Bowling for Columbine
Michael Moore, 2002; 120 mins.
A little Michael Moore, some would say, goes a long way. A
larger-than-life, let's just say it - obnoxious and often self-righteous
character, Moore is the bull in the china shop of documentary social
criticism. His film Roger & Me introduced the world and, more personally,
General Motors president Roger Smith to Moore's storm-the-castle brand of
investigative reporting, an assault on corporate lay-offs that continued in
Moore's book (including Downsize This! and current bestseller Stupid White
Men) and film (The Big One) projects. In all his various efforts, Moore
shoots from the hip (an unavoidable pun), giving his detractors plenty of
reason to dismiss him. Indeed, as an outspoken (to say the least) opponent
to the war in Iraq, Moore himself threatens to aggravate any reasonable
discussion of his work into an emotional referendum on U.S. policy.
Nevertheless, Moore's Academy-Award-winning and Cannes-favorite film, Bowling
for Columbine, remains worth screening and talking about, raising as it does
a host of explosive issues: from the critics' obvious concerns over
propaganda vs "objective" documentary, to the central thesis that America is
crazy with gun violence and it may not be just the the shooters at Columbine
who are homicidal maniacs.
A little Michael Moore, some would say, goes a long way. A
larger-than-life, let's just say it - obnoxious and often self-righteous
character, Moore is the bull in the china shop of documentary social
criticism. His film Roger & Me introduced the world and, more personally,
General Motors president Roger Smith to Moore's storm-the-castle brand of
investigative reporting, an assault on corporate lay-offs that continued in
Moore's book (including Downsize This! and current bestseller Stupid White
Men) and film (The Big One) projects. In all his various efforts, Moore
shoots from the hip (an unavoidable pun), giving his detractors plenty of
reason to dismiss him. Indeed, as an outspoken (to say the least) opponent
to the war in Iraq, Moore himself threatens to aggravate any reasonable
discussion of his work into an emotional referendum on U.S. policy.
Nevertheless, Moore's Academy-Award-winning and Cannes-favorite film, Bowling
for Columbine, remains worth screening and talking about, raising as it does
a host of explosive issues: from the critics' obvious concerns over
propaganda vs "objective" documentary, to the central thesis that America is
crazy with gun violence and it may not be just the the shooters at Columbine
who are homicidal maniacs.