Michael Moore and Capitalism: A Love Story: New Film, Same Old Story

Michael Moore is back with a new documentary that's going to shock your socks off... or maybe not. Love him or hate him, you've definitely heard of American filmmaker Michael Moore, and if you haven't, you've obviously been living under a rock. For those clueless folks out there, go on and crawl back into your cave; the rest of us are going to have a little chat.

First, Michael Moore called attention to that lovely exploding car, everybody's favorite, the Ford Pinto. Since then, Michael Moore has been an unstoppable force, or as he calls himself, a "gadfly" to the corporations of America. In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore explored the dangers of banks that give away free guns for opening checking account, making those of us in "blue" states go "are you kidding me?" and those in "red" states go "so what?"

Fahrenheit 9/11 explored the dangers of terrorism and lying presidents and went on to become the highest grossing documentary of all time, which isn't saying that much since documentaries are usually too boring to pay to see.

Sicko looked at the fucked up state of American healthcare by going to Canada, and Slacker Uprising was a freebie film available only for download to stoned college students. Slacker Uprising documents Moore's visits to college around the nation during the 2004 election, which might be an interesting film but didn't manage to get John Kerry elected.

Michael Moore's latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story hit theaters yesterday (October 2, 2009), but is Capitalism shaking in its boots? Well, sure, but not because of Michael Moore. The economy is on the rocks is a case of the have's not giving a shit about the have not's. That's nothing new.

Who doesn't already know that the economy is on the crapper? The housing market's effect on today's economy has already been discussed to death on radio shows like "This American Life." Who wasn't aware that the government is rigged and that they recent government bailouts surely came at a small cost for corporations paying for a lobbyist or two to tout their cause? I mean, we are Americans, after all, we know our country is fucked.

The problem with Michael Moore is, I suspect, a case of what we'll call "Preaching to the Choir." Moore's dramatic actions and flamboyant theatrics make good viewing, sure, but is a citizen's arrest of the CEOs of AIG going to convince anyone who's not already convinced? Is a heart-wrenching emotional ploy going to melt any hearts of stone? Not bloody likely. If you want to go and sympathize for the cause, more power to ya, but don't kid yourself into thinking that you are making a difference.

This isn't to say that Michael Moore doesn't play a vital role in our society. We need corporate watch dogs. We need guys who are going to knock on the doors of corporate big wigs just to let them know we're paying attention. We even need, dare I say it, blockbuster propoganda-filled movies, because if the big corporations are going to feed their slick messages down our throats, we need Michael Moore's films, which are certainly harder to swallow.

Is Michael Moore and Capitalism: A Love Story going to save the world? Definitely not. But he's doing his part to make a difference, whether or not that effort is a touch misguided. Some people really hate the guy, and is it amusing that the corporate watch dog has his own watchdogs at Moore Watch? Slate dissed on Fahrenheit 9/11, but that only added to the hype. Still, pissing people off is an important component of what Michael Moore is all about.

Here's what Penelope Poulou of Voices Of America says about it:

"But Moore's intent is not intellectual dialogue. He wants to spark a visceral reaction. This way, he hopes, Americans will get angry enough to do something about it. 'There's got to be some kind of rebellion between the people that have nothing and the people that's got it all,' he says."