Friday, February 10, 2012
Michael Moore and Capitalism Reflection ....IMO
Let me start by saying, I have never been a big Michael Moore fan. While serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I watched the "Fahrenheit 9/11" documentary. I was appalled, to say the least, that someone would think that our government was behind the bombing of our own buildings and killing thousands of Americans. I had heard of him before, and had never really thought much of his extremist views against our government and corporate America, but when he pointed the finger directly at our governing officials, set in office to lead and protect, I thought to myself that he must be wrong. Where is he getting this propaganda? What is his motivation behind these false accusations? After doing some research on him, I found that he became sour towards corporate America due to the downfall of the economy in his hometown, Flint, Michigan. From his experience with economic depression in Flint, he created his first documentary, "Roger and Me," and placed blame on the CEO of General Motors, Roger Smith. The way I see it, poor decision-making on Roger Smith's part may have very well been a factor in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and ultimately the down turn for Michigan's well known auto industry. I have to ask though, "How much did Michael Moore make off that film? Other films?" Exploiting the negative impacts of business and our economic system, Michael Moore has made millions. Yes, millions. In December of last year, CNN did an interview with Michael Moore and found that he was worth over $50M. He admitted to being in that 1% category containing the richest in America. While he has had to pay a higher amount of tax, what did he do with his own earnings to give back to the poverty-stricken communities of Michigan? After researching this, I have found very little in amounts of charitable contributions made by Mr. Moore. Yes, he made a few contributions to foundations for orphans and such (probably for tax write-offs), but what about the people he empathizes with in his films? Maybe it's in the works, or maybe he feels that he doesn't have to give his money to help others. I say that he's a hypocrite. He makes his millions producing documentaries exploiting the negative impacts of business and mistakes made by our government and gives back pennies. In the documentary, "Capitalism: A True Love Story," he again attacked corporate America and our government's economical tactics by playing on viewers' emotions. Using real people and real situations, he took his own radical views and molded them into a perception that the audience can relate to. While he did make some very valid points, they were perceptions. Perceptions drawn from opinions, not factual. Once again, he has devised a rhetorical documentary that persuades people to see our country's debacles in a negative light. I must say he is a master of rhetoric, but also a hypocrite. Thinking about the documentary in respects to art, I'd say it was great. Going upon facts, it's terrible. Not sure he should even call it a documentary.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment