May 20, 2004
Moore is Less
Michael Moore Taking Lumps on Internet and in Film
By David Thibault
Moore is the target of a documentary currently being filmed by Minnesota's Mike Wilson and two partners called Michael Moore Hates America.
"The ideology that Michael Moore uses and the vision that he's created of the country [is] we're all sort of doomed to a life of poverty and a lack of success," Wilson told CNSNews.com on Monday, the same day Moore's latest documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 was being screened at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
"My whole experience says that look - the American dream is alive and well and if you work hard and you persevere and stick it out, you can make it," Wilson said.
An increasing number of websites also take Moore to task for using his films to express his political ideology. They include MooreWatch.com, BowlingForTruth.com and MooreLies.com. Wilson's project also has an accompanying website called MichaelMooreHatesAmerica.com.
Substance Over Style
By Kenneth Turan / Los Angeles Times
Never mind Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks, Cameron Diaz and Angelina Jolie, this almost willfully unglamorous man in jeans, sandals, pullover shirt and "Made in Canada" baseball cap is the center of the Festival de Cannes' biggest media storm. Variety cheekily calls him "Fest's Fave Pest," while a French film magazine more grandly insists he's one man "Contre L'Empire," against the American empire.
"It's a product of the times we live in, not me," Moore says, thinking about it. "With what's going on in the world, in the States, this becomes a focal point because I'm willing to put my toe in the water and make a movie about something."
[Moore said,] "People like me have to save liberals from themselves. This is not a job I went looking for; it wasn't in the career guidance I received in high school. I may come off as abrasive, but what am I supposed to do, wait around for the next Tom Daschle to lead us?"
If being an anvil around the neck of Democrats is saving them, thank goodness his “job” is to save them and not Republicans!
It is no surprise this film is debuting in France, where he would be cheered as the man "Contre L'Empire" where America bashing and nose turning seems to be an integral part of their educational system.
By his own admission through the making of this film Moore said, "I just couldn't come to grips with my own sadness, I just wasn't there yet. I felt that the issues that sprung from Sept. 11 deserved to be much more front and center." This sounds a lot more like he needs to spend some introspective time healing, rather than fueling the fire of his disdain for the United States and our President. He has yet to make it through the five stages of handling loss.
In fact it would appear that a segment of our population is stuck in the third stage of loss. That segment being the families of fallen soldiers, 9/11 victims, politicians and anyone else (i.e. Moore) looking to assign blame on Bush, Clinton, FBI, CIA, etc. rather than on terrorists.
Stage 3 Anger
We become angry with God, with ourselves, or with others over our loss.
We become outraged and incensed over the steps that must be taken to overcome our loss.
We pick out ``scapegoats'' on which to vent our anger, e.g., the doctors, hospitals, clerks, helping agencies, rehabilitation specialists, etc.
We begin to use:
Self-blaming believing we should blame ourselves for this loss.
Switching blame believing we should blame others for this loss.
Blaming the victim believing we should blame the victim for leaving us.
Aggressive anger believing we have a right to vent our blame and rage aggressively on the closest target.
Resentment believing our hurt and pain is justified to turn into resentment toward involved in our loss event including the victim.
Anger is a normal stage. It must be expressed and resolved; if it is suppressed and held in, it will become "Anger in" leading to a maladaptive condition of depression that drains our emotional energy.
The only caveat I would add to the suppression and expression of anger, is that gentleness and self-control are fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 13-26), so it is important to remember that not all expressions of anger are righteous and acceptable.
For whatever its worth, I hope his “documentary” helps him to heal and get past his anger, but I’m afraid he’s been in this stage far longer than can be attributed to 9/11. I think he even suffers from pre-9/11 traumatic syndrome, the onslaught of guilt and despair of being a “stupid white man” (not that I'm advocating the purchase of this book).
