Belonging is being part of something r having a common interest or relation between a group. Belonging can be either positive or negative, when you belong to a group you have a sense of security and being in a connection with other group members, when you are not connected you fill misfit and always in fear. This is shown in the documentary bowling for columbine by Michael Moore that shows American society and how different people react when they belong or not belong and what do they do to solve it.
Michael Moore trains his humorous eye on America’s obsession with guns and violence in his documentary, which gets its title from a pair of loosely related incidents. On April 20, 1999, shortly before they began their infamous killing spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Eric and Dylan attended their favorite class, a no-credit bowling course held at a bowling alley near the school. While thinking of these events, Moore humorously considers the link between random violence and the game of ten pins.
Those two boys were bullied in school so they decided to take out their anger by shooting everyone in school then shooting themselves since they excluded from their school community they lost their sense of belonging so they had to create a group for themselves the called it trenchcoat mafia and that’s how they felt that they belonged to something compare to the creators of south park they decide to take their anger by creating a TV show and they found their sense of belonging with the show.
Belonging to a group, culture, nationality or school all has an effect on the individual’s sense of self. While outside forces such as discrimination may have an impact, it is essentially the individual’s decision to belong. This is shown throughout the Michael Moore documentary bowling for columbine where a voice over of people calling 911 a telling them about a crime and they suspect a black man or a Hispanic man. A black screen with the voice written in white to focus on what is said.
Michael Moore takes his documentary to Canada to emphasis on the gun kills in America, he finds that Canada are more gun lovers that Americans but he still can’t understand why does America has such a high gun killed people that any other country by heaps. In Canada they don’t get scared of their neighbor, they do not lock their doors even after they have been victims of crime and they believe if someone is willing to go inside your house a lock not going to stop it.
Then people said maybe because Americans have a lot of African American people but Moore while walking through the streets of Canada most of them were black man. Bowling for columbine by Michael Moore, illustrate how it is essentially the individual’s decision, not the impact of outside influences, which allow them to belong or not belong. The individual must desire to belong and accept who they are before they can belong to a culture, school, Neighborhood or nationality.
