Michael Moore's "Capitalism a Love Story"

I think 200k (or 250) is a ridiculous #. At least adjust it for inflation.

I think the highest tax bracket should be at 1M.

 

He's not above using manipulative arguments and half-truths to make his case. And, yes, his movies are hugely popular and as a result he makes a good living for himself and his family. Doesn't mean he's not an activist filmmaker.

Though, interestingly enough, I've read he rejects the "political activist" label, arguing it is redundant for citizens in a democracy.

 

Isn't it funny that he is getting rich by making a movie against capitalism? He's laughing all the way to the bank with capitalism.

 

He's already rich. He gave free screenings of his movie in like 10 different cities that were hardest hit by the recession. Hardly the sign of someone trying to get rich.

 

To be fair, isn't it the production studios, etc who are laughing all the way to the bank?

Moore is making money by using art more than capitalism, he typically gives away his work at every opportunity he can and doesn't mind when people distribute it without consent or profit, pretty crappy business platform if you ask me. Unless you think that is all some kind of masterminded attempt to get people to think he's sincere about his beliefs and not in it for the money.

One of the main things you have to realize is that 1) the studios and publishers give him the money/time/resources to create his work which otherwise wouldn't be possible and 2) the studios/publishers make sure his work is seen by more people than would ever be possible without their help.

So yeah, in a perfect world if Moore never saw a dime from any of his work and never got any financing to produce it he'd be a spotless angel when it comes to the "profiteering" issue, but then again if he did that you'd never hear about him in the first place... so I'm sure some concessions have to be made.

Moore is not in any way a greedy person, and I don't get why people paint him as such, he's very generous when it comes to giving back and has a pretty loose grip on his own copyright which he could milk for far much more if he wanted to. Which is kind of the moral of the story, it takes a little bit of charity and morality to keep capitalism from completely collapsing.

 

This is the first time I have ever heard somebody seriously suggest that Major is uninformed or has failed to do his homework.

I do not always agree with him, but that dude is a fountain of research.

Or you could be content with the musical ramblings of half truth that emit forth from Michael Moore.

 

Well he certainly is not missing any meals.

 

Dude has lost something like 80lbs IIRC.

Finally donned on him while making Sicko that maybe he should try to live a little healthier... like DUH

 

I remember when Moore made "Roger & Me." There was something very gritty and truthful about his film.

After the success of that film and trying to continue his filmmaking career, he lost truth and perspective. It is a shame. He had real potential to be a great source for information and education on many topics.

It is really sad.

 

can you please support this claim with specific concrete examples?

this is what's wrong with us today. It's people who dismiss Moore as "untruthful" and one who "fudges facts" because their favorite news media network painted him as such. Do you realize that every single damn claim about Moore "fudging facts" has been rebutted and proved false on Moore's website? even CNN tried and Sanjay Gupta tried to give him crap (I guess those medical insurance companies are a good source of revenue for them) and he completely DESTROYED them by essentially listing all the sources of his numbers and proving that they are wrong.

this guy has been a virtual Nostradamus on issues that really matter. The war in Iraq, the healthcare problem, and I expect Capitalism to be right on par with his last 2 movies which were amazing. When Fahrenheit came out, everyone was calling him an unpatriotic idiot, only to have everyone acting all "Angry" at the Bus Administration for "misleading" the people. Well, if these ignorant automatons listened to what Moore had to say 3 years before the outrage began, we wouldn't have been in this position right now.

But what do you know, ignore all of what he's been right on, and dismiss him as a fat clown with no credibility because he used numbers from a study that showed per capita spending on healthcare was 21 dollars more than that other study. oh NO!

 

I felt like his earlier work and recent work are very, very good.

The stuff from 98-2003 was strangely more successful, but also really bias and more of a personal commentary.

Sicko was brilliant and I think Capitalism will be too.

I've always felt that his most important contribution has been not what he says, but rather the questions he asks. He may not have the best answer, but we'd be better off if we considered them more carefully.

 

Those free screenings wont really effect the total box office of the film, they barely account for 1% of the total audience. That would be like Mcdonalds giving out 10,000 free big macs, while selling millions each year. The free screenings are done to make some people think he practices what he preaches and it does seem like its working

 

He also completely approves of people illegally distributing and copying his work.

And he also released his movie before Sicko completely free to the public.

What an evil mastermind.

 

its amazing how you can still make money even without enforcing your government granted monopoly (copyright).

 

Truthful? What was truthful about failing to tell people that he actually did meet and have a conversation with "Roger"? Before he even began shooting the film. I remember watching Roger & me & thinking how brilliant it was..boy was I snowed.

 

Moore met with Smith two years before making Roger & Me about an unrelated issue (tax abatement). Big deal?

So how does that affect the purpose, point, or message of his film?

The 1% nitpickers just seemingly can't be satisfied and have already made up their minds, if they find a singular flaw in something, they will throw out the whole lot as if it were garbage. Nonsensical behavior at the least.

 

Smith probably realized what a loon MM was and it's no wonder he wouldn't meet with again to be mocked in his film.

There's a right way to fight these battles other then trying to mock those you disagree with with distortions and half-truths.

Trying to say Bush is to blame for 9/11 or that we invaded Afganistan to build a pipeline is reckless and is irresponsible and reckless. It's equivalent of what Glen Beck does to Obama. If you are going to praise MM, you better praise GB as well.

Getting Kmart to stop carrying assault bullets isn't a victory - it's just a PR move by Kmart to shut the guy up. Annoying an old man like Charlton Heston - what's that going to accomplish? I mean, what was the point of that interview? Someone come up with something positive that came out of that and I will say ok, there's a value here.

Roger Smith was smart to not give in and be asked stupid questions. What happened in Flint Michigan was very sad, but can you really blame that on GM? Should he go to Japan and ask them why they are beating up the American Auto Industry?

 

I agree some dismiss him too easily, but he's not a messiah of all that is good. If you'll note my post above, my main gripe is that he could tighten his act up a little bit and really influence far more people. I still contend that, while he entertains many, he primarily preaches to the choir. I could be very happily wrong about that though.

And glynch, thanks for the thoughtful reply. I love the move to 99%.
While Denby may have taken a cheap shot, it resonates a little bit. The old gags of trying to get someone on the phone and/or embarrass them on film, the huge WHY question looms over those. He does seem to do that (like a favorite post move) when he feels out of other options.