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Affiliation | Independent |
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Name | Michael Moore |
Address | Traverse City, Michigan , United States |
Email | None |
Website | [Link] |
Born |
April 23, 1954
(69 years)
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Contributor | 411 Name Removed |
Last Modifed | RBH Nov 02, 2018 07:39pm |
Tags |
Caucasian - Divorced - NRA - Union Member - Catholic - Straight -
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Info | Moore's body of work has engendered a great deal of criticism, usually because of its explicit political orientation (variously described as "left-wing", "progressive", "social democratic", or, in the American sense of the term, "liberal"). Some consider his criticism of the Bush Administration to be unpatriotic, and some challenge the factual accuracy of his books and movies; some argue that he has a tendency to self-promotion [4] [5] , and that his concern for the working class is a feint [6] [7] .
Accusations have been made that some scenes in Moore's documentaries were staged or scripted without being clearly labeled so, and that other scenes were edited to alter the original intent of the speaker in the video. [8] In one case, on-screen text was allegedly altered in a Bush-Quayle campaign ad, and footage edited into it from a non-campaign ad, in order to make it seem racist. Moore denied that this was done in the film, but is said to have slightly corrected the text for the DVD release. [9] Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes has claimed that a conversation purportedly with him published in one of Moore's books was in fact completely fabricated; Moore claims that Barnes didn't react to publication and news accounts of the 1988 interview until 2002 [10] .
Many conservatives have objected to Moore's treatment of NRA President and actor Charlton Heston in Bowling for Columbine. Some have said that Moore's use of a clip of Heston giving his famous "from my cold dead hands speech" implied that Heston said the phrase during the NRA's Denver, Colorado appearance shortly after the Columbine killings, when that was not the case. It is also pointed out that Moore audio-edited Heston's speech to make it sound arrogant, and to delete references to the fact that NRA had cancelled most of its annual meeting programme, holding only the one meeting that it was legally required to have. [11] Moore has stated that he used the clip to introduce Heston and did not mean to imply he said the words in Denver. Some have also said that Moore's interviewing of Heston later in the film was much too aggressive given that Heston suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Moore contends that as president of the NRA Heston should be asked tough questions.
Moore has set up a "war room" to swiftly respond to criticism of his most recent film, Fahrenheit 9/11; his website contains counterarguments to the most common arguments against him. Moore is diligent in publishing sources to prove his claims. These range from across the world and include most of the top news sources in America. His detractors, however, point out that many of the references are unsupportive, and sometimes contradictive, of his claims. For example, a Congressman whom Moore asks in 9/11 if he would send his children to fight in Iraq protested that Moore deleted his response -- that he had a nephew on the way to fight in Afghanistan. Moore's claim that he did not say this was undermined by the transcript he posted on the webpage, in which the Congressman did indeed say that.
Some have criticized Fahrenheit 9/11 as being "against the troops", a charge Moore has responded to by publishing numerous letters from those in the military who are unhappy with the way things are progressing in Iraq. Moore maintains that he has not been subject to a single lawsuit as a consequence of his films and books. Moore's critics deny this, pointing for example at a successful lawsuit against Warner Brothers, his then-producer, about the way Moore portrayed a person in Roger & Me (see link below). Moore's producers also lost a multi-million dollar verdict over "The Awful Truth," although it was reversed on appeal due to lack of proof of "actual malice," a legal requirement for suit by a public figure. A number of lawsuits are currently in progress, including one by James Nichols (brother of Terry Nichols) for libel and defamation of character in Bowling for Columbine, but no verdict has been reached.
More recently, in the controversy surrounding Fahrenheit 9/11, some critics have accused Moore of "aiding the enemy" with his candid and graphical reporting about U.S. actions in Iraq. Critics also say that the unflattering portrayal of the U.S. political system and of the Bush administration weakens U.S. credibility internationally. In this context, foreign endorsement of Moore is often seen as an indictment by some of his critics: For example, Gianluca Chacra, the managing director of Front Row Entertainment in the United Arab Emirates (Fahrenheit 9/11's distributor there), has reportedly said that Moore was "considered an Arab supporter" in the region, and has indicated that he will use organizations linked with Hezbollah, an Islamist terrorist group, to distribute the film in the Middle East. Cuba telecast a pirated version of Fahrenheit 9/11 on state controlled TV. Fahrenheit 9/11 is also criticized, on grounds of lack of veracity, by the book "Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man," and is the subject of a counter-documentary, FahrenHYPE 9/11. David Kopel lists 59 purported false statements which he contends can be found in Fahrenheit 9/11, statements which have themselves aroused controversy.
Moore's supporters counter that television reporting of the Iraq war is much more graphic when presented by media outside the U.S. They also point out that multi-national rejection of the current U.S. foreign policy (as of 2004), has been widespread before Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore's supporters stress that opposition to U.S. policy does by no means equal terrorism against the U.S., this both as regards the U.S. and the international public; the latter also including the vast majority of the Arab public. They hold the Fahrenheit 9/11's positive reception in the Arab world might defuse anti-American sentiment, as it shows U.S. opposition to the very politics many Arabs dislike.
There has been criticism about the fact that since the success of his films and books, Moore has taken to living in luxury, with a $1.9 million home in New York and a $1.2 million beachfront house in Michigan, and for using a limousine and private planes for personal transportation. Detractors contend that he cannot be an ally of the working class if he lives in that manner. Supportors dismiss this allegation by noting that Moore made considerable financial sacrifices to begin his film career, such as putting up his home and numerous bingo fundraisers to finance Roger & Me, and that being wealthy is not in itself grounds for criticism.
As for charges of being unpatriotic, supporters argue that intelligent dissent in a case when one believes the state is doing wrong is very much an act of patriotism. They assert that the idea of Americans trying to stifle Moore's free speech is a direct affront to the ideals of the United States, is unpatriotic in itself. Detractors note that promoting films which portray the US as violent and exploitative, when films are (as noted above) being distributed in the Middle East by Hezbollah-linked organizations, is not merely intelligent dissent. They also point out that the Indonesian convicted of the Bali terror bombings of 2002 had his attorney read to the court from "Stupid White Men" in explanation of his acts. The need to be willing to view ugly truths, they argue, should be counterbalanced by a need to ensure they are indeed true.
With the success of Moore's work, there have been works attacking Moore. These include most recently the book Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man, and the film titled Michael Moore Hates America. Some groups have gone further than attacking Moore in the media. The Christian group Focus on the Family published Moore's home address in a July 2004 newsletter.
Some supporters of Moore believe that part of the reason why Moore has been so strongly criticized is that, unlike many left wing pundits, Moore has refused to either moderate his tone or adopt 'formal' language; instead, Moore has continually made strongly worded and humorous attacks against conservative ideology and policies.
Despite the controversy surrounding Moore and his work, he has had great success as a documentary filmmaker and writer. His films Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 debuted as the highest-grossing feature-length non-music documentaries of all time, the latter making over 120 million dollars.
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