Difference between revisions of "Michael Moore"

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-[[Image:Michael-Moore.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Michael Moore]]
-'''Michael Moore''' (born April 23, 1954) is a [[liberal|left wing]], admitted [[socialist]] filmmaker and [[conspiracy theorist]]. Moore is critical of the U.S. government, as can be seen in his reply to the question "You do not seem to like the U.S., do you?"
-{{cquote|I like America to some extent. … Americans are simple and clear. They are charming people. You will understand how good an individual American is. What I am not satisfied with America is that the nation cannot control the government and economy. Only a handful of people have the power to control the country. <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32174</ref>}}
-Moore's films and television programs represent some of the most egregious examples of deceitful [[liberal]] [[propaganda]] in contemporary American political discourse.
-==Manufacturing dissent==
-He is a hero in [[liberal]] Hollywood and to booksellers who tend to agree with his politics.  Moore's films and commentaries are often based on themes of alleged "capitalist" greed.  Though a multi-millionaire, Moore frequently appears on television and in photos dressed like blue-collar workers with whom he attempts to identify.
-Moore produced a movie portraying President [[George W. Bush]] as part of a massive conspiracy, named ''Fahrenheit 9/11''. The contents of the film were systematically shown to be untrue, maliciously edited, and bordering on treasonous by an independent study <ref>http://www.davekopel.org/terror/59Deceits.pdf</ref>.
-Moore was the producer and host of the television series "The Awful Truth," which was typified by a type of sketch-comedy activism that was often directed against large corporations and government agencies.
-Moore's movie "Bowling for Columbine", which used the Columbine school massacre as a starting point, won the Acadamy Award for Best Documentary. Some of his other work includes the anti-corporate film ''Roger and Me'' and the books ''Dude, Where's my Country'', ''Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American'' and ''Stupid White Men''.
-Moore also directed the anti-war music video for "Boom!" by [[System of a Down]], which was released to coincide with the beginning of the [[Iraq war]].
-His production company which produces feature documentary-style films is Michael Moore Films.<ref>http://www.michaelmoore.com/</ref>
-Michael Moore was the subject of the 2004 documentaries ''Michael Moore Hates America''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411646/</ref>, ''Fahrenhype 9/11''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427228/</ref> and the 2007 documentary ''Manufacturing Dissent''.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0961117/</ref>  He was also the subject of books including ''Michael Moore Is a Big Fat Stupid White Man'' by David T. Hardy and Jason Clarke<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Moore-Big-Stupid-White/dp/0060779608/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2466588-5816760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174624100&sr=1-1</ref> and ''Forgive Us Our Spins: Michael Moore and the Future of the Left'' by Jesse Larner.<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Forgive-Us-Our-Spins-Michael/dp/047179306X/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2466588-5816760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174623950&sr=8-1</ref>
-[[Image:Moore html.jpg|right|thumb|Michael Moore, ranting|200px]]
-== Sicko ==
-In his comedy documentary, ''[[Sicko]]'', Michael Moore argued for the revamping of the American health care system, and supported that of [[Canada]], [[United Kingdom|Britain]], [[Cuba]], and [[France]]. Sicko was released in late June 2007. In this documentary, Moore argues for a nationalized health care system, citing the supposed positive effects from the health care systems of the aforementioned countries, and the supposed negative effects stemming from the health care system of the United States. <ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/</ref><ref>http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/about/synopsis/</ref>  Sicko received much criticism for dishonestly ignoring the problems with, in particular,  Britain's National Health Service. <ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/minette_marrin/article2753620.ece</ref>
-==Criticisms of Sicko==
-Kurt Loder of [[MTV|MTV news]] alleged:
-<blockquote>"Michael Moore may see himself as working in the tradition of such crusading muckrakers of the last century as Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair — writers whose dedication to exposing corruption and social injustices played a part in sparking much-needed reforms. In his new movie, "Sicko," Moore focuses on the U.S. health-care industry — a juicy target — and he casts a shocking light on some of the people it's failed.<br>
-Unfortunately, Moore is also suspected of being selective with the truth, and never more so than in this film. His cherry-picked facts, manipulative interviews (with lingering close-ups of distraught people breaking down in tears) and blithe assertions (how does he know 18,000* people will die this year because they have no health insurance?) are so stacked that you can feel his whole argument sliding sideways as the picture unspools. The American health-care system is in urgent need of reform, no question. Some 47 million people are uninsured (although many are only temporarily so, being either in-between jobs or young enough not to feel a pressing need to buy health insurance). There are a number of proposals as to what might be done to correct this situation. Moore has no use for any of them, save one.<br>
-As a proud Socialist, the director appears to feel that there are few problems in life that can't be solved by government regulation (that would be the same government that's already given us the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Motor Vehicles). In the case of health care, though, Americans have never been keen on socialized medicine. <ref>http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1563758/story.jhtml</ref>
-</blockquote>
-==Earnings==
-Michael Moore's films have grossed worldwide in excess of $200,000,000.00.  A breakdown for just the [[United States of America]] is below.
-{| style="background:white" border="1" class="wikitable"
-| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"|Michael Moore's Gross US box office film earnings<ref>[http://www.the-numbers.com/people/directors/MIMOO.php The Numbers]</ref><ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/business</ref>
-|-
-! Film
-! U.S. Gross $
-|-
-| Roger & Me
-|style="text-align:right"| $6,706,368
-|-
-| Canadian Bacon
-|style="text-align:right"| $178,104
-|-
-| The Big One
-|style="text-align:right"| $720,074
-|-
-| Bowling for Columbine
-|style="text-align:right"| $21,576,018
-|-
-| Fahrenheit 9/11
-|style="text-align:right"| $119,114,517
-|-
-| Sicko
-|style="text-align:right"| $24,540,079
-|-
-| '''TOTAL'''
-|style="text-align:right"|  '''$172,835,160'''
-|}
-==Treasury investigation==
-According to ''Reuters'' in June 2007, Moore is reported to have hidden assets in Canada in reaction to an official investigation. Moore was operating offshore in Cuba allegedly as a "journalistic endeavor."  The United States Treasury Department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations. <ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1119539820070613 Moore fears film seizure after Cuba trip], Michelle Nichols, ''Reuters'', June 12, 2007. </ref>
-==Criticism==
-[[Image:Obamabow2.JPG|thumb|left|President Obama bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia; Moore was highly critical of President George W. Bush's relationship with the Saudi ruling family.]]
-'''[[Christopher Hitchens]]''' said of Fahrenheit 9/11, and Moore's work:
-{{Cquote|To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental…Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of 'dissenting' bravery." <ref>[http://slate.com/id/2102723/ The lies of Michael Moore]. By Christopher Hitchens, //Slate'', June 21, 2004.</ref><ref>[http://www.newmediajournal.us/guest/p_ibbetson/06092007.htm Michael Moore: A Criminal Profile], Paul A. Ibbetson, ''New Media Journal, June 9, 2007,</ref>}}
-In 2004, Moore warned that if [[George W. Bush|Bush]] was re-elected as President: "...he's going to bring back the draft. He will be forced to. Because, thanks to his crazy war, recruitment is going to be at an all-time low. And many of the troops stuck over there are NOT going to re-enlist. The only way Bush is going to be able to staff the military is to draft you and your friends. Parents, make no mistake about it - Bush's second term will see your sons taken from you and sent to fight wars for the oily rich."<ref>Moore, Michael [http://www.clark04.com/moore/ ''I'll Be Voting For Wesley Clark/Good-Bye Mr. Bush''] 14 January 2004; Clark for President site. Accessed 17 March 2008</ref> Over four years later, the draft had not been reintroduced.
-Moore says that corporations are "terrorists" and has said "I don't own a single share of stock" but IRS records showed he owned at least several hundreds of thousand dollars in stocks in Pentagon contractors like Boeing, pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly, and even Halliburton, the company most vilified by Moore in ''Fahrenheit 9/11''.
-Moore uses a private jet on his book tours and stays at the Ritz Carlton hotel when in [[London]], but conducts press interviews in a cheap hotel nearby to give reporters the impression he is staying there instead. Moore calls himself "an Average Joe from Flint, MI" and says, "Once you’re working class, you’re always working class". The reality is that hypocrite Moore lives a luxury-class lifestyle out of reach of most Flint residents.
-Moore says that Americans who live in white neighborhoods are racist, but lives in a town (Central Lake, Michigan) which according to the 2000 Census, had a black population of zero.
-==Wikipedia controversy==
-[[Image:Moorecagan.JPG|right|thumb|200px|Moore with [[Leslie Cagan]] [[United For Peace and Justice]]]]
-Michael Moore's official website [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/Attack_sites/Proposed_decision#Michael_Moore] put an image and name of a [[Wikipedia]] editor on its main page with links to edit both Wikipedia's article on ''[[Sicko]]'' and the Wikipedia editor's user page.  Wikipedia policy explicitly states,
-:"A website that engages in the practice of publishing private information concerning the identities of Wikipedia participants will be regarded as an attack site whose pages should not be linked to from Wikipedia pages '''under any circumstances'''."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/MONGO#Outing_sites_as_attack_sites]
-Wikipedia Dispute Resolution policy stated aim is to "primarily investigate interpersonal disputes" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_policy#Scope] and not content disputes. Policy further states,
-:"Links to attack sites may be removed by any user...Deliberately linking to an attack site may be grounds for blocking." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/MONGO#Links_to_attack_site]
-Wikipedia Conflict of interest policy states, "Adding material that appears to promote the interests or visibility of an article's author, his family members, employer, associates, or his business or personal interests, places the author in a conflict of interest." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:COI#What_is_a_conflict_of_interest.3F] and "Campaigning. Activities regarded by insiders as simply "getting the word out" may appear promotional or propagandistic to the outside world... may have a conflict of interest."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:COI#Examples]
-Protection of Wikipedia editors from activities targeting editors for harassment also states,"Any user, including an administrator using administrative powers, may remove or otherwise defeat attempts at harassment of a user. This includes harassment directed at the user themselves."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/MONGO#Combatting_harassment], and finally, "It is unacceptable to harass another user."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/MONGO#Harrassment]
-Unequivocally, Michael Moore's official website, michaelmoore.com, engaged in egregious violations of multiple Wikipedia policies warranting blocking of users from Michael Moore's website, and editors linking to it.  Further, official Wikipedia policy states all links to Michael Moore’s website from Wikipedia must be removed.
-In discussion of the case, harassment and intimidation of a Wikipedia editor was excused, whose expertise on the subject of healthcare was characterized as "an attorney, who is a Fellow at the [[American Enterprise Institute]], a [[conservative]] think tank." [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2007-October/083230.html]  The interpersonal nature of the attack was ignored by Wikipedia's rule making body, in favor of,
-:"a bunch of considerations. One is that ''Sicko'', finally, brings to public attention information which has not been generally presented by American media. This is right up our alley... we and whoever runs Moore's website look ridiculous. ..."
-Wikipedia's Neutral Point of View (NPOV), laid down by founder [[Jimbo Wales]] allegedly is "absolute and non-negotiable."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view#_note-0] Wikipedia Arbitration Chairman stated,
-:"Obviously we need to make an exception for prominent people whose viewpoint we support."
-When asked what he learned from the Michael Moore experience, the Chairman said,
-:"If a powerful [[leftwing]] celebrity attacks a [[rightwing]] Wikipedia editor on his website, his supporters on Wikipedia should be able, as a practical matter, to prevent removal of links to his site."
-==See also==
-*[[Schlockumentary]]
-*[[Previous Breaking News/Michael Moore|Articles about '''Michael Moore''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
-==References==
-{{reflist|2}}
-==External links==
-*[http://www.racewire.org/archives/2007/07/moore_attacks_cnn_network_spew.html Moore attacks CNN network, spews anti-South Asian sentiments], ''RaceWire.org'', July 10, 2007.
-*[http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2007-October/082987.html WikiEN-l Harassment sites], Sun Oct 14 19:27:21 UTC 2007.
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Michael}}
-[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
-[[Category:Socialists]]
-[[Category:Anti-war Movements]]
-[[category:propagandists]]
-[[Category:Liberal Activists]]

Difference between revisions of "Michael Moore"

Revision as of 14:45, October 25, 2009

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