Will Michael Moore's Capitalism Be A Game Changer?
Every time I see a new Michael Moore movie, America looks a little different to me. I feel an odd mixture of hopefulness, anger, and spiritual fatigue. I just saw Moore's latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, this week and it's deja vu all over again.
If you believe Michael Moore and the folks featured in this jawbreaker of a film, last year's financial crisis was a coup d'état arranged at the highest levels of government--a carefully planned give-away to the friends of Dick and Dubya who got to shake down America for all it was worth and then some.
If you believe Michael Moore, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was poised to put America on the road to a just and equitable society with a second bill of rights (there is never before seen footage of FDR's famous speech), but died before he could make it happen.
If you believe Michael Moore, religious leaders think corporate America is an unmitigated evil, few lawmakers in DC are not on the take, and we're all chattel in something larger than life, and so obvious as to be invisible.
If you believe Michael Moore, there may soon be a popular rebellion against the rich in the United States of America.
Capitalism: A Love Story deftly limns the story of an economic system in decline. The film opens with footage of an old movie about ancient Rome just before it fell juxtaposed against contemporary shots of America and the spoils of economic empire.
A bank memo to top investors of a leading bank refers in bland terms to the plutonomy of America where the few become unimaginably wealthy at the expense of nearly everyone else. Various tales of corporate malfeasance march across the screen as Moore narrates with a carefully cordial sarcasm.
The human wreckage covered here is intense; there are foreclosed homes galore; the prison in Pennsylvania that turned the peccadilloes of children into a lucrative swindle pulled off by a crooked judge and an entrepreneurial politician; publicly traded corporations taking out life insurance policies on employees (unbeknownst to them) and collecting millions on so-called "Dead Peasant" policies; airline pilots so poorly paid that they have to wait tables at a greasy spoon to make ends meet, or accept pubic assistance. The parade of economic cruelties inflicted on the many by the few are painful to watch, a perfectly executed Peter Finch caterwaul that will end with moviegoers screaming out of their bank-owned car windows, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
The carrot that capitalism holds out--its best propaganda--is that everyone has a shot at financial success. It is a great piece of marketing for a system that, as Moore points out, is 99.99% closed to the masses. He drives this fact home hard, in the hope, it seems, that it will inspire popular revolt.
But while the reality is grim, there is hope. Scenes from a co-operatively run bread company are alive with hope and suggest a solution to the capitalism problem. Moore's detractors tend to miss it, but all his films provide a solution.
Want to fix this? Watch the movie. Demand regulations--a level playing field created by education, health care, and the rest. Stand up for yourself.
The employees at Republic Windows and Doors manage to garner enough national media attention to force the Bank of America to pay out severance. There are other examples that shine through the war haze of corporate America's assault on honest, hard-working people.
Joe the Plumber makes an appearance in his role as McCain/Palin booster in the great lukewarm battle against dog-whistle communism, community organizing, the Democratic Party, and the notion that anyone might need a little help from time to time. He can't beat back the great threat: regular Americans banding together to spend the one form of capital they have more of than the top 1% of the nation's wealthy plotocrats. (That would be votes.)
It doesn't matter if it's the friends of Dick and Dubya doling out war contracts or the friends of Countrywide Financial Corporation, a home equity lender who gave Senator Christopher Dodd--an outspoken critic of the bailout--grabbing one of many bipartisan lawmaker specials: sweetheart loans worth millions. Moore is relentless in his search for the root cause of the capitalism problem. It's a huge job--perhaps even an impossible one--and he performs it well.
The film picks up steam. Obama gets elected. Two weeks later, Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans halts evictions and foreclosure sales in Detroit, which in February was experiencing some of the harshest fallout from predatory loans in the nation and asks if we live in a third world country. Revolution is in the air.
A home is repossessed by the dispossessed. Nine patrol cars arrive. Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio pleads with Americans not to leave their homes. She tells folks to demand the bank produce the signed mortgage, and if they can't, not to hand over the keys. "Stop being treated like chattel," she says.
While the sight of Moore unrolling crime scene tape around Wall Street is amusing, the words he utters somewhere along the way resonate: "I refuse to live in a country like this," Moore says, "and I'm not leaving."
It remains to be seen if the rest of the country feels the same way.
First published by Air America.
Follow Beau Friedlander on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BeauFriedlander
Scott Mendelson: HuffPost Review - Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
For the first time that I can remember, a Michael Moore documentary/propaganda piece is less about the subject at hand and more about Michael Moore himself.
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More than a few of us DO feel the same way! We WILL be heard! There is hope but it does not lie in elections. It lies in the rebirth of a NEW America and if it takes revolt to do it then it will happen. People are sick and tired of being victims.
I am afraid the problem is that half of America is incapable of independent thought, incapable of recognizing simple causal relationships, and ruled by emotions they do not understand.
That may be true, but when they find themselves in a bread line, they likely won't take too kindly to the plutocrats.
Great movie.. I wish the documentary timing had continued to cover the town hall meeting. It would have been interesting to see how he would have presented his take on the issue in the movie.
"Dead Peasant" insurance policy and pilots pays are the two points that shocked me... I didn't know about the former and not quite informed about the latter.
"I refuse to live in a country like this," Moore says, "and I'm not leaving."
What a great line.
That's conviction. I am not that much of a fighter. If I could emigrate to Europe I would, though the way things are going they may grant us refugee status.
How much did Moore make on this film?
He will make less than many bank bosses made in bonuses last year, which is a shame, since his work is actually worth something.
FDR was rich, didn't stop him from reforming the capitalist system. What's your point?
Moore's last film, SICKO, was incredible, but it didn't get us universal health care. I bet this new film is fantastic too. But we won't see any change, Obama or not. The time for civility is past. Time to break out the torches and pitchforks. I think he's right about class warfare, but it's been here for the last twenty years and so far we (the have nots) have lost the war. I'm so enraged that I prefer bullets to ballots--and I'm a liberal Democrat, not a religious right-winger.
Watching Sicko got my teenage daughter interested not only in healthcare, but politics and economics as well. She now watches MSNBC, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert-----just wait 'til she sees this one! Moore's influence is deeper than the wingers' worst nightmares...
Congratulations. Sounds like your daughter is making you very proud, but I am afraid Moore is only influential on those of us that are capable of independent thought. Certainly not enough to overthrow our masters. and their mindless thralls.
The answer to your question is NO and I'll tell you why.
Fox News and Right Wing Radio. End of story.
Reinstate the fairness doctrine and break up big media.
We need to study what FOX uses to enthrall millions of people. Most fall within the normal distribution of intelligence yet are completely irrational and incapable of detecting blatant falsehood and bias. Even Hitler had to use a great deal of logic to enthrall the German people, what makes our people so much easier to control than the Germans?
This movie is right on time. I'm definitely going to see this. I don't care if Michael Moore profits from the very system he criticizes, I would rather my money go to him than some brainless CGI spectacle (even though those movies can be fun.) And I would rather my money go to someone like Michael Moore who, through humor and compassion and common sense, shows us the absurdities of this modern life, this time in the financial system.
Wow, you really buy the GOP lies. What is bad about people making a profit? Michael Moore does not say profit is bad. No one on the left is saying profit is bad. We are just sick of the rich controlling government and making laws to benefit themselves at the expense of the great majority of people.
Michael Moore's "Capitalism" Opens in Los Angeles: An Inconvenient Review
With his media mogul producer and capitalist-friendly marketing Moore is receiving "more" reviews than he bargained for.
Michael Moore's new movie "Capitalism: A Love Story" is being criticized for using capitalism and the media to promote "anti-capitalism" ideals.
If the idea that Michael Moore has teamed up with a media magnate John Malone weren't ironic enough, Malone's company Sirius XM was the subject of the financial documentary "Stock Shock" which highlights the company as one of the most manipulated stocks in the market. Investors in Sirius XM lost over 95% of the value of their shares in the company when it nearly went bankrupt earlier this year due to alleged illegal naked short selling, and some contend, internal corporate greed. John Malone was touted as the satellite company's white knight for saving it from ruin at the 11th hour with a loan of several hundred million dollars, but not everyone agrees.
"Stock Shock" interviewed disgruntled investors like Michael Hartleib, of SaveSirius.org, who insist that Malone virtually swindled the company away from shareholders when he was awarded a 40% stake in the billion dollar company for the last minute loan. Hartleib asks, "How was Mr. Malone given forty percent of our company for free?" Many journalists are asking, "is this the producer Michael Moore hand picked?" Newsday's John Anderson comments that Moore provides "enough convenient logic to bury the Federal Reserve."
www.stockshockmovie.com.
I love Moore's work on both his films and his TV shows, but here's the number one thing that won't happen after any michael Moore movie, no matter how many people see it: Change of any kind. The system is too big and no matter how many of us little people agree with Moore, the richest 1% hold all of the strings in this country and the status quo will never change.
only if we refuse to change it. we're not powerless you know
Tell me how we can change the minds of the 40% of Americans who will not hear reason, but will believe anything Glenn Beck tells them?
Sorry if there's no instant gratification for you: Fahreheit 911 & Sicko significantly impacted my teenage daughter's worldview. She can't wait to see this one. Be patient...
See Joe The Nerd Ferraro's Profile
Mr. Freidlander, - excellent post for setting the problem. I think we need actual methods of civilly changing the condition. Moore has the right idea, but there is only so much media oxygen for him.
We are past the point of what's the problem, we are at the point of how-to.
See Beau Friedlander's Profile
The co-op bread company was just about the only nontourniquet-like how-to in the film. There are other examples of solution out there such as esop companies. Ray Anderson's Interface also comes to mind, but yes indeed. How-to is good. But I wonder if it could possibly garner the shame audience share as something like this movie, which literally held me to the floor, breathless at times. The drama is in the what, not the how maybe? I really appreciate this comment. Thx
Michael Moore is not my idea of a person that is truthful, concerned for our future, and a lover of America. He is making millions off of citizens that are not informed on the vital issues that we face today. Capitalism has served our country well for many years. Do we have problems? Yes! Do we need health care reform? Yes! Is our government making decisions that help us? Ocassionally! Does our government make decisions that hurt us? Yes! In my view, Michael Moore wants to make money. That's the American system and I am okay with that. However, don't tell me how bad our system is when Mr. Moore is the one who has greatly benefited from it. And, please, don't tell me about health care when Mr. Moore can't manage his own diet. Hypocrisy at its best.
Re Michael Moore:
Re Corporations:
Tolby says: "Michael Moore is not my idea of a person that is truthful"
What has he lied about? Please back up your assertion with evidence.
not the most impressive rebuttal in the world.
actually, Michael Moore has lost 60 pounds. Also, there is an obesity gene wherein some people are quite overweight with out being gluttons. He tells inconvenient truths. Sure they are biased toward the left. So what? He doesn't claim to be a middle of the road, on the fence type of guy.
Why don't you trot out some rebuttals to his claims in this film instead of attacking him? Too much work?
How does Michael Moore's ability to make money have any bearing on how well the system works? It certainly doesn't work for the 50 million Americans who live in fear of becoming injured or sick. It does work for the 400 Americans who own $1.7 trillion dollars, therefore the system works by your reasoning.
As a diehard commiephobe, I don't trust Michael Moore. Having said that, I can't ignore that the top 1% of Americans owns 32% of all financial assets in this country. This is more than in any LatAm country including Brazil. I can't ignore that the top 1% were bailed out by Bush - Obama who gave away US$13 trillion in guarantee to financial institutions while US$1 trillion over 10 years for public health option is stopped dead on its track by the top 1% who control the American health care industry.
The upper middle class gets screwed in this country everyday. They get taxed at the effective federal marginal tax rate of 35% (44% including state income tax in California or NY) while the wealthy receive dividends and capital gains that are taxed at 15%. So if you make $300K a year you pay more taxes (effective tax rate) than someone who receives $10M in dividends a year.
The poor and middle class get even mored screwed since they are indentured servants who children do all the fighting and dying for the American empire.
The problem with changing our current crony Anglo-American capitalist system to are more efficient German or Nordic model is is that the media is controlled by the top 1%. The media divide Americans down racial lines or ethnic lines. So we find ourselves in a country where Joe the Plumber types are successfully indoctinated by the Murdoch media to protect the interest of the top 1%.
Actually the top 1% has about 90% of the privately held financial assets in this country.
32% LOL.
Michael Moore ... is he gonna be
Thomas Jefferson or Robespierre?
See Beau Friedlander's Profile
Definitely FDR.
This happened last night…
Esquire sponsors the premiere of ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’. Michael Moore’s new shocking and inspirational doc about hard times in America and the evils of capitalism.
Following the Premiere, Esquire shuttles many of the attendees straight down to SoHo to the opening of The Esquire Apartment – a fully decadent penthouse where every square inch is paid for by a luxury sponsor. Hot tub, $120k pool table, $60k home theater, fine food. The only thing lacking was a doormat saying “Welcome To Capitalism.”
I had fun….But ooooh the irony. Everyone I talked to was like, “man, this is the most bizarre combination. I bet Michael Moore would freak out if he saw that this was happening.”….And then he showed up. And was eating it up. And then one of the families from the film came.
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