Every society is instilled with fear by violence. America, one among the wealthiest, most patriotic, and most powerful countries in the globe, is in constant turmoil because of its fear-culture monopoly. Michael Moore’s groundbreaking documentary, “Bowling for Columbine”, explores America’s deep-rooted fearful, bigotry & violent culture. Moore’s documentary about the Columbine High School shooting attempts to answer the question, “Why is gun ownership so easy in America?” Bowling for Columbine challenges viewers to think critically about cultural assumptions regarding gun violence. The film also examines the fear embedded in American society that leads to a nation based on guns. The film is a valuable tool for educating the public about issues that directly reflect Moore’s beliefs and attitudes. Michael Moore manipulates propaganda techniques to create a negative portrayal of guncontrol that is representative of his personal values. Moore’s manipulative methods include editing, juxtaposition, oversimplification.

Moore isolates and highlights selected scenes by using interview and editing techniques to manipulate audiences. He edits interviews to exclude any legitimate counter-arguments, and he does so in order to express his anti-gun violence beliefs. Moore’s cleverly-phrased questions to speakers is his most obvious example. Moore often asks speakers if they are happy to answer a question. Then, he cuts to clips that degrade their answers and doesn’t show their elaborated answers. At thirteen minutes in, Moore asks James Nichols, a pro-guns Oklahoma City Bombing suspect from 1995, a question. Moore asks Nichols a question knowing that he will not respond. Nichols hesitates and says, “I don’t know that.” Moore cuts to a resident and asks, “Oscoda is known for raising psychos.” Moore’s choice of questions influences the perception of the audience to support his anti-gun control beliefs. Moore edits interviews to remove any legitimate arguments. He also selects scenes to mock and satirise speakers’ answers. Moore’s purposeful editing of another clip after an interview reduces credibility and makes Moore a less trustworthy source. He communicates his message effectively without needing to interact verbally with the audience. Instead, he allows them freedom to form their own opinions using the biases of editing and interviews. Nichols is also labeled unstable and manic by the selective manipulations of footage. Moore edits the interview to show Nichols after. This puts Nichols credibility at risk and encourages audiences to support Moore. Moore’s success in editing ‘Bowling for Columbine’ makes audiences believe that Moore’s arguments and speakers are trustworthy. Moore mocks a clip that explains an idea, and then contradicts it in his own clips to show a negative belief system. Moore uses juxtaposition well to his advantage. He successfully communicates an idea through clips without ever having to verbally say it. At twenty-four minutes, Moore employs juxtaposition by playing a montage from Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World’. Moore employs ‘What a Wonderful World’ as a positive song about the beauty of life. This is edited over a montage highlighting the murders and wars in the United States. This juxtaposition, or relative difference, highlights America’s culture of violence. Moore asks viewers: What a beautiful world? Moore effectively communicates his point, but he doesn’t have to say anything. He allows the audience to express their opinions through the biased nature Juxtaposition. Moore makes America look bad by making Americans feel angry, ashamed, disgusted, and embarrassed about America’s past violence. Moore manipulates audiences’ emotions to make them accept his values and beliefs. Moore leads audiences to the conclusion without ever having to speak to them. The clips speak more for Moore than Moore. Moore’s manipulations in juxtaposition in “Bowling for Columbine” helped viewers to understand his negative opinion about gun violence without the need to speak.

Michael Moore’s manipulation can be seen in his oversimplification of American gun control. Moore minimizes the problems associated with race and encourages bigotry in American culture. Moore employs deductive reasoning to support his claims. This includes prejudicial language and mockery, as well as the oversimplification of fundamental truths. Moore’s oversimplification of ideas and concepts regarding America’s history is the most obvious example of editing. Moore uses a short cartoon animation for a light discussion of America’s history at 50 minutes. Moore uses the montage to criticize America’s government and convey his belief that it is a culture based on fear, which damages American citizens. The cartoon animation simplifies concepts and gives audiences a quick overview of American history. The cartoon compares the KKK, which is a national terrorist organisation to the NRA, an organisation of patrioticism. The audience is influenced by the comparison to see NRA as equivalent to terrorist activity, furthering Moore’s anti-gun views. This animation shows America’s fearful culture. It mocks American history, mocking how deeply gun violence has been ingrained in American history. Moore could have made a boring history video. However, he chose a cartoon that was captivating and humorous because he knew its humor. The cartoon used to tell American history is meant to be seen as a joke by audiences. Moore’s personal values reflect the humor of oversimplification. Moore’s values and beliefs are reflected in the film’s effective manipulation of oversimplification.

Moore is able to convince audiences with his convictions and skills at manipulating them. Moore succeeds in answering the question, “Why are guns so easily accessible in the United States?” Moore’s manipulations of the propaganda techniques of editing and juxtaposition creates a negative portrayal of gun control. It is reflective his personal values.