Review Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2002

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"April 20, 1999 started out like a typical day in the United States of America." -- Michael Moore CASS' CLIP (WARNING: **spoilers below**) Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine is a documentary addressing several violent events, mostly: (1) the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999; (2) the murder of six year old Kayla Roland by a six year old classmate; and (3) posing the question of the escalating violence in America. His slightly humorous but down-to-earth presentation of Bowling For Columbine makes it easy for the viewer to process Moore's opinions on these and other issues. So how could this horrible incident happen in suburbia? Much blame has been placed on single parent households, violent television programs, movies or videogames, or even the violent lyrics sung by rockers Marilyn Manson. Moore uses an animated bullet to depict his viewpoint that America's "culture of fear" and its fetish with guns can easily be traced back through its own history Throughout this documentary, there are snippets of Lockheed Martin (one of the largest weapons maker), news footage of other violent attacks, both domestic and foreign, including the Oklahoma City bombing, countless news reports of homicides, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Moore leaves it up to us to draw our own conclusions as to how these events could possibly be connected. He further opines that the United States should be the safest country in the world since it has more guns and weapons of mass destruction. However, it's just the opposite because in one year, over 11,000 murders took place in the United States, while in Canada, Japan and Germany combined, less than 500 gun-related murders took place. There are some comical moments in Columbine. For example, Moore opened an account at a local bank because he would receive a free gun. "You think it's a little dangerous handing out 'guns' in a bank," Moore asked one of the customer representatives. Moore learned that most Canadians don't typically lock their doors. Therefore, there are clips where Moore randomly opens several unlocked doors to see if this was true. Also, there's a scene from one of Chris Rock's standup routines where he suggests that if criminals had to pay $5,000 for a bullet, instead of 17 cents, there'd be no crime. Moore goes a step further and infers that a program similar to Cops, should be created where white CEO's of Fortune 500 companies are arrested and jailed instead of mostly Black men. The most upsetting scene by far is the actual security camera footage of Harris and Klebold's murderous rampage. [Viewers beware of the graphic nature of this footage]. Moore states that 900 rounds were fired that day. To add insult to injury, just 10 days after the Columbine incident, the National Rifle Association (NRA) held a gun rally in Littleton. Charlton Heston, the spokesperson of the National Rifle Association, is seen giving his "From my cold died hands," speech. Some may think that because Moore is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) that he should have been more respectful when he interviewed Charles Heston. Moore tried to get a straight answer from a somewhat befuddled Heston in terms of why was it necessary for the NRA to hold its rally in Colorado just 10 days after 12 students and 1 teacher were killed in Littleton. Heston's explanation is both laughable and sad. Moore continues to push the envelope when he takes two of the Columbine survivors to Kmart for a refund for the bullets they still have lodged in their bodies. Moore was successful in getting Kmart to discontinue selling gun ammunition. Moore also examines the murder of six-year old Kayla Roland. He is especially interested in this case because the murder took place in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Moore somewhat concludes that had the single mother of the young assailant been at home taking care of her son instead of riding on a bus several hours to go to two dead-end, "welfare-to-work" jobs, Kayla might still be alive today. Moore tries to question Dick Clark about this incident, since the mother of the assailant was employed at one of his coffee shops. Even though Moore ambushed him, I was surprised by Clark's response and behavior. DA 411 When I first heard about Bowling For Columbine, I thought the title was pretty odd. The "Bowling" connection refers to the fact that just several hours prior to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's killing spree at Columbine High School, they went bowling. And even though I saw this film almost a week ago, I am still haunted by seeing some of the actual footage of the Columbine massacre. Oftentimes, my reviews are very detailed. In this case, I struggled with the dilemma of possibly sharing too much information and I found myself staring at a blank computer screen for a little over a week because I couldn't find the right words to describe what I saw. Suffice it to say that Bowling For Columbine is a thought-provoking, "Must See" documentary. Bowling For Columbine has already won the 2002 Cannes Film Festival's 55th Anniversary Prize, the 2002 Vancouver International Film Festival's Most Popular Film, and the 2002 Audience Award from the Sao Paulo, Bergen, Atlantic and San Sebastian International Film Festivals. After you see Bowling For Columbine if you are still searching for an answer to the question "Why?" then you are not alone. CASS' CONCLUSION Bowling For Columbine is a compelling documentary that I strongly recommend that all junior and high school students be required to see as part of their curriculum. BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE:   back to top Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2002 EMAIL: cass@3blackchicks.com