Capitalism – An Unnecessary Love Story?
Posted on 16. Sep, 2009 by Nicholas Martinez in Uncategorized
America, are you ready to fall in love with capitalism all over again?
According to movie reviews, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” Michael Moore’s latest political documentary, covers a tried and true concept that he believes Americans will flock to in droves – – the overwhelming incompetence of the Bush Administration.
The film, set to debut nationwide on October 2nd, exposes the fallacies committed by the Bush White House leading up to the financial collapse of 2008 and details, blow by wit-filled blow, why Americans should despise the Republican Party and their big business constituents.
I’m not going to argue whether Moore is a liberal blowhard or a political messiah. No, my argument is this: Is his film really necessary?
Now, I believe that Michael Moore is one of this generation’s greatest filmmakers. His uncanny ability to meld file footage with gag reel humor, use subtle and overt references to inform (like his 9-minute real time clip of George Bush reading to the Sarasota public school kids after learning of the first plane hitting the Twin Towers on 9/11) reeks of editorial and directorial brilliance.
And yes, sometimes he forgets to turn on the good old brain filter before blurting out a thought, but that doesn’t make him less of a movie making magician.
Would I go so far as to say I’m in love with his brand of wit, spark and sarcasm? No, I wouldn’t. And there are people out there who believe that he is a paunchy framed, baseball cap clad political dynamo. But, alas, I am not one of those persons either.
No, I’m someone who often stands on the sidelines of political debate, often with a befuddled look on my ugly mug over the sights and sounds coming from the battlefield.
What do I see before me? America is at a unique crossroads – – the country has begun a long and arduous healing process under President Obama’s watch. Hope and change, once catch words in a campaign, now seem like the catalyst fueling the fires of political policy.
Yet, the pundits on the right are determined to undermine the administration’s authority, whatever the reason may be. It’s a very delicate situation – – one that requires diplomacy not blunt force trauma.
So why must Moore now ride in on his liberal white steed to lead an unnecessary cavalry charge against the opposition’s forces? Does he love the hollow sound of his fist smashing his chest in a blind, lamenting rage over things he cannot control?
Maybe he wants to capitalize on the public’s blood-lust and their desire to identify a tangible person to blame. The media often use companies like AIG and Lehman as scapegoats, but fail to accurately identify one of definitive name or face behind the monumental collapse. Perhaps Moore is using that niche to get an audience to spend their hard earned 12 dollars at the box office.
After all, we are a capitalist society. And as Moore would have us believe, a capitalist society deeply and madly in love with money.
Michael Moore made a living on attacking the right wing political base through film, television and books. But, right now he’s just wasting his breath on a topic that is already dead and buried.
He should heed the words found in another film, that of Dr. Henry Jones Sr. in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
“Let it go, Indiana. Let it go.”
EDIT: The YouTube link is no longer with us. RIP. Check out the trailer for “Capitalism – A Love Story” here.
love
07. Oct, 2009
I actually did not enjoy the plots going on in the movie. It was too much for me.