Michael Moore's 2002 mockumentary Bowling For Columbine is a political commentary detailing correlations between seemingly normalized American tendencies of "gun obsession" and its relatively high percentage of incidents caused by or related to gun violence. Throughout the film Moore presents emotionally charged statistics and footage that inherently portray a stark message about the state of American society intended to inform, influence, and induce anti-gun opinions within the general public. The subtle use of footage, sound and editing, as well as the inclusion of comedic satire within Bowling For Columbine, influence the audience's point of view and solidify the overall message of the film. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As Bowling For Columbine opens, footage from the NRA (National Rifle Association) is shown. This is incorporated to imply that the NRA is supporting the film, however the fact that the footage is in black and white (contrary to the majority of the film) and is clearly derived from old footage, the audience is prevented from maintaining this perspective, therefore the inclusion is therefore seen as another form of social irony or satire, alongside other archived footage within the film. After a short sequence showing scenes of devastation caused by bombing, interspersed with fascinating images of people posing with firearms, interspersed with common events such as children arriving at school and farmers going about their daily activities, the film dives straight into the narrative with little introduction, showing Moore walking into a bank and receiving a free firearm. Within the film Moore is characterized as a separate entity, a constructed and represented identity that ensures the link with the world of reference and gives a particular voice to the documentary itself. The inclusion of Moore's character is key to the feel of the film and his ordinary, joking, seemingly working class character gives the audience a character within the narrative to relate to and side with. This public persona is further emphasized by the inclusion of home video footage of Moore as a child, his personal relationships with the rifle subculture, and how he became involved from a young age. This segment shows that Moore is in no position to condemn or judge gun owners and allows the documentary to maintain a level of objectivity. The use of autobiographical stories establishes a semi-relationship with the audience by establishing that he is the same as any other person. This technique ensures that the audience connects with his persona and identifies with his point of view. Knowing his background and personal information about him, the viewer feels like they know him, trusting him to show the truth about issues. The inclusion of short segments from comedy shows like Chris Rock and South Park comes from the "docutainment" elements, a subgenre of documentary that uses all the tools of high-production feature films, including animation, fast-motion photography, graphics, editing and music. Moore stated that “The best comedians were the angriest ones. Their humor was the other side of the coin of their anger.” This shows that Moore believes the inclusion of such elements is equally relevant to any other "serious" film as most comedies, including his, are ultimately drawn from social satire. The use of modern popular music such as "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" layered overimages of people carrying firearms and celebrating and advocating the use of guns, portrays irony as a singer-songwriter; John Lennon was a well-known pacifist and anti-war protester. This provides insight into the satirical element that Moore is promoting. This sequence is then immediately followed by a young mother stating, “This is a great place to raise your children.” This montage highlights the juxtaposition of two contrasting ideals and is used significantly throughout the film, primarily to highlight the contrast between perception and reality. is seen again with the arms dealer, who states that America does not just “drop a bomb on them”, referring to the American negotiations. Subsequently, archive footage and newsreels follow all the clashes in which the United States took part are shown on the screen both statistics and images of the civilian death count, while Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" plays in the background. politics as the sequence closes with a powerful image of hijacked planes flying into the World Trade Center. When this is shown, the music fades and the panic of witnesses to the event vanishes, finally belying the weapons manufacturer's words. . In an intentionally disturbing and terrifying later scene, the events of the Columbine massacre are relived with the use of an actual split screen. Security camera video footage of terrified students diving for cover as Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire, overlaid with the recorded voices of frightened 911 callers. The sequence introduces actual emergency calls that are heard on camera, taking the audience through the deserted corridors of the school while solemn music plays in the background before cutting to footage of the shooting and mass panic. The choice to show empty corridors contributes to the disturbing quality of the footage, which echoes the scenes of devastation and death present within the school. The climate of fear following the Columbine disaster is satirized by including the most ridiculous and exaggerated stories of children suspended or otherwise punished in schools for displaying perceived "danger signs." For example, the student suspended for dying his hair or the first grader for pointing a chicken strip at a teacher. This, combined with the "public service" tape showing how easy it is for a student to smuggle firearms when the school has a lax dress code policy, is mocking overreaction and overprotection, especially emphasized while the boy proceeds to pull a loaded rifle out of his pant leg. After it is suggested that the boys' love for Marilyn Manson led them to commit these crimes, Moore conducts an interview with Manson. Manson talks about politics consistently and intelligently and appears to be knowledgeable on the subject. This is juxtaposed with footage of religious protesters who say he is promoting killing and death; pointing out the ridiculousness and lack of connection between the two, particularly as the protester compares the music to a Lexus advert. After the interview Moore states, "The only thing they know about Marilyn Manson is what they've been told", that Manson is "a devil-worshipping lunatic". And it turns out he's very smart. Moore then expands on this and states that if the media “lied to you about something like that, what would they lie to you about today? Of Afghanistan or Iraq? Of Al Qaeda? About the Arabs?” This.