Review of Bowling for Columbine (2002) by Simeon T — 15 Oct 2015

Some people thought Michael Moore's appearance at Charlton Heston's house was a mean stunt, and I've come to the conclusion that they were right. Even many who agree with Moore's views see him as a showboat who plays loose with the facts.

I still think this remains a marvelous documentary in spite of that. Before first seeing it, I was skeptical, as I come from a hunting family and the presence of all those hunting rifles doesn't make my family members a threat to other people.

Though Moore is surely for strict gun control, that isn't what this film is about. It is about why American people shoot each other in such staggering numbers with their guns, a problem that keeps spiraling out of control.

It is about the mysteries of mass psychology, how and why our country is how it is on an emotional level. Perhaps Moore would have delivered points more effectively without cheeky humor, but it is oddly the cartoon sketch by the South Park guys that illuminates the rest of the film.

Moore's contention is that, going back as far as the pilgrim's, America's ruling settlers have been full of fear, of one thing or another but specifically of people of color. The notions of mass psychology and the collective unconscious are murky and perhaps impossible to fully understand, but the effects of powerful psychological problems on descendants and countries in general, even hundreds of years later, are clear.

Moore hits on something very real about America, especially in scenes when he contrasts the numbers of locks on our doors compared to many Canadians who don't even lock their doors (crazy people!); and when he shows our northern neighbor's sane (thought sedate) news programs compared to our batshit variety.

For whatever panoply of reasons, there is such a strong current of fear in our national psychology, and fear, perhaps more than anything else, causes humans to commit the very worst crimes against each other.