The Use Of Manipulation Techniques In The Documentary Bowling For Columbine

Every society is instilled with fear by violence. America, one among the wealthiest, most patriotic and powerful countries on the planet, is currently in turmoil due to its monopoly of fear culture. Michael Moore’s groundbreaking documentary, “Bowling for Columbine”, explores America’s deeply held fearful, bigotry-based culture. Moore’s documentary about the Columbine High School shooting attempts to answer the question, “Why is gun ownership so easy in America?” Bowling for Columbine challenges viewers to think critically about cultural assumptions regarding gun violence. The film also examines the fear embedded in American society that leads to a nation based on guns. The film is a valuable tool for educating the public about issues that directly reflect Moore’s beliefs and attitudes. Michael Moore manipulates propaganda to create a negative portrayal of guncontrol that reflects his personal beliefs. Moore’s manipulative methods include editing, juxtaposition, oversimplification.

Moore selects scenes and uses interview techniques and propaganda editing to manipulate the audience. He edits interviews to exclude any legitimate counter-arguments, and he does so in order to express his anti-gun violence beliefs. Moore’s cleverly-phrased questions to speakers are his most obvious example. Moore will often pose ‘yes/no’ questions to speakers in interviews. When they cut to clips, Moore degrades their responses and doesn’t show the elaborated answer. At thirteen minutes in, Moore asks James Nichols, a pro-guns Oklahoma City Bombing suspect from 1995, a question. Moore asks Nichols a question knowing that he will not respond. Nichols hesitates and says, “I don’t know that.” Moore cuts to a resident and asks, “Oscoda is known for raising psychos.” Moore’s question placement influences the perception of gun control to favor his negative views. Moore edits interviews to remove any legitimate arguments. He also selects scenes to mock and satirise speakers’ answers. Moore edits a clip of another speaker after the interview. This degrades his argument and places Moore in a position to be seen as a credible source. He communicates his message effectively without needing to interact verbally with the audience. Instead, he allows them freedom to form their own opinions using the biases of editing and interviews. Nichols is also labeled unstable and manic by the selective manipulations of footage. Moore uses editing to make Nichols appear to be credible to get audiences to believe him. Moore’s success in editing ‘Bowling for Columbine’ makes audiences believe that Moore’s arguments and speakers are trustworthy. Moore mocks a clip that explains an idea, and then contradicts it in his own clips to show a negative belief system. Moore uses juxtaposition well to his advantage. He successfully communicates an idea through clips without ever having to verbally say it. Moore makes use of juxtaposition to his advantage at 24 minutes. He does this by playing a montage Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. Moore used ‘What a Wonderful World” as a song about life’s beauty, edited over a montage containing murders, wars, and violence. This juxtaposition (or relative difference) emphasizes America’s insidious culture of violence. Moore effectively conveys the point without speaking a word. The audience is free to express their opinions via the biased Juxtaposition. Moore makes America look bad by making Americans feel angry, ashamed, disgusted, and embarrassed about America’s past violence. Moore manipulates his values and beliefs by placing audiences in this emotional state. Moore leads viewers to this conclusion effectively without ever having to speak to the cameras. Instead, Moore lets the clips speak for Moore. Moore’s use juxtaposition manipulation in “Bowling for Columbine”, helped viewers to sense his negative opinion of gun violence, without the need for him to verbally express it.

Michael Moore’s manipulation can be seen in his oversimplification of American gun control. Moore minimizes the problems associated with race and encourages bigotry in American culture. Moore employs deductive reasoning to support his claims. This includes prejudicial language and mockery, as well as the oversimplification of fundamental truths. Moore’s oversimplification of ideas and concepts regarding America’s history is the most obvious example of editing. Moore uses a short cartoon animation for a light discussion of America’s history at 50 minutes. Moore uses the montage to criticize America’s government and convey his belief that it is a culture based on fear, which damages American citizens. The cartoon animation simplifies concepts and gives audiences a quick overview of American history. The cartoon compares the KKK, which is a terrorist group, to the NRA, an organisation that promotes ‘patriotism.’ The audience is influenced by the comparison to see NRA as equivalent to terrorist activity, further confirming Moore’s antigun views. This animation shows America’s fearful culture. It mocks American history, mocking how deeply gun violence has been ingrained in American history. Moore could have made a boring history video. However, he cleverly used a cartoon to illustrate the humor of American history. The cartoon used to tell American history is meant to be seen as a joke by audiences. Moore’s personal values reflect the humor of oversimplification. Moore’s values and beliefs are reflected in the film’s effective manipulation of oversimplification.

Moore is able to convince audiences with his convictions and skills at manipulating them. Moore has succeeded in answering the question “Why are guns so readily available in the United States?” Moore’s use of propaganda techniques such as editing, juxtaposition, oversimplification and repetition, creates a negative portrayal of gun controls that is reflective his personal values.

Author

  • jacksonreynolds

    Jackson Reynolds is an educational blogger who specializes in writing about topics such as education, parenting, and technology. He has been writing for over 10 years, and has been published in numerous magazines and newspapers. Jackson lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and two children.