A life changing moment

It’s not every day that your entire existence and purpose in life is called into question. It’s not even every day. At most, it’s once a fortnight, and even that can be called a busy couple of weeks.

Before this point, I’d pretty much set my life plan out. Psychology at university, become a journalist, marry a surgeon, become editor of the Guardian, retire onto an island. Not Ireland, a proper one. I was so sure that this was the path that my life would take (minus the surgeon part, I would be just as happy to marry a Hollywood actress or one or more of the Saturdays), that I took all the precautions to achieve this. All my A level choices and all my work experience is geared towards that path. No flexibility to accommodate any potentially life changing epiphanies that might arise.

I many terrible habits, anyone who went to my old school will testify as to how long I spent with my finger up my nose until the age of 8. One of these which I still suffer from is that I have a tendency to look at someone doing something and think “It’s good……I could do that! Probably better.”

The only reason I ended up watching this film was because I had money left over on an iTunes voucher and it was on special offer. Either this was fate, or no one was buying it at full price. I like to think it was both. I had been looking for an action, romcom or murder mystery film (lolwut?!), but the title attracted me to this.

Bowling for Columbine. What’s not to like? I know what bowling is (a game where you try to knock down pins by rolling a ball at them). I know what Columbine was (a tragic high school massacre in which 12 students and 1 teacher was murdered). I’m sure that everyone, knowing this information, would certainly want to watch it.

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a documentary. I thought documentaries are either videos of penguins with Morgan Freeman and David Attenborough talking over them, or programs on Channel 5 in which incredibly fat people talk about being incredibly fat. This was something else.

A film by someone called Michael Moore, who is basically a left-wing whinger like me, Bowling for Columbine was a powerfully moving film about the weapon crisis in America, and the public’s attitude towards it. Through its masterful imagery and penetrating investigative journalism, the film is both informative as to the problem, and persuasive, making the watcher want to take action. It is wonderful in many ways, not only entertainment, but entertainment with a message. Entertainment that can change the world and make it a better, safer place. I watched this and thought “This is utterly amazing…………I could do that!”

Watching it was possibly a life changing moment, because it completely changed what I want to do as a career. Admittedly, this may not last long (I used to want to be a spaceman), but at the moment it seems to be where I want to go. If anyone hasn’t seen any Michael Moore films, I would recommend this, and also Fahrenheit 911 and Sicko. He is brilliant. If anyone has never seen any documentaries, then what are doing? Seriously, drop everything and go and watch March of the Penguins. It’s a video of penguins, with Morgan Freeman narrating! And not a single high school massacre in sight, what’s not to love?

This one experience has completely changed what I want to do with my life, I want to be a film maker. I want to make films that inspire people and change people. But I still want to marry a Saturday. Preferably Una or Frankie.