3. Doctored Statistics, Omissions, And Outright Lies
When youre making a biased documentary, you cant just manipulate the footage you get. Youve got to alter statistics, neglect to mention things that contradict your points, and generally just make stuff up as well. The national gun murder statistics put forth by Moore in the film do not match any known studies and it was subsequently revealed that the exceptionally high statistic for America (11,127 gun murders per year) was sourced from the National Centre For Disease Prevention And Control and was a combination of the figures for murders, uses of guns in self-defence, and use of guns by the police. You know, those people who are required to carry and sometimes use guns as part of their job. According to the FBIs official figures, the average annual total of firearms murders is closer to eight thousand. But, of course, this is a film where facts take a back seat to hype and propaganda so since the higher figure supported Moores point, he chose to use that one. A notable omission in Bowling For Columbine is the fact that the NRAs rally in Denver was planned years before the Columbine shootings, and that the NRA is legally required to hold an annual meeting. In response to the tragedy, the NRA cut back the rally to only the events that they were legally required to hold. In the film, Moores narration states Just ten days after the Columbine killings, despite the pleas of a community in mourning, Charlton Heston came to Denver and held a large pro-gun rally for the National Rifle Association. The direct implication being that Heston and the NRA decided to capitalise on the areas newfound notoriety and the grief of the community for their own gain when, in reality, it was just an unfortunate coincidence. Moore makes a big thing about weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin being based in Littleton and speculates on whether that had any kind of influence on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (the Columbine gunmen). Pretty standard for a documentary about weapon violence. But Atlas and Titan, the rockets shown in the Lockheed Martin sequences and being driven though the streets of Littleton in the dead of night, are in fact space launch vehicles, not weapons of mass destruction as Moore claims. Whether or not it was a simple mistake is open to debate. But the fact remains that it was incorrect. Just under half an hour into the film, were treated to some footage of a retired B-52 bomber that was put on display at the US Air Force Academy in Littleton. Moore tells the audience that The plaque underneath it (the bomber) proudly proclaims that this plane killed Vietnamese people on Christmas Eve, 1972. The film never actually shows the plaque closely enough that the text would be legible. For the record, this is an image of the plaque: You can debate about whether or not the text on this plaque is a proud proclamation about killing Vietnamese people until the cows come home, but what it shows is that, although Moore claims he was paraphrasing, his description is a gross oversimplification at best, or at worst, a deliberate deception. After all, would having a Spitfire on display on display with a plaque detailing how it shot down a Heinkel or a Messerschmitt be a proud proclamation that it killed German people? No, just a statement of fact.