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Essay / The use of manipulation techniques in the documentary Bowling for Columbine
Violence is the driving force that creates fear in every society. It is therefore not surprising that America, one of the most patriotic, greedy and powerful countries in the world, experiences constant domestic turmoil because of the monopoly of the culture of fear. Filmmaker Michael Moore, in his groundbreaking documentary “Bowling for Columbine,” explores this ingrained culture of America's fearful, bigoted and violent nature. Moore's documentary following the 1999 Columbine High School massacre attempts to answer the question "why are guns so accessible in the United States?" ". Bowling for Columbine challenges audiences to interpret cultural assumptions about gun violence and discusses the fear embedded in American society leading to a gun-derived nation. The film meritoriously enlightens the audience to perceive issues that are direct representations of Moore's own attitudes and beliefs, propaganda. Michael Moore's manipulation of propaganda techniques creates a negative portrayal of gun control that reflects his personal values. Moore's manipulation is evident through his use of montage, juxtaposition, and oversimplification. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Moore highlights and isolates selective scenes using propaganda editing and interview techniques to manipulate the audience. He excludes sections of interviews that may contain legitimate counterarguments and favorably edits them to represent his negative beliefs about gun violence. Moore's most obvious example of editing is the cleverly asked questions of the speakers. In interviews, Moore frequently asks speakers "yes or no" questions, then cuts to clips degrading their response and not showing their elaborate response. Evidently, thirteen minutes into the documentary, Michael Moore asks pro-gun 1995 Oklahoma City bombing suspect James Nichols a question. “Why not follow the path of Gandhi, he had no weapons and he defeated the British Empire?” Moore deliberately questions Nichols knowing he won't get an answer. “I don’t know that,” Nichols responds hesitantly. Moore then cuts to a resident who responds, "Oscoda has a bad habit of breeding psychopaths." Moore's positioning of questions shapes the public's perception to favor their negative beliefs about gun control. In editing, Moore excludes sections of interviews that may contain legitimate arguments and selectively edits scenes to mock and satirize the speakers' responses. Deliberately editing another clip after the interview degrades the speaker's argument and positions the audience to view the speaker as not credible and Moore as a trustworthy source. He effectively conveys his point of view without having to verbally interact with the audience, he allows them to formulate their own opinions using the biased nature of interviews and editing. Likewise, the selective manipulation of images in this interview characterizes Nichols as manic and unstable. By editing the interview to have a speaker afterwards, Moore disregards Nichols' credibility, so the audience is then able to agree with Moore. Moore's successful use of montage in "Bowling for Columbine" manipulates the audience into viewing Michael Moore's arguments as trustworthy and the speakers as unreliable. It can be argued that the use.