Barack Obama Must See Michael Moore's New Movie (and So Must You)!

Michael Moore has proven again and again that he has a remarkable feel for where the zeitgeist is heading. He's like a zeitgeist divining rod.

Roger and Me was way ahead of the curve on the collapse of the auto-industry. Fahrenheit 9/11 was way ahead of the curve on the collapse of the house of cards the Bush administration used to lead us to war in Iraq. Sicko was way ahead of the curve on the collapse of the US health care system. And now, with his new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, he is riding the wave of the collapse of trust in our country's financial system.

The film, which opens in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, and all across the country on October 2nd, is a withering indictment of the current economic order, covering everything from Wall Street's casino mentality to for-profit prisons, from Goldman Sachs' sway in Washington to the poverty-level pay of many airline pilots, from the tidal wave of foreclosures to the tragic consequences of runaway greed.

Watching the film, I felt like Michael had climbed inside my head, made a list of all the things that have been obsessing me for the last 12 months, and brought them horrifyingly to life. It's one thing to know these things are happening; it's another to see them happening in front of your eyes.

Right from the beginning -- after a funny set-up juxtaposing End of Empire Rome and Modern America -- Michael goes directly to the beating heart of the economic crisis, showing a hard-working, middle class family being evicted from their home. The knot in your stomach starts to tighten -- and the outrage starts to build. Watch for yourself in this exclusive clip:

And so it goes throughout the film, with Moore successfully walking a cinematic tightrope, alternating between a punch-to-the-solar-plexus critique of the status quo, heart-wrenching portraits of the suffering caused by the economic crisis, and laugh-out-loud social satire.

The film also turns the spotlight on some underreported gems: an internal Citibank report happily declaring America a "plutonomy," with the top 1 percent of the population controlling more financial wealth than the bottom 95 percent; an expose of "dead peasant" insurance policies that have companies cashing in on the untimely deaths of their employees; and amazing footage of FDR, found buried in a film archive and not seen in decades, calling for a Second Bill of Rights that would guarantee all Americans a useful job, a decent home, adequate health care, and a good education.

And Moore underlines the irony of Larry Summers being put in charge of fixing the crisis he helped create. A little like asking Kanye West to plan a Taylor Swift tribute.

While taking no prisoners, and directing equal doses of ire at Republicans and Democrats alike, the film also features a number of heroes, including bailout watchdog Elizabeth Warren; Wayne County, Michigan Sheriff Warren Evans, who announced in February: "I cannot in clear conscience allow one more family to be put out of their home until I am satisfied they have been afforded every option they are entitled to under the law to avoid foreclosure"; and Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who took to the House floor and offered a radical solution to the foreclosure crisis: "So I say to the American people, you be squatters in your own homes. Don't you leave."

In the film, Michael describes capitalism as evil. I disagree. I don't think capitalism is evil. I think what we have right now is not capitalism.

In capitalism as envisioned by its leading lights, including Adam Smith and Alfred Marshall, you need a moral foundation in order for free markets to work. And when a company fails, it fails. It doesn't get bailed out using trillions of dollars of taxpayer money. What we have right now is Corporatism. It's welfare for the rich. It's the government picking winners and losers. It's Wall Street having their taxpayer-funded cake and eating it too. It's socialized losses and privatized gains.

Which is why -- although you can bet many will try -- Capitalism: A Love Story can't be dismissed as a left-wing tirade. Its condemnation of the status quo is too grounded in real stories and real suffering, its targets too evenly spread across the political spectrum. Indeed, Jay Leno, America's designated Everyman, was so moved by the film he insisted that Moore appear on the second night of his new show, and told his audience that the film was "completely nonpartisan... I was stunned by it, and I think it is the most fair film" Moore has done.

After a preview screening last week (at which I did a Q&A session with Michael), he came over to my home for a late night bite. Over lasagna, he told me about an incident that occurred while he was filming that exemplifies how the economic crisis cannot be looked at through a left vs right prism.

It happened while he and his crew were shooting the climax of the movie, where Michael decides to mark Wall Street as a crime scene, putting up yellow police tape around some of the financial district's towers of power.

While unfurling the tape in front of a "too big to fail" bank, he became aware of a group of New York's finest approaching him. Moore has a long history of dealing with policemen and security guards trying to shut him down, but in this case he knew he was, however temporarily, defacing private property. And his shooting schedule didn't leave room for a detour to the local jail. So, as the lead officer came closer, Moore tried to deflect him, saying: "Just doing a little comedy here, officer. I'll be gone in a minute, and will clean up before I go."

The officer looked at him for a moment, then leaned in: "Take all the time you need." He nodded to the bank and said, "These guys wiped out a lot of our Police Pension Funds." The officer turned and slowly headed back to his squad car. Moore wanted to put the moment in his film, but realized it could cost the cop his job, and decided to leave it out. "When they've lost the police," he told me, "you know they're in trouble."

There is a real sense of urgency to Capitalism: A Love Story. I asked Michael what impact he hoped the film would have. He chuckled and said that, in some way, he had made the movie for "an audience of one. President Obama. I hope he sees it and remembers who put him in the White House... and it wasn't Goldman Sachs."

At the Q&A I did with Michael -- and, indeed, wherever he goes -- people who see the film are asking: What should I do to make a difference?

There are obviously many things people can do. At HuffPost, we are asking everyone to bear witness by putting flesh and blood on the tragic human cost of the greed and corruption that have brought us to where we are.

Tell us your story -- or the stories about people you know whose home has been foreclosed, whose job has disappeared, whose kids can't afford to go to college, whose credit card interest rate has been jacked up to 30 percent, etc, etc, etc. And tell us the positive stories too: the heroes -- judges, lawyers, volunteers -- who are helping people stay in their homes, the neighbors who are coming together to alleviate the pain and make their community a better place to live in. You can tell these stories in words, pictures, or videos. We'll collect them on a special Bearing Witness 2.0 section.

When people are given the facts and shown the reality of what is happening, they will almost always do the right thing. Help us keep showing that reality.

 

 

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[ahren]

Capitalism has completely dehumanized the nation.

[ataha]

I saw "Capitalism" and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I think he should have spent more time actually examining facts and events and less time trying so hard to tug at our heartstrings. On the other hand, it is clear from th ending of the movie that it is a call to arms. So maybe it was just my expectations.

The problem with Moore's final message that democracy is more important than capitalism is his trust in the American people. Thomas Jefferson said that "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government". One could make the argument that this is what the movie is trying to do. However, for democracy to work, people need to act in their own interests. What has happened in the US is that half the people are in a place where they would rather stick to a particular ideology even if it AGAINST their personal interests. When you can be convinced to do and say things that are against your own good, democracy breaks down.

In a country where 1/3 of the people are convinced that being offered a better deal for healthcare insurance is a bad thing, democracy is a very tenuous thing.

"We want to be denied health care!"
"We want to die of pre-existing conditions!"
"We want to pay more!"

The prospect is bleak for something like money when people can be manipulated into fighting against their own health.

[Linda Kaye]

Need I say more: the people need to fight back and hit them where it hurts...

http://urbanlotus.wordpress.com/

[letgo-hate]

these banks would hate it if we all tore up our credit cards,
Went back to paying cash. That would be a strong message.

[RTIII]

I've done just exactly that.
.

[flabingo]

I walked out the movie, which I thought was outstanding, and I called a friend and went over to his house and gave him $9.00 to go see the movie, and suggested that if he liked it, he could give $9.00 to another person to see it. And on and on!. But in a democracy, we the people have the cards to make change in this country. It is called a VOTE. As the CityBank memo pointed out, That is their greatest fear! I think there is a connection between an educated voter and better government. At the next press conference, a reporter must ask Obama, "WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE MOVIE? AND every other congress man and womean should be asked the same question!

[skunky93]

i love your idea!! i'm going to do that too!!!!! Thank you so much!!

[wendy]

Hi All, I saw "Capitalism...." the first night it opened on NYC's Upper West Side. Then the film began and there was a lot of laughing (because it's also a funny film, but not really) and I was mesmerized. There was so much I did not know esp about corportations taking out life insurance on their workers for their own gain. I got completely immersed in the film and mean to see it again tonight.

But what I want to say is that after the lights went on I saw that even though many were well dressed the majority were the old lefties from the sixties and a big group forned all of us saying the exact same thing, we who were once the activists--WHAT DO WE DO?

I know Arianna is trying to address this, but learning from this film and espcially noting MM's last query as he's putting the yellow crime scene tape around Wall Street--JOIN ME--and I'd love to. So many are willing to do work to change this society but equally we, who once knew so much, have no clue.

Please link to what one can do esp as many of us are young-seeming retirees and ready to do anything to change the system as it now makes far too many among us suffer.

This is too appalling to leave to the politicians, it's for US to join Michael. HOW?Anyone?

[jabass]

Wendy, I so know how you feel. I have not yet seen the movie, but eagerly waiting for it. As for what to do and how to get OUR voice heard confuses me too. There is a huge voice inside of me that just wants to yell out "MAKE THIS STOP". We need to rally and have our day marching for our cause but HOW? I don't know how to do this or where I can find a way to do it. If I could I would. My family struggles everyday to stay above water and not drown under dispair. So if you or anyone out there has any ideas how "we the people" who are being affected by all the crap that has trickled down from the "Corporate Profiteteers", share your ideas and get the word out . We can rally together and make our voice heard. We who believe that this country is headed into a wall of distruction by the Big Corporations and those who believe we need to bring our jobs back and the prosperity promised to us by the Constitution need to stand up and be heard. Our fore fathers wrote The Constitution so that all people of this country would be treated equally and given the chance to prosper equally. It is not a piece of paper for the few. The Corporations need to be stopped. The have taken our money, our jobs and our prosperity. It is our time to be heard.

[letgo-hate]

I watch new, lots of different stations, MSNBS, CNN, glimps Fox to see what they are up to, John Stewart to see his angle. PBS. I never heard most of what I saw on this movie.
Life insurance policies, on and on.
I went door to door for Barak. I hate going door to door, it feels creepy, invasive, and I am afraid of dogs but I still did it.
I am so disappointed with his hiring of Geihtner and dealing with corps the way he is, the way he isn't speaking out for health care clearly enough but most important, the war.
I agree with MMoore that we need to be the voice for him to lean on,
Why arent we up there rallying stronger. I ask myself this.
I think because what makes us so peacefull is our passiveness. Passiveness does not fight these idiots that are destroying us.
Turning the other cheek work but you have to do it as a group and do it in public.
For instance, these banks would hate it if we all tore up our credit cards,
Went back to paying cash. That would be a strong message.

[aspetta17]

Hi jabass - I am in the same boat as you! I don't feel like I'm in any position of power, but I do have some ideas:

1.) One thing I already did was change my voter registration from democrat to INDEPENDENT/NOT AFFILIATED, and I encourage everyone I know to do the same. That would definitely send a message to the representatives who have sold out on us. We are on OUR SIDE - not on Wall Streets and not on the side of the two established parties who don't do a thing for us.

2.) We need to take our demand to the Marketplace "Tea Party"-style!!! When I found out that each 200 employee Wal-Mart Supercenter was responsible for $420,000 A YEAR in taxpayer dollars (multiply by 2600 locations in the U.S. - that's more than 1BILLION a year in taxpayer dollars), all I could think of was a mass boycott in front of Wal-Mart stores across the nation with big signs that say :

GET WAL-MART OFF WELFARE NOW!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!

How can a company with the biggest gross revenues in the world (upwards of 250 BILLION a year) force its own workers onto FOODSTAMPS, SECTION 8 HOUSING, CASH ASSISTANCE, AND MEDICAID/MEDICARE, because it doesn't WANT TO pay them a living wage????

It's simply OUTRAGEOUS - but we allowed this to happen...

We need to change our lifestyles in a major way (and fast)...

[RTIII]

Here's Michael Moore's own list he posted just a few days ago right here on HufPo:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/michael-moores-action-pla_b_329664.html
.

[hmsbeagle]

I have seen it it is a muse in all schools and colleges . All over the world way to go Michael Moore what a mind .

[RTIII]

Always a _very_ literal person, at five years old, I was confused by adult's descriptions of democracy and capitalism because they were used interchangeably.

This was the second half of the 1960s. We were at war in Vietnam. We had lost JFK and later that year we were to loose both MLK and RFK. The Cold War was in full tilt.

And there I was asking people to define and clarify, compare and contrast these two terms and help me understand them. To my astonishment, noone seemed able to give any meaningful distinction between "democracy" and "capitalism." As I gradually began to make sense of different answers, it truly shaped my mind, my view of America and planted a seed of intellectual concern for most Americans that they could not make this distinction.

So, I am not at all surprised today when many people seem to think capitalism and America's system of governance are one in the same, inextricably linked as we are with the fact that our state is supposed to be a democracy. Thus I will not be surprised at criticism of Moore's film based on this cognitive dissonance; for many people it will put them in a rubber-room for a while.

Meanwhile, I sure hope he pushes the point home that we have become a fascist state because I think this realization is the most likely to help people awake and rise to action.

.

[Lee Thompson]

Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" has thrown, as Michael Moore puts it, the first salvo to begin a discussion on capitalism and why it has to go.

Michael Moore does not propose a solution and in fact states he has not even read Marx. He may not be a communist, but we are! And if this movie moved you to want to know more, to get into a critical debate about the future of humanity, human nature, and the fact that there is actually a real, viable and desirable alternative - COMMUNISM - then you need to tune into an amazing evening with Maoist political economist and communist Raymond Lotta. "Behind the World Economic Crisis: System Failure and the Need for Revolution" will be a live webcast on September 29, Tuesday, 7:30pm EDT. For details go to http://revolutionbooksnyc.org/ See Raymond Lotta's new YouTube, "The Rape of the Congo and Your Cellphone" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBhiEKZezhY to get a glimpse of this amazing speaker and analysis.

[aspetta17]

Thank you for saying that!

People seem to have confused their "citizenship" with their "consumership" and I can't understand it either. It's one of the reasons the Ron Paulers and Libertarians creep me out:

[RTIII]

Arianna,

I always love your posts but I have to quibble with one single word choice.

You used the word "Corporatism" when the proper word is Fascism. I would like people to use this word when it is the correct term because it is vital that people break their preconceived notions of who and what we are and see the truth - and the word fascism is jarring enough to most Americans to help them wake up. That is to say, we formerly were not, but now are a fascist state and it's vital that people get that if we are ever to recover from this situation.

Thanks for your attention to this little but important detail!

RTIII

[EbonBear]

I'm afraid that the right have been lying to the public that fascism was a left-wing ideaology for so long that many of them now believe it.

[RevBookburn]

Yes, the president should see this movie as well as all of Congress. In fact, it should be a double-feature with Sicko as the opener. There is crazy misinformation everywhere, especially from the Glenn Becks of the media. This will be a spotlight of reality. All Americans should see Capitalism. For those who want more of Moore, treat yourself to Canadian Bacon and The Big One. Great post. Rev. Bookburn - Radio Volta

[schmuckwithearlaps]

While it is still on the Internet, everyone MUST see the Fox news take on MM's new movie. It is beyond anything my imagination might have created, and all I can think of is "this must be a SNL parody of Fox News" but it is for real.

[shimarlie]

Would love to. Do you have a link or anymore information?

[Maxine]

Our chicken hearted officials should have done something really crazy like giving all those billions of dollars to the bottom of the food chain (the 95%). They could have insisted we pay off our debts with bailout money alloted us and then if the banks didn't use the pay offs wisely let them fail.
Unfortunately, the elitists (left and right) in Washington are so afraid they will upset their own applecarts they are afraid to take a chance on the regular public unless it is voting time. There is not now nor will there be any real change in America until we have a world wide global depression that takes the rich down along with the poor, because, like I said earlier they don't have the guts to make real change.

[Joan E. Dowlin - Huffpost Blogger]

Good post, Arianna. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie. You are right about Michael Moore being ahead of the curve. Don't forget "Bowling for Columbine" about gun control. Another issue we Americans have yet to confront. I hope Pres. Obama does see it (and also reads Bill Maher's latest New Rule.)

[gaebolgaes]

i wrote 50 page papers as an undergraduate saying the same things in 1974 that moore is saying now and i was almost thrown out of the university and accused of being a communist i predicted what would happen with deregulation and subprime lending in 1975. i have just about had it with people coming behind me 30 years after the fact and winning fame and fortune for my ideas.no! obama shouldn't watch moores movie ...he should sit down for a chat with gaebolaes.
i grew up across the street from the old studebaker car plant. i remember the union telling studebaker that when their employees no longer earned enough to buy studebakers that the plant would close. that is exactly what happened.

[dogwatch]

One big difference between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama, for whom I voted by the way, is that Roosevelt courageously stepped between lenders and homeowners and prevented foreclosures. My grandfather, for one, told me, "don't ever vote for a republican. They're always for business and they want most everybody to be poor for things to work out for them, and if it wasn't for Roosevelt, I'd have lost our home. He "froze" the mortgages until I could get back on my feet and work it out". I am an independent voter and have sadly voted for a few republicans running for president, but have come to regret it as I see what they were building a piece at a time. They've learned how to keep voters whom they treat poorly by hooking them in on emotional issues while they pick their pockets. For example, there is no one in this country who lives in a trailer house who has benefitted one cent from Republican policies, yet they pull these in by going to the NASCAR races and waving a flag. It's sickening.

[RTIII]

...I'm glad you finally pulled the ole wool from over your eyes! Good job! So many fail to ever accomplish that!
.

[dogwatch]

I have found, as many others have found, that I am best educated by the mistakes that I have made along life's long road, down which I have trod for many years. Goodbye to some of the wool, though mistakes always lurk around the corner. I'll keep trying, now that I've got politics scoped to the T.