the idea of social capital applies in the modern world and how people are becoming more isolated so that the idea of democracy is under attack, given that people have fewer and fewer community associations and community activities binding them together. The writer discusses that Putnam used the image of a bowler playing not against partners but simply keeping his own score, and he made explicit comparisons between what he observed in Europe, notably in Italy, and what he observed in America to show the problem he perceived and to suggest ways of overcoming this problem in the future. The writer maintains that while the image is to the point in one sense, it also overstates the reality and neglects to consider ways in which new means of communication that may seem to isolate people, like television and the Internet, actually contribute to a new sort of community and a new sort of unity and are themselves a unifying cultural element.

From the Paper
"Putnam has also addressed the same issues in an American context. In doing this, he counters de Tocqueville, who observed Americans in the nineteenth century and saw Americans as forming a wide variety of associations that strengthened American democracy. More recently it has been thought that this habit was waning and that therefore the stuff of civil society was eroding, meaning those cultural elements that bind society together around certain cultural norms. Putnam addresses the issue with reference to bowling leagues and to the fact that the number of bowlers increased 10 percent between 1980 and 1993 while league bowling declined by 40 percent. Putnam offers other measures of proof that participation in associations has declined, including lower voter turnout, reduced participation in religious services, reduced membership in trade unions, reduced membership in the PTA, and so on. A number of reasons might be given for this, including the development of new technologies such as television which keep people home more and other social changes which reduce the time people have for joining associations."

Tags:organization, change, norms, social, capital

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."

Tags:racism, gun, control, united, states

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."

Tags:gun, shooting, school, columbine, teenager, crime, death, bullet, 2nd, amendment, bear, arms

Abstract
This paper discusses that, when most people observe aspects of an issue that they are studying, it is often difficult not to come up with certain generalizations regarding aspects of a society. The author believes that, through their observations and studies, Geertz and Moore are able to find some in-depth looks at the societies they study; but they come up with some general conclusions in a scientific way, without enough evidence to support them.

From the Paper
"Through applying certain anthropological methods, Clifford Geertz makes some strong points in his study of the Balinese cockfights. In order for him to study appropriately the Balinese cockfights, it was essential for him to become more of a part of the Balinese culture. Only by this can an anthropologist obtain a better understanding and a more in-depth perspective of a certain aspect of a society. Most people that would observe the cockfights would view it as a spectator sport, without much meaning behind the activity. After all, the Balinese government ruled the cockfights illegal and was ashamed that the fights were part of the Balinese culture."

Tags:observation, understanding, in-depth, holistic, scientific

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."

Tags:charlton, dylan, klebold, manson

Abstract
An overview of the Dust Bowl of the 1930's.

Tags:the, dust, bowl