fahrenheit 9/11 - smiling, progressive, happy canada's take

sometimes, but very rarely, i do something trendy just to see what is captivating the hordes. first, it was hatha yoga, and now i'm watching michael moore documentaries the weekend they're released. whatever.

having done so, i'm going to join that chorus of right-thinking individuals progressive types who declare we should treat moore as an opinion piece. i'm not sure about these guys.

moore's commentary is invigorating preaching for leftists from so many walks of life. i think if i'm-a-liberal sasha is reading this, his computer screen is getting a reaction. the only other leftists we hear of on the american tv canadians get , the democratic party, have failed to galvanize and rally the progressive troops to this extent.*. every pinko i know, from profs to union guys to gay activists to gucci socialists to skaters smoking up in the park with che guevara t-shirts liked the film. people appreciated the film for its emotional appeal, its courage to dissent, its grassroots approach, its weariness re: the saudis, or least for it's property to disseminate a complex argument for the adhd generation.

people can accept all the accusations of bias levelled at moore because they realize his documentaries are his editorials. don't conservatives see it? they love his commentary, not his body. this isn't barbara streisand. moore isn't a politician, he's a journalist. journalists are allowed to be wrong and to investigate.

let's just see the box office numbers. then we can decide whether or not he has made enough of a dent in the public sphere. isn't that how we measure relevance? the appreciation of hoes, money, and clout snoop dogg has stressed in the past?

the republicans are down, yo. check this out - soft money? so every time someone buys a stupid ann coulter book or an american flag to hang from a car window the democrats should chalk one up for the republicans, mr. mccain?

* of the living, jurgen habermas and noam chomsky are still tops with name-droppers and nerds

Comments

[sasha!]

"...they love his commentary, not his body..."

speak for yourself dude!

[ainge]

i'd say something about your weakness for large, luscious br.. eh, nevermind. i'm not going to.

[sasha]

"people can accept all the accusations of bias levelled at moore because they realize his documentaries are his editorials".

yes, but the accusation against moore isnt one of bias but of deception. for example: moore leaves the viewer with the impression all the networks called florida for gore after fox news did; moore makes the claim that had there been a state-wide recount, gore would have won under any standard; moore leaves the viewer with the impression that the bin laden's left the united states while the planes were still grounded.

i dont know to what extent moore implied/said the above falsehoods, not having seen the movie. but simply because you are in the business of crafting opinions does not mean that you cannot be accused of deceiving your viewers.

[ainge]

i find it hard to believe a people who accept fox news can get that worked up over moore's poetic license - it just looks silly.

[sasha!]

oh come on...lets not play, "if youre not outraged to my satisfaction about X then you can't be outraged about Y." Conservatives use the same logic when they say, if you werent completely outraged by Saddam/Nick Berg execution/etc then you can't be upset about Abu Ghraib and the like...

what about those of us who are outraged by both?

[ainge]

wont somebody please think of the moderates!