Bowling for Columbine

Bowling for Columbine

In 2002 Michael Moore's film "Bowling for Columbine" won the Oscar for best documentary. Unfortunately, in my opinion I do not believe that this movie is a documentary or truth. Bowling for Columbine is FICTION! The movie makes its points by easily deceiving and misleading the viewer. Moore uses deception as its primary tool of persuasion and effect.

A major theme in Bowling for Columbine is that the NRA is coldhearted towards the killings. In the movie Charlton Heston (President of the NRA) comes to Denver to hold a large pro-gun rally for the National Rifle Association. During Heston's speech he reads a message from the mayor of Denver that states, " Don't come here. We don't want you here." Heston then responds by saying, "Mayor this is our country, as Americans we're free to travel wherever we want in our broad land. Don't come here? We're already here!" From the viewer's point of view it seems that the NRA rushed to Littleton to hold rallies and demonstrations directly after the Columbine tragedy. I've actually done a little research on this topic in high school. I found out that the demonstration in Denver was not related to Columbine, but in fact an annual meeting, whose place and time had been fixed years in advance. At Denver, the NRA cancelled all events (normally several days of committee meetings, sporting events, dinners, rallies, etc.) save the annual members' voting meeting -- that could not be cancelled because the state law governing nonprofits required that it be held. [No way to change location, since under NY law you have to give 10 days' advance notice of that to the members, there were upwards of 4,000,000 members -- and Columbine happened 11 days before the scheduled meeting.] Bowling however used deception by not providing all the facts. In a letter to NRA members, President Charlton Heston and the group's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, said all seminars, workshops, luncheons, exhibits by gun makers and other vendors, and festivities are canceled. All that's left is a members' reception and the annual meeting, set for 10 a.m. May 1 in the Colorado Convention Center. Under its bylaws and New York state law, the NRA must hold an annual meeting. Heston and LaPierre also wrote another letter stating, "The tragedy in Littleton