Moore of the same

The vast right-wing conspiracy has sprung into action to counter the startling 'revelations' that everyman Mike Moore has unearthed. Actually, they've just sort of sauntered into action -- there's no big challenge in debunking this stuff. Tim Blair has a list of some of the opening salvos and adds some shots of his own. Best Line:

Little surprise that most of Mike’s causes end up destroyed. Hand him a cute little pet cause and he’ll hug it and pat it and squeeze it and hug it and ... oops. Dead.

But he missed this piece from the Wall Street Journal that describes some of the subtle techniques the great artist uses to make his points:

He uses the manipulations he so successfully employed in earlier movies. In one such scene, the voice of President Bush announces the beginning of the Iraq war as footage supposedly shows prewar Baghdad sometime in March. The viewer sees a happy couple at a wedding, children at a playground and other urban bliss. Ah, life must have been idyllic under the butcher of Baghdad. Just when the president announces the bombardment of "selective targets," a little girl is going down a slide. In case the audience didn't get it, Mr. Moore shows gruesome pictures of injured and dead Iraqis. Elsewhere he shows the charred bodies of U.S. soldiers being further mutilated by an angry mob. Yes, war is terrible, these pictures tell us, but they add nothing to the dispute over whether this war was justified.

What I don't get is how the artistic types that attended the Cannes screening of this propaganda could give Moore a twenty minute ovation. I mean, I don't like Paul Martin or John Kerry. But could I even watch a two-hour-long character assassination of them, much less applaud it when it was done? No. I'm pretty sure of it. Even if it was of as loathsome a character as Jacques Chirac, I would probably feel some sympathy for the bastard and be angry at the film maker for trying to manipulate me with a one-sided story. Such jubilation for such hatred -- I just really don't understand.

UPDATE: Could I watch a two hour movie trashing Michael Moore? Well, maybe. But Michael Moore Hates America is not just about Mikey:

Contrary to its title, Michael Moore Hates America isn’t a hatchet job on the filmmaker. It’s a journey across the nation where we meet celebrities, scholars and average folks alike, all of whom are living the American Dream and proving that America is a great place to be! In the process, we’ll look at Michael Moore’s claims about the country, its people, and our way of life.

Could be interesting.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Apparently Mike Moore has decided to bravely stand against the forces opposing him (What forces? You haven't seen any forces, have you? Me neither...) and said he will release his tremendously important movie even if it requires an act of civil disobediance. I think he's a little confused, because there's been no legal barrier made to his movie being shown, a company just decided they didn't want to distribute it -- over a year ago. But Mikey, like Svend, loves being a martyr so now he's acting all Martin Luther King, Jr. Okay, whatever. But some internet pranksters thought maybe he has a point and have decided to help him get his movie seen. They've suggested he release his movie for free on the internet and are asking him to respond. Mike? Are you there? Mike?

There's a petition you can sign to help persuade him.

Posted by Bruce Gottfred at May 19, 2004 07:55 PM | TrackBack