| Submit your comments on this article |
| Fifth Column |
| Who is Michael Moore? |
| 2003-11-24 |
| Hat tip Protest Warrior The hulking, disheveled figure of Michael Moore isn’t the kind of thing you’re supposed to be see in the parlors of Celebrity Nation. Like a wild boar let loose at a Kennedy wedding, Moore seems out of place, dangerous, eager to topple the buffet table and pee on the carpet. Duh! He’s a son of a bitch! Last March, when Moore won an Oscar for his film "Bowling for Columbine" and used the occasion to scream at President Bush for the impending invasion of Iraq, he sealed his reputation as pop culture’s boorish, uninvited guest, that galoot from one of those flat states who had the pretty people sniffing, "How did you get in here?" He forged a "documentary." How indeed did a guy who looks more natural behind the counter of a bait shop than on the couches of talk shows become America’s most rude and Not as much as some people deceive themselves into thinking. Ever since he first emerged as a professional pain-in-the-keister as the stalker of GE executive Roger Smith in 1989, Moore — who appears Sunday at the Civic — has played up his reputation as a relentlessly cheeky and self-promoting annoyance to corporate suits and Republicans alike. And to people with an IQ above 80/ The new book will both enhance that reputation and turn it upside down. As is his wont, Moore spills a good deal of ink on the skullduggery of the Bush administration and the corporate efforts to manipulate and rip off the working stiff. But he also applies a big, wet, muddy boot to the backside of leftist pieties that may alienate, even enrage those who’ve always looked at him as a populist hero. In an engaging chapter titled "How to Talk to Your Conservative Brother-in-Law," the snide contrarian turns conciliator. He suggests an honest, meet-in-the-middle conversation needs to go on between the right and the left and, in that spirit, he commits a taboo in the culture wars: Conceding the other side rhetorical points. He not only finds qualities to praise in conservatives (dependable, responsible, efficient, organized), but slaps down some notions that would get him the cold shoulder at better Santa Cruz parties: It’s really a bad idea to have sex before you’re 18 (at which point, Moore admits he remained a virgin until the age of 32).His larger point is that so many Americans vote Republican but are in fact RINOs (Republicans in name only), since the plutocrats that run the GOP don’t have their interests at heart. If the nation is to change, Moore said, RINOs must be brought on board with good faith and respect. Yet, even if the Mumia defenders rise up in rebellion against Moore, they’ll never be able to match the right wing in sheer, atavistic hatred. On the Internet, an arena Moore has praised as a compelling alternative to the mainstream press, there are at least three sites devoted to shouting down Moore’s every utterance: Moorelies.com, Moorewatch.com and MichaelMooreHatesAmerica.com, the latter the official site of an in-production documentary by filmmaker Mike Wilson designed to give Moore a fat sloppy taste of his own medicine. There’s even one woman named Rachel Lucas, known for her coffee-mugs emblazoned with the logo "Imagine No Liberals," whose bile towards Moore at least matches Moore’s towards his nemesis, George W. Bush. Lucas has even initiated an online poll offering her fans speculation on what sort of cancer might eventually kill Moore. Moore would probably welcome those kind of enemies. But he’s also taken an increasing amount of heat from more mainstream critics, not only for his poor-taste display at the Oscars, but for charged inaccuracies in "Bowling for Columbine." For example, Moore has been accused of misrepresenting U.S. aid to Afghanistan, adding a caption to an old Bush/Quayle campaign ad that wasn’t in the original ad and staging the scene where he emerged from a bank with a free gun (Moore insists the promotion was real, but others have pointed out that what was depicted was not the way it actually happened). Though Moore has changed (not deleted) the controversial ad caption in the DVD version of "Columbine," he has largely been unrepentant about both the film and the Oscar speech. He has also picked fights with the press, maintaining that corporate-owned media companies generally cannot be trusted (with some exceptions), though ironically, he’s made a fortune publishing his books with such media monsters as Time Warner. Accessibility is another issue with Moore. I made several requests for an interview that were ignored by Moore (though a Moore representative pleaded for my understanding; perhaps he was ignoring her). Others who’ve been denied access to Moore have ironically likened him to the dodgy Roger Smith who avoided Moore in "Roger & Me." To be fair, "Columbine" and "Stupid White Men" have made Michael Moore something of a rock star and more of a media curiosity than when he was struggling to find an audience with films such "The Big One" and misbegotten comedy "Canadian Bacon." Yet, 2004 could raise the stakes of Moore’s career even further. His next project is likely to be have the same effect on the culture wars as a lobbed water balloon would have at a White House press conference. Tabbed "Fahrenheit 911," Moore’s new film will take dead aim on the relationship between the Bush family and the Bin Laden family and what he claims are mysterious links between Bush administration business dealings and the Saudi royal family and how Bush used the 9/11 tragedy to push a business agenda. Again, Moore uses potentially unfriendly corporate entities for his purposes. The production company behind "Fahrenheit 911" is Icon Productions, owned by one of Hollywood’s most conservative voices, Mel Gibson, who probably didn’t think Nixon was such a bad guy either. Contact Wallace Baine atwbaine@santa-cruz.com or at www.wallacebaine.com. Excerpts from Moore’s ‘Dude, Where’s My Country?’ On the enduring popularity of the Republican message: ‘... We’re still addicted to the Horatio Alger fantasy drug. Despite all the damage and all the evidence to the contrary, the average American still wants to hang on to this belief that maybe, just maybe, he or she (mostly he) just might make it big after all. So don’t attack the rich man, because one day that rich man may be me!On the Democrats’ chances of defeating President Bush in 2004: ‘No one — and I mean no one — trusts the Democrats’ ability to get this job done. They are professional losers. They can’t get themselves elected out of a men’s room. Even when they actually win an election — as they did in 2000 — the Democrats STILL lose! How pathetic is that?’On the role of Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 terrorist attacks: ‘Why, when Congress releases its own investigation into September 11, do you, Mr. Bush, censor out 28 pages that deal with the Saudis’ role in the attack? What is behind your apparent refusal to look at the one country that seems to be producing the "terrorists" that have killed our citizens?If You Go WHAT: Michael Moore, presented by UC Santa Cruz Arts & Lectures. |
| Posted by:Atrus |
| #6 In an odd coincidence, the episode where Comic Book Guy dates Agnes Skinner was on when I got home from work last night. |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-11-25 10:54:28 AM |
| #5 Moore reminds me of "Comic Book Guy" from The Simpsons without the biting wit. I think he finally lost his virginity to Agnes Skinner, which is about what Moore could expect. P.S. - "Worst Comment ever!" |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-11-24 6:56:38 PM |
| #4 But... but... but... its SATIRE!!! (Isn't that what he whines whenever anyone points out his -er- departure from the truth?) |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-11-24 6:08:45 PM |
| #3 What, you want truth and accuracy from a leftist screed sheet? Not likely. |
| Posted by: commo 2003-11-24 3:06:05 PM |
| #2 Surely, RC, you don't expect Wally to know everything. It's one of those big companys- - starts with a "G".:D (Why am I even reading about Mike Moore?) |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2003-11-24 2:14:39 PM |
| #1 GE executive Roger Smith Surely "GM" and not "GE". |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-11-24 12:44:09 PM |