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Moore, Moore, Moore--how do you like him?

I have conflicting feelings about him and am not "Hopelessly Devoted," but I do think he's an interesting figure, particularly after the Oscars.

In Salon's Oscar coverage by Cintra Wilson (http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2003/03/24/oscars_2003/index.html), it says "If Moore had been only slightly more graceful and less abrasive, he could have said anything he wanted to; he had the support."

I don't know if that's true or not--I missed that part of the show--but I think that's true about a lot of things he does. He always makes it about himself, which has some value as a strategy, by turning him into a "brand." But his manner is not widely appealing, beyond his message. Would he have got a better reaction from the Kodak Theater crowd & influenced more viewers at home with a different demeanor?
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Slate's film critic, David Edelstein, writes (at http://slate.msn.com/id/2080447/entry/2080601/):

quote:
My anti-war friends thought that Moore was great while those in my own"”feverishly ambivalent"”camp weren't so convinced. It would have been different, I think, if a non-blowhard had gotten up there and bellowed, "Shame on you!""”had put his or her career on the line to say that Bush was a liar. But that kind of boorish grandstanding comes too naturally to Moore, a man who didn't have the intellectual honesty to add that Saddam Hussein is a "fictitious president," too"”and one who has killed a lot more people than George W. Bush and his father combined. Nothing has ever shaken my faith in my own politics like having Michael Moore in the same camp. When he invoked the Dixie Chicks, I'll bet they wanted to stick their heads in an oven.
Oh those damn critics, always criticizing.

1) Unfortunately most Hollywood actors are too by-the-book and concerned with their careers to make such a statement. Lucky for MM that his career IS making statements. It's not his fault that only the documentary makers, who tend to be industry outsiders, were the only ones up there with him.

2) We don't need MM to tell us anything about Saddam that we don't already know. Anyone who thinks being anti-war or anti-Bush is to be pro-Saddam is a boob.

3) Considering he only had A FEW SECONDS I think he did a great job. He said the one thing that this country needs to be discussing. We're being led into war by a man who DID NOT WIN the election.

It always seems to take a big mouth activist to get things going. Besides, he wasn't as bad as that uppity Rosa Parks woman. The seats in the back were no different than the seats in the front. Why are people like her always starting trouble.
Watch the crowd as they decide how to react in the kodak theatre. watch the crowd as they decide how to ridicule MM, acting startled at first. Watch the crowd as they gain momentum against the speaker.

there is a similar fear in the eyes to those famous and rich people, that one sees in th eyes of those around sadam, like they must behave and say and do the right thing or else. that natural thought and gut reactions are not possible. such honesty would only reveal the lack of power any of these people have, and is counter to their public image. watching MM use the little bit he was given is a wonder to behold, even if only in reruns.

how many times have we heard, if only those homosexauls would behave, the world would run right and everyone would have rights, lol, so right on Miss U.
Moore is Brilliant.... a great thinker who is proud to be American but is not guilty of speaking his mind and lifting the rug of society and showing the shit that governments are brushing under for years... Bravo to him for taking on the big corporations and the two faced bastards in power... Also big up to Oprah...she is really championing MM on her show so well done... to be honest i just think if you have a brain you would totally be behind him on his views.. its just a question of intelligent thought and not mass programmed thought which is what most of it is here... just don't think there are many intelligent well read thinking questioning folks in this here country... only 95% own a passport....
I have to admit he has iron balls! I love the fact that he can get up there and say anything because he's this fat sloppy guy who has no need for Hollywood and it's system. He's not an actor up there trying to get his next big role. He can be annoyingly confrontational but that is his style. Look at Pedro Almodavar; he basically said the same thing but more poetic, like his art. Michael Moore is to the point and blunt, like his art. But thank god someone is balancing out the scales. We need more people who are willing to cause a stir in the other direction. I was also disgusted with the audience, at first cheering for him, practically giving him a standing ovation for his work, and then turning on him the minute he starts acting like HIMSELF! It's why he won that stupid award. What a bunch of shitheads.

[This message was edited by glamnerd on 03-25-03 at 04:13 PM.]
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I initially felt that Moore's film would strike a blow against documentaries as an art form, but it's possible that it is only an example of opinionated, selective documentary filmmaking gone a few steps too far. I argued with my friend that there's a difference between selective presentation of true facts and outright lies, but he wasn't having it. He gets kind of obstinate whenever people disagree with him. He said I can't comment until I see the film. I say that's bullshit, since I only had to watch 20 minutes of "Rider Without a Horse" to know it was full of shit. I think the fact that I know he lied is enough to indict him on those grounds, leaving out any of the variables of filmmaking skill. Still, the film may serve as a reminder that all documentaries whose agendas are easily visible must be taken with skepticism.

[This message was edited by Bucky Wunderlick on 01-21-04 at 09:23 PM.]
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'Like the terrorists he fantasizes about, he's going to find out just how vulnerable one can be when brought out into the open.'

this is a threat, honey. and kinda mean. it just don't seem like you got the spirit of the meaning of it all, whomever you are. seems like you have taken the GOP one party line here, where any differing comments or decent are considered unpatriotic. this is not the case on the MotherBoards.

yah can't fault the man for taking the opportunity given, and not bailing like everyone else did for the sake of their career bottom lines...... infact your treat is not amusing as it implies boycotts and other economic punishments planned by some vague organization, that is gonna 'get' MM, much to your delight.

to hear you use economic threats seems so unbohemian. most of the Family here, are not invested in the establishment enough to worry about our opinions effecting our income. we could all use more work, so your threatening economic disaster toward people for their opinions, ain't any fun at all. always got the feeling Guilianna would have fired any nyc employee that spoke out like MM, which always rubbed merlin the wrong way as does your comments.

how did the party of lincoln turn into big brother so fast.
I have actually had the pleasure of working with Michael Moore as well as working in acquisitions for a very well known documentary Home Video co.
So, i am doing my best to try to understand why someone who has a knoweledge of doc film making would be so fervently interested in thrashing a truth seeker such as Moore. The lies that stand are with the media and with Hollywood machines...the mass corporations... i cannot see how anyone with any intelligence can not see that.. Moore doesn't speak lies... Yeah sure he might over state stuff a wee bit at times... but i think that is really important to do as in these times of complex properganda and $ corporations being able to do global cover ups its really refreshing and liberating to think the Moore does have a platform. I can't see why any intelligent person would not support this platform.. really? I have worked 'in hollywood' and its frightening the ego/the power the lies.... big corporations like the tobbaco industry or drug companies scare me more....
There are SO many lies an cover ups that cause so much pain and destruction.... open your eyes to it the real demons are not the likes of Moore but are the corporations, the politicians, the twisted media that feeds the masses what they want to hear to keep em down.....
wake up! Or move to Alabama...
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Being a hedonist, I am into sex and pleasure and beauty, so I
have no political or socio-economic views whatsoever. I
judge people on how they look, nothing more and nothing less.
I know nothing whatsoever about this documentary film maker,
Michael Moore (I am into documentary film makers more akin to
Kenneth Anger, simply because these are the kind that give me
great sexual pleasure). This Michael Moore may be the best
documentary film maker in the world, but this does not
concern me at all. All I know is that he has more chins on his
face than they have in China. Plus he is about 200 pounds
overweight and he has a very loose and putty-like jowl. Besides
this, he has a fat ass and shakes and wiggles like an
obnoxious bowl of jelly. Looks-wise, he is so sexually unappealing
that for the life of me I do not know how anyone in hollywood
can tolerate his ugliness. In a word, he is not pleasing at
all to look at - at least not to me- so I think he is a
big fat ugly mess - nothing more and nothing less.
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The important thing I think we seem to be forgetting is that if everyone else who received an award acted like Mr. Moore, seizing every potential opportunity to browbeat us with their personal political views, wouldn't it eventually erode and demean the purpose of the event and the achievements of all involved? Will we go away from this remembering which actor/director put a year or two of their life into some project or that Mr. Big Mouth got into a shouting contest with his peers? Sure everyone is entitled to their opinions and beliefs but what seems to be making the world crazy is when someone thinks it's so pertinent they got to jam it down our throats or blowup some buildings to make their point.

rb//nyc//bronx//bohemia

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