{"id":1460,"date":"2007-07-16T22:36:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-16T22:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/07\/michael-moore-vs-the-tenacious-canadians\/"},"modified":"2007-07-16T22:36:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-16T22:36:00","slug":"michael-moore-vs-the-tenacious-canadians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/07\/michael-moore-vs-the-tenacious-canadians.html","title":{"rendered":"Michael Moore vs. the tenacious Canadians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
If you are anywhere near Vancouver and have any interest in the effect that Michael Moore\u2019s films have had on the state of current documentaries and\/or political discourse, then make a point of catching Manufacturing Dissent<\/a><\/i> at the VanCity Theatre<\/a> while you still can, i.e. before its final performance Wednesday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film<\/a>, directed by Debbie Melnyk<\/a> (seen above with Moore) and Rick Caine<\/a>, is not perfect by any stretch, but it is<\/i> an absolutely necessary critique of Michael Moore and the effect, both positive and negative, that he has had on the public perception of documentary films and various other issues besides. And what makes the film especially potent is that it is produced by a couple of left-leaning Canadians who actually share<\/i> Moore\u2019s politics, but find that his paranoid egomania and his shallow handling of complex political issues consistently get in the way of any actual dialogue that might otherwise be taking place in his country.<\/p>\n

No matter what your politics, there is a very human story that comes through in this film, and that is a story about a man who has turned his back on friends and allies time and again, mocking them and making a hash out of what was supposed to be their common struggles. Even if you don\u2019t share the agenda behind those struggles, you have to feel at least a little sympathy for the people who feel that their causes were hijacked and marginalized and ultimately disparaged, all because Moore wanted to be a celebrity.<\/p>\n

One of the most damning revelations \u2014 though it\u2019s not entirely<\/i> new \u2014 is that Moore actually interviewed Roger Smith, the General Motors CEO who was supposedly impossible to reach when Moore made his first feature film, Roger & Me<\/a><\/i> (1989). The whole premise<\/i> of the film was that Moore couldn\u2019t get the interview, but according to activist James Musselman \u2014 and Smith himself \u2014 Moore did<\/i> get the interview but left it on the cutting-room floor because the movie was more entertaining without it.<\/p>\n

Moore disputed this claim last month, telling the Associated Press<\/a> that \u201cAnybody who says that is a (expletive) liar.\u201d But, well, hmmm. Who should we trust, Musselman or Moore? John Pierson, who helped make Moore the multimillionaire celebrity that he is now by selling Roger & Me<\/i> to Warner Brothers for $3 million back in 1989, definitely trusts Musselman<\/a>. And so do I.<\/p>\n

The film includes video footage of Moore sharing the stage with Musselman and other activists in the mid-1980s, and then denying he had any affiliation with those same people a few years later when Phil Donahue, of all people, recites their names during an appearance by Moore on his show. In this and other scenes, Moore proves himself to be a dishonest and disloyal person. It may be that Musselman and Smith are no better than Moore \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t know, as I have never met any of them myself \u2014 but as it stands right now, the evidence does not tilt in Moore\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n

Among other things, the film also touches on Moore\u2019s short-lived stint as the editor of Mother Jones<\/i> in 1986. Apparently Moore left the magazine \u2014 or was forced out \u2014 partly because he and his publishers clashed over an article that was critical of the Sandinistas<\/a>. One of the film\u2019s interviewees says Moore couldn\u2019t see how people on the Left could be critical of both Ronald Reagan and<\/i> the Sandinistas; opposition to one required loyalty to the other. Presumably some liberals will share that attitude when it comes to Manufacturing Dissent<\/i>; they will think that opposition to Bush and the like requires loyalty to Moore and thus a boycott of this film. But I sincerely hope that those liberals are in the minority, and that films like Manufacturing Dissent<\/i> will encourage greater honesty and skepticism and discussion and even, yes, compassion for those whose beliefs do not match our own.<\/p>\n

I might write more on this later, especially if I get around to seeing Sicko<\/a><\/i> \u2014 a film that, based on the reviews I\u2019ve read, seems to perpetuate a number of the problems that have afflicted Moore\u2019s other films. I wonder if Melnyk and Caine will provide any updates on that film when they put their own film out on DVD.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are anywhere near Vancouver and have any interest in the effect that Michael Moore\u2019s films have had on the state of current documentaries and\/or political discourse, then make a point of catching Manufacturing Dissent at the VanCity Theatre while you still can, i.e. before its final performance Wednesday night. The film, directed by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Moore vs. the tenacious Canadians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you are anywhere near Vancouver and have any interest in the effect that Michael Moore's films have had on the state of current documentaries and\/or\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/07\/michael-moore-vs-the-tenacious-canadians.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Moore vs. the tenacious Canadians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you are anywhere near Vancouver and have any interest in the effect that Michael Moore's films have had on the state of current documentaries and\/or\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/07\/michael-moore-vs-the-tenacious-canadians.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-07-16T22:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_MwnH1kpbPRM\/RpxWr4SGF6I\/AAAAAAAAAcA\/p0hZdpfLP34\/s400\/manufacturingdissent.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. 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