Documentary study:

Issues- matters of personal or public concern that are in dispute eg. Gun control/violence
Ideas- understanding, thoughts, opinions and belief

The bank scene: Moore visits the North Country bank in Michigan, that give customers a
free riffle when they open an account
- How easy it is to access weapons in America.

Techniques language-
- Focaliser- person that guides us through the documentary
- Persona- he uses humour and makes jokes
- Appearance- everyday American, baseball cap, t-shirt, jeans. Casual and non-
threatening
 Actuality footage
 Visual codes- close up of newspaper ad
 Editing- quick cut shot where he is handed the gun, highlighting how quick the
process is.
 Interview- informal, not very in depth, is quite sarcastic and condescending, repeats
after the lady to show his view, holding a riffle up above his head he says “don’t you
think it’s a bit dangerous to hand out guns at a bank” (close up shot)

Michigan Militia: Militia- fighting organisation that is not profession, may perform military
service during the war. Not a part of the military
- Type of people who can own guns in America-ignites our fear of those dangerous
people on the fringes of society, By constructing gun owners in a certain way, it is
more likely to persuade us to be in favour of gun control
- We also see different perspectives- reasons why people want the right to bear arms-
mainly protection and mistrust of government institutions to look after them

Techniques:
- Voiceover; connects Michigan Militia to the Oklahoma bombings
- Interviews; vigilantism (wearing camouflage), interviews members, constructed as
people who have no faith/trust in government institutions.
- Close ups; of Militia firring off rounds of bullets at targets, close up of calendar
(patriarchal)
- Archival footage; of Oklahoma bombings, court case etc
- Interview with james Nichols: Moore prompts Nichols as he is filmed ranting/raving
about right to overthrow the government- again represents dangerous fringe ‘when
the government turns tyrannical is your duty to overthrow it”. Nichols is viewed as
paranoid, insecure, Moore dares him into showing him the gun he hides under his
pillow- puts gun to his head- comes across as unhinged/unstable
Montage of US foreign policy;
- America’s highly aggressive foreign policy over 50 years
- We are positioned to view the US gov as irresponsible.
- Moore makes a direct link between US army and training of Osama bin Laden, and
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- Montage;us bombings in Africa and south America- we view the government as
conducting a brutal and violent foreign policy leading to carnage and destruction
- Music/audio; ‘what a wonderful world’, music is ironic, meaning the song juxtaposes
with the images on the screen
- Selection of detail; gives only examples of aggressive foreign policy making decisions.
Shows no policy making decisions that may have had a positive impact
- Written codes: statistics add creditability and authority to Moore’s argument. Stats
are carefully selected.
- Archival footage; black and white images of suffering of humans- people being shot,
close ups of dead bodies, mass graves. Audience feels shock and disgust at the lack
of regard for civilian life
- Editing; 9/11 footage placed last

Scene 4; Columbine school shooting

- The horror and violence of schools shootings
- How easily students can access guns
- Issues surrounding gun control
- The aggressive US foreign policy (and manufacturing of weapons close by the town)
is responsible for teenage gun violence

o Written codes; April 20th 1999- ‘largest one day bombing in Kosovo…’, ‘one hour
later’. Black and white written codes. Making the connection between violence if the
government overseas and violence of teenager through editing of shots
o Voiceover; 911 calls, more and more frantic. Fear and terror of the students and
parents. Creates an immediacy and evokes fear/emotional responds in the audience.
Horror of the unfolding events
o Tracking camera movement; handheld camera shots through the corridors of
Columbine. Setting implies the innocence, the long shot of the empty corridor is
symbolic and eerie
o Split screen footage; surveillance camera. Spotlight, see the boys with their guns
walking through the cafeteria, throwing smoke grenades.
o Archival footage- close up of distressed, traumatised students as they exit the
building
o Voice over/statistics; ‘killed 12 students, teacher, 900 rounds of ammo’. All guns
legally purchased from gun shows and the bullets purchased from the local kmart
o Interviews; with surviving kids- screaming/crying ‘begging him no to shoot me’, cut
shot to Charlton Heston at an NRA rally saying ‘from my cold, dead hands’- mantra of
the organisation. Holds up the riffle- Moore is suggesting that the NRA is responsible
for these school shootings through his choice of edited shots
Gun statistics in America:
- First he ironically suggests ‘bowling’ as a possible cause for the Columbine shooting,
Moore explores other common suggestions for the violence of the US
- Other countries watch violent videos, have broken families, have more poverty, have
a violent past and alienation

Techniques:
- Moore’s voiceover and archival footage runs through this argument
- Written codes and statistics; contrast sharply how many people are killed in America
compared to the rest of the world
- US flag background- largest written code; zooms towards US 11,127. Music builds
- Following on from this Moore expands his argument to look at why America has such
a high gun rate

Media creates culture of fear

- America lives in a culture of fear that has been created by the media
- This seen emphasises the role of the media in reinforcing culture of fear

- Voiceover

- Montage of news reports and what they report on; killer bees about to attack
America, stairway to danger, rise of mental illness

- Show called cops, and how it seems to demonise African American men and
increases our fears, Interviews the creator of the show

Actuality footage:
- Moore and barry Glassner walk about in central LA
- Have a conversation about how you can’t see they Hollywood sign because of the
pollution
- All reports are just murders.
- Moore interviews Arthur Busch who is a prosecutor. He says ‘if it bleeds it leads’
- Also says ‘American people are conditioned by network television and local news to
believe that their communities are a lot more dangerous than they actually are’
- He then goes on to say that crime has decreased but the purchase of guns and the
fear of crime have increased

Possible other scenes:

- kmart; looking at the victims perspective
- Compares America to canada

Genre: Documentary
- Conforms- interviews, montage, voiceover, editing, concerned with the truth
- Subverts- very emotional, no attempt to be objective, includes features of animation
Style:
- Is determined by the choice of particular stylistic features
- Moore is a mocking and sarcastic tone
- Actuality and archival footage
- Split screen footage and 911 calls

Controversy:
- Moore attacks, mocks, critique American society
- Criticises the American government and the American constitution.
- What a wonderful world sequence

Values & attitudes:

- Human rights
- Safety
- Equality
- Protection of children

Attitudes:
- The us government; Moore has a critical attitude
- Gun owners, gun control

- Tradition, protection

- Promoting values- what the director is showing.

Perspectives:
- Influenced by our context.
- Australia is anti guns, while America is more pro gun
- The differing perspectives in the documentary (Moore vs the Michigan militia)

Voice:
- How voice is constructed in a text
- Interviews, which is important for other peoples voices.
- Moore’s voice comes through the technique of voiceover
- Actuality footage
- The contrasting voices

Empathy:
- Is about connection
- Can evoke strong emotions.
- The victims of gun violence.
- Columbine shooting scene
- Interviews with crying children
- Frantic 911 calls
- Daniel’s father, holding the protest sign of his son’s face. The picture of innocence
 - Kmart scene, the victims visiting.

Ideas:
- Gun control; the bank scene, columbine shooting, gun statistics
- Culture of fear