 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||
Michael Moore (born April 23, 1954 in Davison, Michigan) is an American documentary film director and author known for his advocacy of social democratic views laced with satiric humor.
Michael Moore's home town, Davison, a suburb of Flint, Michigan, was home to one of General Motors' factories, where his mother was a secretary, and both his father and grandfather were employed. His uncle was one of the founders of the United Automobile Workers labor union.
Brought up a Roman Catholic, he attended a Diocesan seminary at age 14, then attended Davison High School. In 1972 he ran for and won a seat on the Davison school board.
At 22 he founded the alternative weekly magazine Flint Voice that lasted 10 years.
Roger & Me: Moore first became famous for his 1989 film Roger & Me, a documentary about what happened to Flint, Michigan, near Detroit and his hometown of Davison, Michigan, after General Motors closed its factories and opened new ones in Mexico, where the workers were paid much less. Since then Moore is known as a critic of the neoliberal view of Globalisation.
Canadian Bacon: In 1995, Moore released a satirical film, Canadian Bacon, which featured a fictional US president (played by Alan Alda) engineering a war with Canada in order to boost his popularity.
The Big One: In 1997, Moore directed The Big One, which documents the tour publicizing his book Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American, where he criticized mass layoffs despite record corporate profits. Among others he targeted Nike for outsourcing shoe production to Indonesia.
Bowling for Columbine: Moore's 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine, probes the culture of guns and violence in the United States. Bowling for Columbine received special notice at the Cannes Film Festival and won France's Cesar Award as the Best Foreign Film. In the United States, it won the 2003 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. It also enjoyed unusual commercial success for a film of its type, becoming by some measures the highest-grossing documentary of all time. It was praised by some critics for illuminating a subject slighted by the mainstream media, and condemned by others as inaccurate and misleading in its presentation.
Fahrenheit 9/11: Moore's latest movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, examines America in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, particularly the record of the Bush administration and alleged links between the families of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. It was awarded the Palme d'Or, the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival; it was the first documentary film to win the prize since 1956. Moore recently announced that he would not be entering Fahrenheit 9/11 for the 2005 Academy Award for Documentary Feature, but instead for the Academy Award for Best Picture. He stated he wanted the movie to be seen by a few million more people by election day, preferably on television which is before nine months after its release, which would disqualify the film to the Documentary Oscar, and wanted to be supportive of his 'team mates in non-fiction film'.
Sicko (forthcoming): Moore is currently working on a documentary on the American healthcare system from the viewpoint of mental healthcare, under the working title Sicko.
On June 12, 2004, certain news sources reported that Moore was planning a film centering around British Prime Minister Tony Blair. A message on Moore's website refuted the claim the following day, stating that, "It is not true. Michael made a joke in an interview and, apparently, it was taken seriously."
Between 1994 and 1995 he directed and hosted the television series TV Nation, which followed the format of news magazine shows but covered topics they avoid.
His other series was The Awful Truth, which satirized actions by big corporations and politicians. It aired in 1999 and 2000.
Another 1999 series, Michael Moore Live was aired in the UK only, though it was broadcast from New York. This show had a similar format to The Awful Truth but also incorporated phone-ins and a live stunt each week. The show was performed around midday local time, which due to the time difference made it a late-night show in the UK.
In 1999 Moore won the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Arts and Entertainment, for being the executive producer and host of The Awful Truth, where he was also described as "muckraker, author and documentary filmmaker."
Moore has directed several music videos, including two for Rage Against the Machine for songs from "The Battle of Los Angeles", "Sleep Now in the Fire" and "Testify". He was arrested during the shooting of "Sleep Now in the Fire", which was filmed on Wall Street; the city of New York had denied the band permission to play there, even though the band and Moore had secured a federal permit to perform.
He also directed the music videos for System of a Down's "Boom!" and "All the Way to Reno" from R.E.M..
Moore has authored three best-selling books:
Moore was previously a columnist for and briefly the editor of Mother Jones magazine, which fired him. Moore sued the magazine for wrongful termination and settled the suit for $58,000 which would eventually be used to finance his first documentary, Roger and Me. Moore became an employee of Ralph Nader. He left Nader's employment on bad terms, but they remained friends, with Moore vociferously supporting Nader's campaign for the United States presidency in 2000, although he has publicly urged him not to run in 2004 (with Bill Maher on Maher's show) for fear that he might negatively affect the candidacy of Democratic nominee John Kerry.
In exchange for jumping in the show's "traveling mosh pit," Republican Alan Keyes won the endorsement of Moore's television series The Awful Truth in 2000, although Moore does not endorse Keyes' views.
Moore became a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association after the Columbine Massacre. He has said in an interview that his intention was to run for president of the organization and dismantle it after winning.
On January 14, 2004, Moore declared his support, on his website, for the candidacy of Democrat Wesley Clark in the 2004 presidential election (Clark has since withdrawn from the race, endorsing John Kerry). However, Moore has yet to publicly support Kerry, and has said that if Kerry were elected, "I'd keep my eye on him, too." Moore recently drew attention after he claimed publicly that George W. Bush was AWOL during his service in the National Guard (see George W. Bush military service controversy).
During the 2004 Republican National Convention Moore wrote a daily column for USA Today.
During September and October 2004 Moore spoke at universities and colleges in swing states during his 'Slacker Uprising Tour'.
Moore's body of work has engendered a great deal of criticism, usually due to its explicit liberal political view. Some consider his criticism of the United States to be unpatriotic; some challenge the factual accuracy of his books and movies.
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. 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. 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 .
Many 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 delete references to the fact that NRA had in fact cancelled most of its annual meeting, and held only one meeting that it was legally required to have. 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.
He 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. Included in his website, films and books, Moore has continually published literally hundreds of 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 do not support, or even contradict, his claims. For example, a Congressman whom Moore asks, in the film, whether 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. Moore is still subject to attack and has referred to certain types of his critics as "wackos", "nutcases" and "lunatics" — it is unclear and/or contested whether he has ever called any specific individuals thus. Moore has said that after all four of his books, and all his movies, there had not been a single lawsuit against him. Moore's critics contend this to be untrue, pointing for example at a successful lawsuit against Warner Brothers, his then-producer,about the way Moore portrayed a person in Roger & Me as evidence to the contrary (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. Also, a number of lawsuits have been initiated, including one by James Nichols (brother of Terry Nichols) for libel and 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 Hezbollah-linked organizations 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," due for release on Oct. 5. David Kopel, of www.davekopel.com, list 59 false statements which he contends can be found in Fahrenheit 9/11, which have also been rebutted by Moore supporters. For instance, the trans-Afghanistan pipeline which Moore contends was the real motivation for the Afghan War, Kopel contends, was actually pushed by the Clinton Administration, and dropped before the war. The supposed Saudi air flights out of the country during the no-fly ban after 9/11 actually occured after the ban was lifted, and were authorized by Richard Clarke in consultation with the FBI, he also points out.
Moore's supporters counter that the (Iraq war) events shown were very much internationally known before the film and reported on much more frequently and graphically by non-U.S. media outside the U.S. They also point out that rejection of the current U.S. foreign policy (as of 2004), has been widespread before Fahrenheit 9/11 was ever made. 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 that if anything, Fahrenheit 9/11 resonating well with people in the Arab world might defuse anti-American sentiment as it shows U.S. opposition to the very politics many Arabs dislike the U.S. for. There are reports in that region that reactions to the film have included of confirmation what they disapproved about the USA, however they were also surprised and impressed that that nation would allow a citizen to make such open and spirited piece of criticism against his own leader.
There has been criticism about the fact that since the success of his films and books, he has taken to living in luxury such as having a more opulent home (a $1.9 million one in New York and a $1.2 million beachfront house in Michigan) and using limousine and private planes for personal transportation. Detractors contend that he cannot be an ally to 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 like putting up his home and numerous bingo fundraisers to finance Roger & Me and he should not be denied the chance to enjoy wealth he honestly earned. (Detractors question those claims, since bingo is illegal in Michigan except for nonprofit organizations). Moore has also been a supporter of the arts such as projects to help other aspiring filmmakers create their own films.
As for charges of being unpatriotic, supporters state that the act of intelligent dissent about one's own government when s/he believes it is doing wrong is very much an act of strong patriotism. By contrast they assert, the idea of Americans trying to stifle free speech such as Michael Moore's is a direct affront to the ideals of the United States and can be seen as unpatriotic in itself. Detractors note that promoting films which portray the US as violent and exploitative, which 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 success of Moore's work, there have been works attacking Moore. These include most recently a book titled Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man and in an upcoming film titled Michael Moore Hates America.
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 moderate his tone to avoid offending so called moderates and the mass media. Instead, Moore has continually made strongly worded and humorous attacks against conservative ideology and policies that have apparently struck a deep chord with the public. Thus supporters believe Moore's detractors are motivated at least in part by anger at being put on the unaccustomed rhetorical defensive in the United States by him and the fear that his ideas and allegations are gaining popular support at their expense.
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.
When Moore accepted the Oscar for Bowling for Columbine, he created a stir when he took the opportunity to denounce President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq:
The speech was met with mixed reaction by the audience.
|
||||
| View Live Article | This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License | |
||
