In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore uses humour at strategic points to emphasize his social criticism of the fear mongering in American society, and the particularly high level of gun violence it causes. The dominating theme of fear in news media plants a feeling of insecurity and danger in citizen’s minds, promoting possession and use of guns. One employment of this technique is the animated cartoon detailing the violent history of America: A Brief History of the USA. While the cartoon seems to be a shallow comedic animation, it shows viewers that fear-induced gun use was prominent throughout the history of the USA. As the cartoon describes through its