Michael Moore's ‘Bowling for Columbine’ provides imagery and irony by displaying the gun culture in America and graphic images of casualties from violence — therefore, showing the dangers of glamorizing the accessibility to and use of firearms.
Michael Moore uses imagery in this documentary as a way to expose the harmful effects that gun culture has on America as an effort to influence the viewers to support the movement of gun control. For example, the image of Michael Moore opening an account for possessing firearms holds the ability to both emit shock and humor from the audience. The process of owning a gun is shown to be easy and very simple, which baffles the audience and has them questioning why owning a gun is so accessible. Moore walking out of a bank with a gun in his hand shows how alarming it is that a person can easily turn around on the bank and take advantage of having a firearm to cause harm. In addition, he also does this in a comedic fashion, bringing more light to show the irony of a place that's vulnerable to weapons such as a bank providing said items so easily. This imagery criticizes gun culture as it ridicules how easy it is to have access weapons.
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The encouragement of guns is wide, which spreads the message that they should be available to mostly everyone. Moore, against this ideology uses this to persuade the audience to reject the romanticization of weaponry and advocate for more gun regulations in order to prevent any more future harm done via firearms. Continuing on, a video of an injured child from a fatal bombing attack is displayed. This image is explicitly graphic and is made to disturb the viewers, showing the reality of innocent victims such as children getting caught in the crossfire. Children represent purity and innocence, and seeing them getting hurt often gets a bigger reaction from the viewers. In regards to this, it creates pathos from the sadness that the audience feels when they witness the horrific scene. This brings them to reflect on how serious the consequences can be from gun violence and war, as children are at many times victims of these casualties. Furthermore, this influences the viewers to support gun control and reject the heavy presence of gun culture in America.
Moore criticizes the lack of care and thought put into gun regulations and shows the effects of relying on weapons to solve problems. He is showing that by doing so harms and causes trauma on others who do not want to be involved in the conflict. The audience would feel a sense of responsibility to act upon fighting the glorification of guns and other weaponry on behalf of ensuring a safer future for the children.
In conclusion, Michael Moore uses dark and heavy images of violence and accessibility to firearms to provoke emotions ranging from anger, sadness and shock which impact the viewers to reflect on how the glorification of gun culture in America is a harmful practice for the present and future lives of the nation.
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Bowling for Columbine’ and Showing the Dangers of Glamorizing Access and Use of Firearms.
(2023, March 01). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/bowling-for-columbine-and-showing-the-dangers-of-glamorizing-access-and-use-of-firearms/
“Bowling for Columbine’ and Showing the Dangers of Glamorizing Access and Use of Firearms.” Edubirdie, 01 Mar. 2023, edubirdie.com/examples/bowling-for-columbine-and-showing-the-dangers-of-glamorizing-access-and-use-of-firearms/
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Bowling for Columbine’ and Showing the Dangers of Glamorizing Access and Use of Firearms [Internet]. Edubirdie.
2023 Mar 01 [cited 2024 Apr 27].
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