MUBI

(quick comment:)

Somethings he gets right, but there’s a lot that is off that prevents him from making some more radical conclusions. He sounds like a liberal who’s seen the wreckage of capitalism, but can’t quite articulate the why’s. He needs to read more Marx, less of the Bible. Also that little chart showing wages stagnating? This is key, but it didn’t start with Reaganomics- hello, the 1970s? In juncture with the decline of industrial manufacturing, union busting, and credit cards (amongst other factors) we’ve entered into this era of capitalism in which we’ve been forced to use credit cards to make up for the difference, increasing debt, in an economy driven by speculation and financial instruments. It’s a house of cards, but an endlessly exploratory and exploitative one. Capitalism could be on its last legs, but those legs could stand for quite a while.

Obviously, Moore’s background pushes him to a somewhat syndicalist stance, but that itself is not enough. He also talks a lot about “spreading the wealth” vis a vis a democratic-socialist welfare state, mentioning Germany and Japan with little actual analysis of their social and economic situations. The welfare state is dead/stagnating too. No, we need something much more radical, and in turn we need a much more radical reading of capitalism.

And electoral voting is definitely not the solution!

He doesn’t explore communism at all (besides some clips of soviet propaganda for kitsch) but guess that might be too much to ask given the ongoing redbaiting in this country.

Still, I enjoyed the small stories that he found, and really he would have done better to film a documentary on the Chicago Windows & Doors Plant and home occupations. The film suffered from lack of coherent organization, too much kitsch, and an uneven message.

I think this little David Harvey clip says much more than Moore’s film (albeit, without the human drama)

Moore’s smartarse style can be irritating but here his full frontal polemic hits the nail bang on the head; the US brand of Capitalism, as practised since Ronald Reagan and his croney Donald Regan set the bull loose, is a rotten system. I was particularly pleased that along the way Moore skewered the Right’s ridiculous appropriation of Christianity; the public have been well and truly hoodwinked on that line. The corruption of privatised criminal justice, with profits made from the incarceration of youngsters for trivial offences, was both telling and troubling. Of course the media continues its dirty brainwashing on behalf of the corporate exploiters. It’ll take a lot more than Michael Moore for the necessary change, but the film does show the potential of a united stand and that even in the US it hasn’t always been this way; Franklin D Roosevelt’s intended Bill of Rights a poignant missed opportunity and an alternative that should still be aimed for

Academy Award winning American documentary filmmaker Michael Moore (“Fahrenheit 9/11” & “Bowling for Columbine”) focuses on the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and the recovery stimulus in this entertaining little film which has picked up numerous awards and nominations including the Little Golden Lion at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.

The film takes broad pot-shots at Wall Street’s “casino mentality”, for-profit prisons, Goldman Sachs’ influence in Washington, DC, the poverty-level wages of many airline pilots, the large wave of home foreclosures and toilet flushing cats in a rather unfocused attack on corporate America that never really seems to get its target in its sights.

Michael Moore seems to be becoming something of an overblown caricature of himself as he narrates his story, reintroduces us to his folks, runs through some by now well worn family history and finally whips out the bullhorn for some more of his patented pointless stunts which he actually seems to be starting to take seriously.

The film was originally announced follow up to Fahrenheit 9/11 after President Bush was elected to a second term but has in subsequent years lost all focus through numerous re-edits and changes in direction leaving an occasionally entertaining piece of agitprop which leaves something of a bitter taste as Moore finally turns on his audience.

“What the fuck happened?”

Disturbing. Michael Moore comes full circle twenty years after Roger And Me with his hard-hitting documentation of the events leading up to the present economic crisis of America and the world at large. Moore deftly exposes the corruption behind high-profile politicians and the dependence of Bush’s administration on Goldman Sachs and Wall Street. As is typical of Moore’s documentary style, the interviews with victims of the crisis who are being evicted from their homes provide the most moving moments of the film. Another cleverly composed and witty film from the master of the political documentary genre, but still not up to the standard of Moore’s previous endeavours. A must see for all Americans.

I generally agree with Moore’s politics and his challenging of authority. I couldn’t help but be carried along by his message. He inspires action through the subjects he interviews. Michael Moore movies are rare film going experiences that always get people in the audience feeling a variety of emotions. Both of his movies I’ve seen in theaters have had people yelling at the screen, usually in disbelief of the villains he portrays and with empathy toward the victims. Plus I like his use of humor to break up serious issues. There are some interesting comparisons that can be made between this documentary and Capra’s depression set It’s a Wonderful Life. My favorite part was the archival film footage of Franklin Delano Roosevelt suggesting a second Bill of Rights. Have you heard of this bit of history? I’m sorry to say I hadn’t. Michael Moore includes Last Call Cleveland’s Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism video (also available on YouTube) and finds assumed lost newsreel coverage of President F.D.R.!

As Benjamin Franklin said, (and I’m paraphrasing) “Corruption does not begin with the government but rather with the people.” In other words, maybe if there weren’t assholes in the world, we wouldn’t have any problems regardless of how our communities are planned and wealth is allocated. Unfortunately for Michael Moore, we don’t live in fantasy land. No type of economic system, whether it be capitalism, socialism, locally planned economies, or participatory economic systems dictate how people will act, nor can they eliminate the unfortunate truth that there are people looking to take advantage of any situation possible for their own well being. Someone will attempt to manipulate the system for their own benefit regardless of what it is. The frequency of human nature has always remained constant, and history has proven this time and time again, yet we refuse to believe that we won’t be the generation to prove it wrong. In Tarkovsky’s “Solaris,” there is a line stating that “the salvation of humanity lies in it’s shame.” I feel that’s truly insightful, and honestly the only way we’re going to make real change occur – to be made fools of by our own arrogance. Apparently we are going to need a bigger wake up call than the global financial meltdown to realize that social responsibility and a genuine concern for others needs to come before anything else. Also make note of the fact that this film was funded by Viacom, one of the larger media conglomerates in the world, who has many ties with the corporations (namely Goldman Sachs) which Moore curses to no ends. Ironic, eh? I’m a total supporter of a free economy, with regulations attached to provide safety nets in case another firm goes under like Lehman Brothers did. Also as a firm believer that the United States was built off of the notion of free choice, I resent the fact that due to the invested interests that both companies and unions have in our system, they have in many ways significantly limited the choices we reserve (for instance, as petroleum has peaked, I don’t think there is anyone who would rather rely on it as opposed to electricity and wind.) Free-markets create a much needed barrier between the people and the government, and in some ways insure a higher quality of living. This battle between big business and big government is stupid, neither of them should be as big as they’ve gotten. In an ideal world, I’d prefer to see the public break away from these massive institutions all together and start thinking locally to provide true economic stability for the world, while supplying a platform which promotes creative and out-of-the-box thinking rather than a large status quo. I would say the main problem we’re facing with a totally capitalist society is that it was designed to operate with those who actively participate in market doing so rationally. This has clearly not happened, and now no one is totally sure on what to do about it. I guess the fun part about living in a time of such uncertainty is that we get to see what happens. My question about Moore is why has he yet to release a documentary which is all about solutions to problems, instead of identifying what we already knew existed. 2 stars for a semi-documentary that brings some reasonable issues to attention while still ignoring many, many more.