a review by Jeffrey Overstreet
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I’ve waited a long time to review Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine. Almost a year.
A few of my first impressions haven’t changed: It’s by far the most entertaining, creatively assembled documentary I’ve yet seen. Moore is an engaging, likeable narrator who, despite his tendency to overstate a matter, makes his best points when he has enough information to understate a matter.
Columbine is, if you don’t already know, a fascinating, scattershot exposé on fear and violence in American culture, and the relationship between the two. Moore makes his case based on what happened when alienated boys shot up Columbine High School, and based on a variety of interviews that range from face-to-face chats with authority figures (including NRA spokesman Charlton Heston) and with people on the street. Even Marilyn Manson gets to share his two cents’ worth, and makes a surprisingly positive impression.
But given the debatable nature of Moore’s somewhat flawed and aggressive approach, I wanted to wait to provide a review.
I wanted to check out all of the facts he presents in his investigation on the two sides of the gun control debate. I wanted to verify his claims about how gun violence is so much worse in America. His version of the story about what happened at Columbine — I wanted to make sure it was accurate. And I wanted to check his claims about “the culture of fear” being cultivated by the government and the media in America.
During this year, I’ve heard a lot of argument. Some of it has made me doubt a few of Moore’s details. Some of it has checked out.
But more and more, I am impressed by Moore’s achievement… not because of his information, because I do believe some of it is warped or even manufactured to strengthen his argument. Yes, I do think Moore is guilty of bending the truth to make a point. But what impresses me is that he has the guts to speak up and say things that challenge our assumptions. Even if his information is, oh, even 40% false… the ideas he is presenting need to be heard, examined, and reckoned with, if only because the other 60% of his information is true and vital. But we also need to sit up straight and listen because there are those who are benefiting from our ignorance.
Many conservatives write off Moore’s film because they think Moore is just a liberal who wants to attack them and overthrow a Republican administration. And he may be. But Moore finds problems on both sides of the Republican/Democrat divide in this film. And, even more impressive, he admits when he is wrong. He starts out with the project headed in a certain direction, discovers his assumptions are wrong, and he follows it a bit farther, to discover new information and new perspective. And in the end, he has no easy answers.
Thus, Bowling for Columbine is primarily a film to get us thinking and talking. Just as Oliver Stone did at the end of the film that I think is his masterpiece, JFK, he concludes his flawed argument by saying, “Hey, this is what I’ve come up with. I’m not trying to convince you. I’m inviting you to tell me your side of the story. I’m asking you to weigh the evidence, and check things out for yourself. Does this ring true to you? How about this?”
And in the end, his motivation is admirable. He is embarrassed and even a little ashamed of his nation, and he should be. Americans should not have to live in such fear. We should not gather around the TV news in the evenings to hear a parade of stories about local horrors and possible threats. There shouldn’t be handguns in the schools… and heck, kids shouldn’t be able to get their hands on guns in the first place. Moore wants to help right some wrongs. And if, in his vigilance, he gets a few crackpot ideas and follows a few dead-end theories, God bless him for it. I’d rather listen to someone give a flawed but passionate argument than hear no argument at all.
I love this big, bold, malfunctioning movie. Bowling for Columbine is as important an American film as I’ve seen in the last few years… I just hope he inspires someone who will equal his effectiveness and surpass his credibility.
