After watching Bowling for Columbine during tonight's class, I had the same thoughts that I had when I previously viewed the movie ---- move to Canada!!! I don't know what it is about our country that causes Columbine-level tragedies to occur. Other countries in the world are massively populated, have gun-owning citizens, have poverty, etc--- why does an event like the Columbine shooting happen in America?? For me, the strongest parts of the film were when Moore showed us about the gun culture of America...um, I guess that's the whole movie, right? Especially memorable is when Moore opens up a bank account and gets a free gun as an incentive. He then asks, "Is it really a good idea to give out free guns at a bank?" When I think of gun culture, I guess I think of the Midwest areas that are shown in the film- there's more open land, people hunt, people out there are "different."
I guess I don't think of "gun culture," when I think of Morris County and the area where I live- but I am sure it exists- whether it is in the form of kids being obsessed with gun-crazy games like Grand Auto Theft or if it is in the form of kids at local high schools actually being part of gang culture. Although I have never looked into it, I am assuming that I could easily walk into a sporting goods store and get access to a gun. My family has friends in Sussex county; we went up to their house and went out "shooting," for fun. My boyfriend's dad is fascinated with guns and gets a Smith/Wesson catalog monthly. Gun culture is everywhere in America. Gun culture is in other countries too, which brings us back to Moore's question of WHY did Columbine happen here?
When the Canadians in the movie mentioned that they don't lock their doors at night, I thought of how Moore told us about American media and how it emphasizes a culture of fear. When I watch the news, the most vivid things I recall are violent acts-- the 2 things I recall right now are the case with the grad school student who was killed outside of a bar in the city and the three subway riders who were randomly stabbed last week. Culture of fear--- I think it leads to all us being scared and cautious of one another. I've been to other countries [Canada, France, and England]- and I have been to big cities in those countries too- people seem open... not totally oblivious but not fearful. In the US, you walk down the street and people don't look up and look back at you... they either stare at the ground or look straight ahead, zoning you out. I just think people need to be more open to each other... I'm instantly reminded of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine tells a friend that she thinks everyone in the city should wear nametags so that the city has a nicer "feel." I don't know if nametags are the answer...but I think this country has a big issue with people isolating themselves from one another. Now an adult can be isolated from others and be fine... a teen though... teens like Eric and Dylan... who knows what can happen.
I'm not sure if the movie answered the question about WHY this tragedy occurred... but it definitely raised a lot of questions- I guess that was the point.
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