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RESEARCH TOPICS
VARIOUS APPLICATIONS
Have students do research on the topics below. This exercise will provide a greater understanding of the film and its issues.
- Have students work in pairs or small groups to research some or all of the following topics before (or after) watching the movie. Each group will become experts on one area and report back to the class. (In some cases you may choose only to give them the general topic and not the extra information about the casualties.)
- If possible, have them research online so they can find multiple sources. After finishing the research, have them present the information to the class with or without a visual aid (e.g., maps, timelines, statistical charts, key names, photo essay, list of sources). It may also be helpful to give students a minimum and maximum time frame they must work in.
- Use lessons "What is terrorism? Who are the terrorists?" and "Whose terrorism?" Have students define "terrorism."
- After viewing the film, have students write brief factual scenarios for numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 7 and 11 below, substituting alternate names for the countries involved (see: "Whose Terrorism?" lesson plan for examples). When groups are ready, exchange scenarios with other groups and have students answer these questions:
Which, if any, of these activities should be considered "terrorism" according to your definition of terrorism? (See "What is terrorism? Who are the terrorists?")
Who are the "terrorists"?
What more would you need to know to be more sure of your answer?
These exercises also provide an opportunity for students to practice their research and speaking skills.
Helpful resources can be found at: www.michaelmoore.com and www.BowlingforColumbine.com.
RESEARCH EXPERT PROJECT
These following topics are from the film Bowling for Columbine:
- 1953: U.S. overthrows Prime Minister Mossadegh of Iran. U.S. installs the Shah as dictator.
- 1954: U.S. overthrows democratically elected President Arbenz of Guatemala. 20,000 civilians are killed.
- 1963: U.S. backs assassination of South Vietnamese President Diem.
- 1963-1975: U.S. military kills 4 million people in Southeast Asia.
- September 11, 1973: U.S. stages a military coup in Chile. Democratically elected president Salvador Allende is assassinated. Dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet is installed. 5,000 Chileans are murdered.
- 1977: U.S. backs military rulers of El Salvador. 7,000 Salvadorans and four American nuns are killed.
- 1980s: U.S. trains Osama bin Laden and fellow Muslim terrorists to kill Soviets. CIA gives them $3 billion.
- 1981: Reagan administration trains and funds "Contras" to fight government.
30,000 Nicaraguans die.
- 1982: U.S. provides billions in aid to Saddam Hussein for weapons to kill Iranians.
- 1983: The White House secretly gives Iran weapons to kill Iraqis.
- 1989: CIA agent Manuel Noriega (also serving as president of Panama) disobeys orders from Washington. U.S. invades Panama and removes Noriega.
- 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait with weapons from U.S.
- 1991: U.S. enters Iraq. Bush reinstates dictator of Kuwait.
- 1998: U.S. bombs "weapons factory" in Sudan. The factory turns out to be making aspirin.
- 1991-making of the film: U.S. planes bomb Iraq on a weekly basis. The United Nations estimates that 500,000 Iraqi children die from bombing and sanctions.
- 2000-2001: U.S. gives Taliban-ruled Afghanistan $245 million in "aid."
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