Bowling for Columbine free essay sample

Bowling for Columbine Introduction When I first heard the name of the film; ‘Bowling for Columbine’, I thought this was a movie only about the Columbine High School Massacre in year 1999. I was wrong about it. This movie is much more than that; he dug for the truth – how come the massacre happened. I will be focusing on how the movie is build up, how he gets the attention, because I have never seen anything a exciting documentary before. Main Ideas In this documentary it is the real view of America’s gun problem. We are going to hear the blames, but there is not really any too blame. The Americans thinks it is easy to blame others, I agree too, but they are the problem, or at least the gun law. It’s irresponsible of the government, and that’s one of the things something this movie poses. ‘Bowling for Columbine’ is about everything from guns, too racism, too the NRA and heavy rock n’ roll. In the film we see the town of Virgin Utah passed a law requiring all residents to posse firearms but why would you want more guns? Because the media induced fear that without a gun you will become the victim of someone with one if you dont. Who benefits from this fear? Well first gun manufacturers, As weve seen with the massive amounts of guns purchased following the tragedies of Columbine and Sandy Hook. Second would be the media, People tuning in to the news or talk shows or even buying a printed publication to read about the latest tragedy. Third would be defense manufacturers, People buying bullet proof jackets or bullet proof backpacks for their kids or even schools buying metal detectors. And finally the government, By keeping the public fearful it makes them predictable and therefore easier to control. And why would these companies and organizations want us to remain ignorant and fearful? Because of money. If you are fearful that your neighbor might harm you or your family then your more likely to run out and purchase a gun or home security system therefore generating huge profits for those keeping us fearful. If you think another country might do us harm you are more willing to go along with spending increases for the military without any hard proof. A government report comes out about increases in crime in your area and how more police are needed and they convince you to vote for tax increases to pay for these. This leads to reinforced ideas like dont tread on me or an eye for an eye, If someone might do me or my family harm then I need to defend them. This has a legitimizing effect because unless guns are removed or the media stops reporting mainly negative and violent news people will continue to do each other harm. Even without the media stirring up fear there will still be violence and crime but would there be such high levels of violent crime? Personally I dont believe there would be. Did this tragedy spark a moral panic? Yes and its evident in almost every high school in America these days. When I was in high school you could leave the campus at any time you wanted and during lunch time many students did. These days most high schools have a closed campus so you cant leave for lunch or at any time you choose. In some schools they have cameras everywhere as well as metal detectors and security guards. In the past if a student joked about doing something horriffic, Like shooting up the school, Most kids laughed and didnt take it seriously but today you could be expelled for it. You could even been expelled for something ridiculous like dyeing your hair blue or folding a piece of paper into the shape of a gun and pointing it at someone. I feel that this tragedy has started some serious discussions about gun control and violence in our society but until we reign in the media and hold those accountable for the massive levels of violence in the news, movies, tv, video games, and American life in general no ground will be made. In todays society we often forget about tragedies almost as quickly as they happened because of the next latest horrible event we are fed by the media.