Nobody divides opinion quite like Michael Moore but love him or loathe him, you certainly cannot ignore him.
After his excellent Bowling for Columbine & Fahrenheit 911, he is back sticking it to the US administration with Sicko, where he takes on the American health system and the major pharmaceutical companies who deserve a severe kick in the pants if anybody does.
His style may not be the most sophisticated but what he does do is take a subject, in the case of Bowling For Columbine he challenged the US gun culture, and drives it forcibly right between your eyes.
His tactics have been called into question with complaints of controversial editing and insinuation but his views have made him a hate figure for the right wing who do not much care for the spotlight being shone so brightly on their thoughts.
As for Sicko, i have no interest in the subject matter, America's Health System is America's affair but i am just glad to see someone continuing to stand up to Governments seeking to quieten dissent as it goes about its shady business unmolested.
I just wish we had someone like him here.
34 comments:
"and drives it forcibly right between your eyes."
I think you meant "farcically"...
I think Moore is a subversive force to be reckoned with.
P.S. - Don't let anyone edit your comments, Lu.
I'm consistently amused by how many of these 'erudite' critiques of his work seem to always mention that he's fat, or that he has a crap haircut. Ha! Enough already, I didn't want to shag him in first place.
Still, I've got mixed feelings about Moore, personally. I'm slightly depressed that such an unsubtle polemicist is (by a million miles) the most famous documentary-maker on the planet, but hey - I guess that's the way of the world.
He gives one side of the story only, but then again, so do a lot of news organisations and at least Moore doesn't purport to do any different.
And, taking something like 'Farenheit 9-11', I'd be willing to bet that most people who saw that film walked out of the theatre vastly better informed about the invasion of Iraq than they were when they walked in - having only digested the subservient 'news' sources up until that point - so my overall opinion is that he's a net positive.
PS: I'm with O'Tim, long live unmolested comments! Down with forgery and intellectual dishonesty! :-p
Lucy, what the right says about Michael Moore, is the same as what the left says about Rush Limbaugh. They are the same person telling lies, half truths, and fantastical statements trying to advance their own agenda. I personally think that the world would be a better place if both of them would would suddenly disappear. THe only thing that these two media whores manage to do is to fire up the opposition, not their base. Oh, and while I'm on the topic, I HATE THE EXTREMISTS on both sides of the aisle here in this country.
Well said, Cody.
Is it intellectually dishonest to refer to Rush Limbaugh as a lying gasbag as well, or just Michael Moore?
I have a whetstone you can borrow anytime, O'Tim.
Value...
value.
Sheesh :-)
I certainly have my reservations about the guy, but goddam if he doesn't put the right people's knickers in a sweary twist :)
"if he doesn't put the right people's knickers in a sweary twist :)"
The right people? or the Right people?
Or...the people who are correct?
The last gets my vote. And Looney's as well, apparently.
So Lucy's opening line proves true:
"Nobody divides opinion quite like Michael Moore, but love him or loathe him, you certainly cannot ignore him."
I should clarify that I'm with Cheezy in having mixed feelings about MM. But he's a fucksight funnier than Limbaugh, who is the furthest thing from correct and who far outranks Moore in ignorability.
Mark - Your offer is generous, and I would be remiss if I did not in turn politely invite you to lick my ginsu.
The good old fashioned personal insults thrown at Mickey Moore because he likes the odd pie or 7.
He may not be the best film maker but his style ruffles the feathers of those he aims his canon at, as is shown at the comments so far from some, so i would say mission accomplished Mr Moore. Have another pie.
"Mark - Your offer is generous, and I would be remiss if I did not in turn politely invite you to lick my ginsu."
Hard to do seeing as how you seem to have fallen on it.
Now, now, kids...
Lucy: I like MM and actually own "Bowling for Columbine", but a person has to view his work with an objective eye. But that's the way it should be with everything, IMO.
I don't care how fat, thin, fit or unfit MM (or any other filmmaker) is. I don't like pie, except for Boston Cream. Is it Boston Cream?
"fucksight funnier than Limbaugh..."
Now *that* is quite right!
"...pie or 7..."
BWAHHHH!!!
Pissed meself agin...
:-)
Huh? O'Tim fell on a knife?
????
Hmmmm.. oh, well. As the song says, "Give it up. Don't try to understand."
Anyway, on the actual topic.... I haven't seen any of Moore's movies, I just remember him doing some stuff on Comedy Central. I'd say that he has similarities to Rush but isn't exactly the other side of the coin. Moore, for example, hasn't helped sway public opinion toward a disasterously unproductive, sad excuse for policy. He certainly hasn't helped sell the case for killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in order to alleviate our fear. If you want to compare him to another liar, I'd say that Pinocchio is a closer match than Rush.
I also don't pay any more attention to MoveOn.org than I do their republican't counterpart, whose name I forget - something about families, I think. They, with Rush and Moore and O'Reilly and the others, are all a symptom of America's sickness, which has facts taking a back seat to invective and hyperbole, much to the detriment of our political and social system. It got started with Rush and his ilk in the 90s, and has only gotten worse under this administration that promised to "unite, not divide" , with many on the left feeling that they must adopt the right's dirty tactics in order to compete.
Before anybody asks - I take this administration to task in this because it, far more than any other I have lived through, has fostered an attitude of ignoring facts and reacting to any disagreement with vitriol and accusation.
Apparently MM likes Boston Cream Pie.
And Lemon Meringue.
Key Lime.
Apple Pie a la Mode. (Double helping of Ben and Jerry's, I expect).
Pumpkin (most decidedly WITH whipped cream, and fuckloads of it).
Blueberry.
Cherry pie. (Pie actually, who'd sleep with him?).
Peach (and cobbler, too).
In fact, isn't he singlehandedly responsible for keeping Marie Callender's in business?
To be honest DD, the only people who will go and see his films are the already converted, everyone else will ignore them and make fun of his weight which i could take as meaning they cannot refute his claims. Always easier to attack the person making the remarks than to actual tackle his claims.
So true, lucy. I hope that "Sicko" is more like "Roger & Me" was and that he puts the story before his own fame. That was the charm of the early Moore work, I think.
I liked "Bowling For Columbine," but thought he went to far in attacking Heston. After some thought, though, perhaps that is just what we need in the U.S.: we need to feel uncomfortable enough to actually DO SOMETHING.
I would guess nat, that the reason he provokes such a fiece reaction from some is that he does make them feel uncomfortable.
As i said in the post, he may not be the best at this kind of film making and his style is questionable but it does bring subjects out into the open that some would prefer were safely hidden away.
That has to be a good thing.
Okay, see my latest, Lucy. And I didn't call him fat.
Seen and left a comment mark. Controversial subject isn't he Michael Moore, and his film isn't even out yet!
Naw, just a fat blowhard that makes great blogfodder.
*ducking and running*
They, with Rush and Moore and O'Reilly and the others, are all a symptom of America's sickness, which has facts taking a back seat to invective and hyperbole, much to the detriment of our political and social system.
Ah, very well said.
However,
with many on the left feeling that they must adopt the right's dirty tactics in order to compete.
Can we please dispense with the nonsense that somehow the left would be as pure as the driven snow if only there wasn't the devil to make 'em do it.
Most politicians in America are cut from whole cloth and differ only in the political platforms they choose to support in their quest for power.
To be honest DD, the only people who will go and see his films are the already converted, everyone else will ignore them and make fun of his weight which i could take as meaning they cannot refute his claims.
Well. Not true. But enjoy your fantasy nonetheless. It's about as factual as Moore's "documentaries."
"Can we please dispense with the nonsense that somehow the left would be as pure as the driven snow if only there wasn't the devil to make 'em do it"
Well, THANKS for avoiding hyperbole, Looney. :-)
Not quite what I said, but I could have been clearer, I grant. I was referroing to the use of media demagogues whose purpose is to use disinformation to manipulate and divide. I know it's nothing new, been going on for millenia, but the current breed which exist on both sides undeniably started with Rush and is still dominated by the right.
Let us also not pretend that Rove isn't the slimiest sonofabitch since Machiavelli.
I think you should do at least one MM post a month, Lucy. The hysterical reaction from the righties is nothing short of sensational. I can almost picture the smoke coming out of their ears! I particularly love the ones who, over the course of several posts, say he isn't worthy of any serious analysis!
Unfortunately, not being privy to certain private exchanges, some people are ignorant of the true nature of the exchanges, i.e. that it was all great fun and rounded out an otherwise monotonous day of paperwork. But don't let me burst your bubble.
The smoke was just POURING out of our ears. Our heads exploded. The Left won. It was ugly...
"Let us also not pretend that Rove isn't the slimiest sonofabitch since Machiavelli."
Since Machiavelli, not since Kissinger? Hmmm, controversial, Joe... but I'm not going to argue with ya!
I love their hysterical reactions Cheezy, especialy when they don't even realise they are being hysterical.
If their knees jerked any higher they would fall on their backs.
I'd like to see a certain kitten fall on her back when I pull her tail...
;o)>
A beetle on it's back is funnier, kittens always land on their feet.
Kittens are sexier.
I would guess nat, that the reason he provokes such a fiece reaction from some is that he does make them feel uncomfortable.
The only that makes me uncomfortable is knowing how many people accept his films as being factual.
Anyone can say anything, but that doesn't mean that it is accurate, truthful or moral.
Anyone can say anything, but that doesn't mean that it is accurate, truthful or moral.
Bush & Blair anyone?
"Bush & Blair anyone?"
No thanks!
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