Michael Moore - Greatest American Alive Today??

Cybercubed

I was watching some of Michael Moore's movies, and to be honest with you I'm a huge fan of his. Follow him on twitter and everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpKoN40K7mA

I find him a rare breed of American, somebody who is actually bothered to go great lengths and ask questions many other americans refuse to ask. The sheer hypocrisy of American culture. Most of the American media refused to ask questions about the Iraq war and rather sickenly cheerleaded it instead. 70% of Americans supported the invasion initially.

Has anyone ever seen his assault on CNN a few years back when criticised him on healthcare?? Totally destroyed them (start at 4:00)

To me he's perfect for what we need, I almost wonder whether he's worth a shout for a face on mount rushmore if a single payer healthcare system ever got passed.

I find him simply amazing, almost god like. Simply brilliant. Just imagine what it would be like if he was in charge of Ireland. Greatest living American?? I think so.

Dravokivich

huh? He's just like that shower in people before profit. All he does is look for flaws and moans about them.

Cianos

Biased and sensationalist, kinda like those he documents

INEEDANID

Mount Rushmore wouldnt be big enough to have his head on it!!

I enjoy his films though and have read some of his books. Good guy.

Temptamperu

I like his books and movies i suppose, but i would say the greatest american is Jon Stewart on the Daily Show :cool:

Sunnyisland

He is just to much one sided for me, he started out with great intentions but got lost in his own hatred of bush etc

keano_afc

I think you either love him or hate him.

I did enjoy him making Charlton Heston look like a mug though. Thumbs up for Roger and Me too. I think when he's not shining the spotlight on himself he has some good things to say. Its rare though.

3ndahalfof6

when he lined up beside the Fridge for the NY Giants, I think even Kunte Kinte cried.

rockmongrel

Dravokivich wrote: »

huh? He's just like that shower in people before profit. All he does is look for flaws and moans about them.

While I would have problems with Michael Moore and PBPA, do this not seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to do?...

KenHy

He was great, a humorous look at seroious topics, think he's got a bit lost in his own bias with some of his more reccent stuff.

edit - Just watched the video! Don't think you could say he destroyed them, he cant hide his biased agro.

Dravokivich

rockmongrel wrote: »

While I would have problems with Michael Moore and PBPA, do this not seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to do?...

Nope, moaning doesn't fix anything.

Herb Powell

Don't believe everything he says
obviously.

Badgermonkey

Michael Moore -Trolling for Columbine

Borat_Sagdiyev

Michael Moore - Greatest American Alive Today??

Depends on what your definition of what that word is

Seriously though, used to be into his films in a major way until I realised that he is just a filmmaker - he will edit things to make for a better story despite the facts. His films are still entertaining though, as long as you take them with a pinch of salt.

EDIT: He also plays up the "Hey, I'm just like the average Joe American" angle too much. FFS how can he be like the average Joe when he's got bajillions in the bank making money from films that are in general made for very little.

iceman777

I like parts of his documentaries for the sensationalism and entertainment value, but he can't keep on track and seems to find someone to blame for the topic that is in fact so unattached from it.

For example, virtually blaming Walmart for the Columbine shootings and Wall Street for the financial failure in America, when in fact it is the person on the street that went looking for sub-prime mortgages and willingly signed the contracts.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

he's a fat lying sack of ****

longshanks

He is a multi million dollar industry complaining about other multi million dollar industries.

Sonics2k

Used to love him, then I actually read up on him properly and listened to what he's actually saying.

He's as a bad as Fox News, just comes at it from the other side.
He's a real one for leaving out key details, skipping over facts and edits his videos in such a way he makes his target seem like the bad guy.

Yes he brings up some good points now and then, I just don't see any real difference between him and Fox aside from the political point of view.

Zebra3

Cybercubed wrote: »

Michael Moore - Greatest American Alive Today??

Nope, Noam Chomsky is.

lastlaugh

keano_afc wrote: »

I think you either love him or hate him.

I did enjoy him making Charlton Heston look like a mug though. Thumbs up for Roger and Me too. I think when he's not shining the spotlight on himself he has some good things to say. Its rare though.

I would have enjoyed it if Heston pointed a Rifle at him and ordered his fat ass off his property.
Going there under false pretenses and trying to show him up as a bigot?
Big fat tosser.

Chuck Stone

He's a refreshing antidote to the corporate media.

His stuff is a bit questionable though.

Sonics2k

Just watched the video.

Moore comes across as a total ass in this video, constantly interrupts and refuses to answer questions directed at him. Instead he just rants about other issues and tries to make everyone else seem like the bad guy.

Blaming a reporter on CNN for events of the war in Iraq, blaming the Doctor for a variety of nonsense.

Honestly, this video just put me off him entirely.

Standman

The sheer hypocrisy of american culture

He's not immune from that as far as I can see.

Da Shins Kelly

He is well intended I think, but gets a little caught up in the hysteria of it all and ends up coming off as a bit sensationalist. Bowling For Columbine was a good documentary though.

Grumpypants

He is a liar and a hypocrite who has screwed over anyone he can to make himself money. He makes pathetic "films" that are no better than the ridiculous "life story" sections of the X-Factor. He is loved by the sound bite educated generation that are too lazy to actually go and find out things for themselves. He has used his friends, dead children and grieving mothers to make himself a very rich man.

When a film maker does something like the "From my cold dead hands" scene where he takes a speech made months before a child was shot then cuts it to look like he made that speech 2 days after the accident they loose all credibility.

RichieC

he's certainly great..

I do like him though.

RichieC

Grumpypants wrote: »

He is a liar and a hypocrite who has screwed over anyone he can to make himself money. He makes pathetic "films" that are no better than the ridiculous "life story" sections of the X-Factor. He is loved by the sound bite educated generation that are too lazy to actually go and find out things for themselves. He has used his friends, dead children and grieving mothers to make himself a very rich man.

When a film maker does something like the "From my cold dead hands" scene where he takes a speech made months before a child was shot then cuts it to look like he made that speech 2 days after the accident they loose all credibility.

he is biased and has an agenda.. give me more people like him and less like the "hard nosed" faux right that occupies these forums.

--Kaiser--

Zebra3 wrote: »

Nope, Noam Chomsky is.

I would have said maybe Nicholas Taleb, but definitely not Michael Moore

Moore is an opportunist who in his work repeatedy lies in order to appear like some middle class savour puttingbit to the man. Roger and Me is based on the fact that Roger refused to meet Moore for an interview, the fact the he did in fact meet with Moore a number of times and film interviews is never mentioned as it would mess with Moores agenda. The whole Heston interview was disgraceful, he interviewed a sick, frail old man and then edited the footage in such a way as to portray Heston in a negative light.

People who have worked with Moore are not fans, Ive heard a few first hand that he is a pompous, nasty piece of work. Actual documentary filmmakers dislike him immensely, there were some great quotes out there from people like Albert Maysles who despise Moore.

SamHarris

Cybercubed wrote: »

I was watching some of Michael Moore's movies, and to be honest with you I'm a huge fan of his. Follow him on twitter and everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpKoN40K7mA

I find him a rare breed of American, somebody who is actually bothered to go great lengths and ask questions many other americans refuse to ask. The sheer hypocrisy of American culture. Most of the American media refused to ask questions about the Iraq war and rather sickenly cheerleaded it instead. 70% of Americans supported the invasion initially.

Has anyone ever seen his assault on CNN a few years back when criticised him on healthcare?? Totally destroyed them (start at 4:00)

To me he's perfect for what we need, I almost wonder whether he's worth a shout for a face on mount rushmore if a single payer healthcare system ever got passed.

I find him simply amazing, almost god like. Simply brilliant. Just imagine what it would be like if he was in charge of Ireland. Greatest living American?? I think so.

Culture can be hypocritcal now to?

The man is a fat mess, journalistically incompetant and dishonest, he has been routinely caught leaving out details that are key to understanding conscepts he insists on criticising.

He is not even a good documentary maker, and even the best would be pretty far from the greatest living American.

Even if your standards were television/ movies there is nothing you would consider better informed, more clever and more balanced? If there was some guy doing the same on the right he would be one of the most hated people on earth... This mans dishonesty is no less obvious than Bill O'Reilly's.

You honeslt cant think of anyone better in a country that sequenced the human genome, put a man on the moon and is at the cutting edge of IT? I weep for people these days...

Da Shins Kelly

Deleted User wrote: »

The whole Heston interview was disgraceful, he interviewed a sick, firing man and then edited the footage in such a way as to portray Heston in a negative light.

I would agree with this. A lot of people seem to think that the Charlton Heston interview was great because it finally showed Heston up, but the man was sick at the time of the interview, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and was also ambushed at his own home. The questions Moore put to him in the interview were arguably unanswerable and quite difficult for a man that was not really in a healthy state of mind to be answering them.

Grumpypants

He was in Ireland giving a speech and asked on the last word. He said he would only go on if he could pick the questions before hand ! For a guy who made his name door stepping people that pretty pathetic. Matt Cooper turned him down fair play to him.

SamHarris

Also American culture is pretty dedicated to asking questions about itself, if anything TOO dedicated, leaving them very ignorant of other countries problems.

Killer Pigeon

Does anyone else find it ironic to see a morbidly obese man talking about greed in society?

Da Shins Kelly

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I would agree with this. A lot of people seem to think that the Charlton Heston interview was great because it finally showed Heston up, but the man was sick at the time of the interview, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and was also ambushed at his own home. The questions Moore put to him in the interview were arguably unanswerable and quite difficult for a man that was not really in a healthy state of mind to be answering them.

Watch the way the piece is edited, the film was shot on one camera but in the Heston piece you would think they had 5 or 6 cameras shooting it.

If you want another example of Moores dishonesty look at the segment where he opened his bank account and got his gun. Idiots all over the world start going on about just how stupid America is but everyone with a brain knows that no bank will hand out guns over the counter. And sure enough if you look into it Moore staged the entire thing, in reality what happened was when you opened your account you could get a voucher which you took to a local gunshot and after all the checks had been done and your license was in order you were given a gun. Not exactly how it's shown in the film and if you didn't want a gun you got a voucher for something else. The gun Moore was handed, he brought along himself and the entire piece was prepared weeks in advance.

To call Moore a documentary filmmaker is an offence to people like Errol Morris and Alex Gibny.

CL7

Can't stand the man.

czx

morbidly stupid

RichieC

SamHarris wrote: »

You honeslt cant think of anyone better in a country that sequenced the human genome, put a man on the moon and is at the cutting edge of IT? I weep for people these days...

Hitler played a large part in putting a man on the moon.

18 countries other than the states participate in the genome project.

Morlar

Cianos wrote: »

Biased and sensationalist, kinda like those he documents

I agree that he is biased and sensationalist, but I think there is room for him in american media, so long as people don't take every little thing he says totally at face value. 'Greatest american alive' part made me laugh.

Mickeroo

His films are entertaining and the some of the points raised on the issues are valid, but don't for one second think they're proper documentaries,entertaining yet biased propaganda and nothing more.

SharpshooterTom

He's a great man. I like him.

lastlaugh

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I would agree with this. A lot of people seem to think that the Charlton Heston interview was great because it finally showed Heston up, but the man was sick at the time of the interview, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and was also ambushed at his own home. The questions Moore put to him in the interview were arguably unanswerable and quite difficult for a man that was not really in a healthy state of mind to be answering them.

I was absolutley fooking disgusted when I saw that, waving the picture of the little girl after him, and the ridiculously edited footage of the rallys.
How he had the neck to disrespect the man in such a way is beyond me.
He deserved to get his fat ass kicked around the place for that.

Lady von Purple

I liked his books when I was sixteen. Now, not so much. As about half the posters here have pointed out, the man is incredibly biased and his documentaries are very very deceptive. This is actually really worrying, because a LOT of people will take documentaries as fact, so he holds an awful lot of sway in America and the rest of the world and people assume he's the complete underdog he portrays himself as. With all the selective editing, leaving things out and inserting scenes in differing orders, there's very little fact to be found in his films. If you look into Roger and Me at all, you'll find massive glaring omissions that render most of the film wrong/misleading. The gun scene at the bank in Bowling for Columbine was such a blatant lie that I no longer have any semblance of respect for the man. Here, OP, throw a poll up there, would you? I'm curious, it seems to be about 60-40 against Moore in this thread, maybe more... Just wondering what the actual numbers are.

starbelgrade

Lady von Purple wrote: »

Here, OP, throw a poll up there, would you? I'm curious, it seems to be about 60-40 against Moore in this thread, maybe more... Just wondering what the actual numbers are.

According to Fox News 97% of people disagree with Michael Moore.

Geekness1234

I personally dislike him,because he's like a Broken record;constantly repeating things which makes me want to smack him.
Is it just me,or does anyone think he's like the Sarah Palin of the left wing?Just my opinion.

dixiefly

Cybercubed wrote: »

I find him simply amazing, almost god like. Simply brilliant. Just imagine what it would be like if he was in charge of Ireland. Greatest living American?? I think so.

I dont dislike the guy and he has done some good work but greatest living American? No way!

Steve Jobs would be my choice,

johnnycnandy

Deluded idiotic hack

K-9

Roger & Me was a brilliant social documentary that could still be made today, probably more relevant that it ever was. American dream my arse!

lastlaugh

Geekness1234 wrote: »

I personally dislike him,because he's like a Broken record;constantly repeating things which makes me want to smack him.
Is it just me,or does anyone think he's like the Sarah Palin of the left wing?Just my opinion.

At least Sarah Palin has a MILF thing goin on!.

He is just a big scruffy tub of Lard.

DjFlin

Moore can be compared to organisations like PETA. He's the kind of guy who says "Right, I believe X is wrong, and its in the interest of the people to get rid of it." But instead of trying to get rid of it in a civilized way, he attacks it all out without regard for anything.

You could also say hes a very black and white guy. He never seems capable of seeing the gray areas. Everything's either one or the other to him.

tony007

dixiefly wrote: »

I dont dislike the guy and he has done some good work but greatest living American? No way!

Steve Jobs would be my choice,

Oh dear lord. Do you know many americans?