Sunday 30 October 2011

Bowling for Columbine: Work points

1. What are the main points of Michael Moore's documentary Bowling for Columbine?
2. Mention three elements that in your opinion distinguish documentaries from other film genres - you may use the internet or a dictionary to find a definition of the genre.
3. Bowling for Columbine is often categorised as a documentary - do yo agree? Why/why not?

You must present your attitude to the questions above.
Comment on each other's answers and arguments. The purpose of this post is to create an online discussion of some important aspects of Michael Moore's film.

14 comments:

  1. 1) I belive that michael more is trying to suggest that there is something wrong in USA, in the start we see him go into a Bank to get a gun, by getting a acount. here after we are watching some clips, and a interview with an old crazy man ´who slleps with a gun under his pillow. what i'm trying to say is: Mr. Moore's main points is that the weapon industy in the united states, is wrong. but i can not take thes serois, for me is is a byt childish this film. what i feels is, this is a complete waste of film. Mr. moore's attempt to create a documentary baout the wrong in everybody have a gun, is a complete failure.

    2) 1: it's made from a neutral view.
    2:you have to see things from a number of perspective's
    3: leave the viewer with the choise to make his own opnion.
    3) this has nothing to do with a documentary, I say that because i belive that a documentary should see things from more than one side, this storry is only seen from one persons side. although i feel that michael moore has a point here, and the weapon industry in the US should be changed. while sitting here watching the film, I must admit that i am getting a bit pissed off by just how colured this is.

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  2. I think that he wants us to see how sick they are in the U.S. They sleep with a gun under their pillow. Children can also get a gun just like that when they can do that they can just shot. The documentary is about all the ddangerous things like candy, games, television, there are also about black persons. He just wants the U.S to see that were is a problem.

    1: It is seen from one point of view
    2: It is non-fiktion
    3: There are interviews

    I agree because there is many ways to make a documentary. The documentary is also very objektiv and only seen from one point of view.

    Michelle

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  3. 1)the main point in the documentary is to show us what a sick cummunity the states is !!! ..
    Michael more shows us how easy it is to get a gun. he focused on why it the states, has so much violence, incl. gun - compared to for eksample italy.

    2) the documentary is seen from one point of view. this is nonfiction, and it have interviews in it.

    3)i think that i´t is a ducumentary, cours it is objective. there is a lot of facts, and it makes it beliveble. maybe opinions plays a role. +!??!

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  4. 1.
    The main points of micheal moore's doctumentry is to show everybody, how the system is corrupted the U.S. but also how the state tries to cover everything up, if possible.
    2.
    The doctumentry is seen from more than one point of view, it is seen from micheals point of view and the people who are interviewed. However the way the movie is shown, the people interviewed are shown as "crazy or redeclious" so the movie is really only seen from one point of view.
    3.
    Yes i agree that it is a doctumentry because it is non-fiktion, and it has interviews.

    --Frederik Damgaard Madsen-- ( han er fin )

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  5. CHANETT
    You are making it way too easy for Michael Moore to manipulate you (That's probably because you are such nice people...)
    Frank has a point, though - is Michael Moore trying to "piss us off"? If so, how does he go about it?

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  6. MICHELLE:
    In the US, children can not simply walk into a gun shop and buy a gun (of course, that would be sick). If a family has a gun in their house, that being for protection or hunting etcetera, it is up to the parents to keep their children's hands away from them. You need to put that shit behind a lock when you have children around, it really is that simple. But many US citizens does not think that far, unfortunately.

    Q #1:

    Well, as everyone else said, Michael Moore is trying to point out one of the major flaws in the US law, the gun law, which enables (almost) everybody to buy a gun. The arguments for this law are obvious: To give US families the opportunity to protect themselves by having a gun in the house. The arguments against the law are equally obvious: that enabling everybody to buy a gun is risky and stupid. The law is meant to give people a sense of security, but instead it is doing the opposite.

    Q #2:

    1) It is reality, or non-fiction.
    2) It is often meant as a critique of something or someone.
    3) It is meant to convince the viewer of a certain (often political) point of view, through argumentation.

    Q #3:

    I agree that it is a documentary. For instance, it is built up through the use of the elements that i mentioned in the above question.

    * ¡El Bastiaño! *

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  7. q1: Michael Moore is very critical about the gun control in the US, it is like he won't stop untill he gets all the Americans to admidt that they have a serious problem with guns. i Agree with Frederik when he says that the state is trying to cover everything up, and michael moore is seaching for the answers that many people are looking for.

    q2:
    - the way he has like a goal to reach, a qustion to answer.
    - there are a lot of historical facts and movie clips
    - there a no special effects or manipulating with pictures/filming

    Samuel

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  8. q3:
    I firstly agree that it is a film wicht is seen from one point of view.
    But i don't think that a Documentary is suposed to be objektive all the time. this is a system critical documentary that looks mostly on flaws in the US sociaty, but it is still a documentary that tells the truhth ( just not the whole truht from both parts point of view )

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  9. CHANETT
    You may want to research the critical responces to MM's way of presenting facts. Among other things, the way he puts different sequences together is questioned - is he objective enough?
    Do you agree with Samuel that "there is no manipulation with pictures"?
    What do you think of the way he conducts his interviews?

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  10. I think that the main subject is violence, in the start of the docomentary he shows us how easy it is to get guns and bullets in the U.S. Also he is showing us how sick people are in Michigan, he is interwieving some sick dude who sleeps with a magnum gun below his pillow. He says it is just for protecting him self. But really he can't convince me :D

    One of the ways he shows that the american are violent is showing statstics over how many people that are killed with guns in diffrent countrys, for exalpe there is 49 killed in Canada, 250 killed in France, 140 killed in U.K and in U.S there is 11.416 killed every year.

    will answer the 2 other questions later.

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  11. Camilla:

    1:
    Michael Moore is trying to show that it is crazy that everyone carry weapons. Firearms Act. is totaly crazy, because almost everyone can buy weapons. I USA they think it it is safer that almost everyone has a weapon, but in the reality it is sick because everyone can shoot each other.

    2:
    There are many diffrent clips from the day life.
    There are diffrent interviews

    3:
    I agree with Michael Moore, because it is sick that people are sleeping with guns under the pillow.

    In the documentary, it is usual to carry weapons in USA, I think it is crazy. It is both parents and children, but it should be that children had no access to the weapons.

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  12. q2
    its pure non fiction, it is real.
    Interwievs are used, but thoose will also be used in selvbiografier.
    Appealforms he is using alot of logos and phatos, which can make the weiver(us) think of them as stupid people or just violent people, in the same time he wants us to feel sorry for some of the victims of school shooting events.

    q3
    I bellive its a selvbiografy (kan ikke det ord) Because he is showing us how some Americans are, also he is poiting out that the presidents are the ones causing wars. Giving Osama bin laden the CIA training, and then he use the CIA training to cause 9/11. Also that they gave Saddam hussien weapons, and then he started war against the U.S. So he is showing us that Americans are the one to blame for many of the wars.
    Because of that i think it is a biografy based on America.


    (tror ikke det er en dokumentar ellers havde vi ikke fået det spørgsmål)

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  13. uuuuups .. comment number tre is mine .. maja :) :) :)

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