Fred Topel: Michael Moore

One of the best interviews I've read here! I was totally against Mike Moore till I read this. Now I think I'll give his messages a chance. Thanks!

As expected, I pretty much disagree with just about everything Micheal Moore has said with regards to the economic stuff. :-/

I'm with Sarge on this one. Bleargh, I can't stand Michael Moore.

I bet he's just gonna hate making money from those Blu Ray and DVD sales

Really. Capitalism is terrible, buy my idiotic dvd. What a douchebag

@ phobic and fuck_stick

I have to disagree with you.

Basically you are saying he is a hypocrite, right??
but think about it. what other way is there to get your message across than TV these days? It's sad, but true that most people don't bother to look shit up online or read anymore. hell, even that wouldn't be for free. you pay for internet and books. media costs, informing yourself costs money.
and the best way to adress the general public is by making a movie. just because it will get more attention than writing a book.

and if he has the money and the publicity to get his opinions across by making a movie, well more power to him. I wish more smart people had the money to do that.

I like micheal moore, I really do. I don't have to share all of his opinions....and I am NOT saying you do, by any means. but l had to argue your statements here. because really, what more is more effective nowadays than a movie? anything else just wouldn't attract as much attention...

So why does he have to 'Sell' a movie?

He can easily find a cheap medium, and with the wealth he's accumulated so far, he would even have the resources to even give away dvd's. He could easily get 30+ million views on youtube. If that many people watch a surprised kitty or david going to the dentist, you can bet your ass they'd watch a full length documentary. I think it would also help his reputation of not being a hypocrite to go out of his way to get the message out for free.

I'm not a Moore hater or anything. I liked his previous movies. But he is being very hypocritical and it's impossible to not see that.

Wait, what? On what possible evidence could one base a statement such as "(i)f that many people watch a surprised kitty or david ... you can bet your ass they'd watch a full length documentary."

A large part of the reason "viral videos" are so popular is that practically none of the clips are longer than a minute. I don't see the connection you're making, could you elaborate?

My opinion is that only Michael Moore fans *shudder* would watch free Michael Moore documentaries. I guess I would, too. I watch his movies, but I shake my head about as often as I do watching Bill O'Reilly, so...

Toku666 said:
A large part of the reason "viral videos" are so popular is that practically none of the clips are longer than a minute. I don't see the connection you're making, could you elaborate?
QUOTE]

that's what I think too. People go on you tube to be entertained with silly short vidoes of random things. Just a few individuals log on for information.

But release something on a dvd or television...now we are talking. the masses want to be entertained, not informed. TV IS GOD.
fact is an online video will never get the attention or promotion a movie gets. I mean " it's coming to a theater near you" for crying out loud!!!!

and frankly that is one of the things I value about moore. he is very smart about getting his message across to EVERYONE. Instead of releasing books, or online vidoes only a few will take the time and effort to watch......he forces your average joe, saturday-night-theater-going citizen to take in the information and start THINKING.
he knows TV IS GOD and uses that knowledge.

If you don't mind me asking, what particular aspect can't you stand? For me, in this particular interview (I'll have to admit, I couldn't find it within myself to read it all), the part where he suggests that Fred was "fooled" into doing something that "sounded stupid". Fred's right, that people should take responsbility for their bad decisions, instead of passing the blame onto others. If I let some one talk me into pooring gasoline all over myself and lighting myself on fire, it would be ludicrous to hold that other person responsible for my own agonizing death.

Next is the part where Moore says not to buy stock. I bought a large number of shares of Ford stock last year and they're now worth over five times what I paid. I purchased Citigroup around December, and though it's now just coming back into the green, there's no reason to believe it won't do well too.

I don't like his style. He's skeevy and loose with the facts, and he presents his material in such a way as to incense those who disagree with him. Like when he says, "You're not responsible when you're fooled"--anybody who places any level of importance on personal responsibility is going to pop a blood vessel when they read that. What I think he actually means is, "it shouldn't be okay to fool people", and I agree with that. I think there should be legal protection from deliberately complex and obtuse lending schemes designed to snare people in long-term debt. But the way Moore phrases it shrugs off all responsibility to the lender to make sure the borrower gets a good deal.

You simply can't use a Moore movie to go from a conservative mindset to a liberal one. If you're liberal, you might be convinced to be more liberal; if you're conservative, you're just going to be repelled outright. He preaches to the choir, and does nothing to sell it to those who haven't already signed up--in fact, he all but actively drives them away. I hate that sort of insular divisiveness when it's displayed by conservatives, and I hate it even more when it's displayed by people who are on 'my' side.

Just watched this movie last night.
When it ended I felt paralyzed.

I understand that the film does have a bias of opinion from MM. However, there are still things that are completely true and I am not sure if we can ever change things. I think we as Americans are compliant and even when we get mad - like protesting AIG and Wall Street - it only lasts a few months before we move on to something else.

I do believe that people need to take more responsibility for their choices and that the lack of basic household and financial budgeting education is part of the problem.

I also agree with the Sweet 16 generation. I found this article Quoted: “Given that GenMe values extrinsic rewards more than Boomers did, the combination of not wanting to work hard but still wanting more money and status verifies the sense of entitlement many have identified among GenMe,” It seems as though it has not been understood that you have to work in order to live a comfortable lifestyle, to them it seems as though they deserve it just for being themselves.

You can't take everything MM says as the bible truth, just as we shouldn't take anything anyone else says as the complete truth, but I still learned alot and I can only hope that by learning I can be more educated and try to make better choices.

MM = idiot

Michael Moore made a movie about the problems with Capitalism but has anyone ever thought of the fact that Michael Moore has become one of "the one percent owned 95% of the wealth" because of Capitalism. He is rich because he has the freedom to produce a product and then sell that product for whatever price he thinks is fair. He's has happened to become rich doing just that but then downs the very system that made him his fortune? How does that makes any sense at all?

He lives in a multi-million dollar Manhattan Penthouse and has REAPED the rewards of Capitalism in this great country of ours. And yet he is one of us, the little people, no wait he's not one of us, he's just the champion of our cause right? No wait, what's that you say? He has never started any sort of charity to raise millions for the needy or donated large sums of his wealth to any great charity that could help those he profiles in his movies?

He is a GIANT fraud. He is a modern day OZ. "Don't look behind the curtain!!"

Michael Moore is a total hypocrite and always has been. I was going to read this interview but couldn't get past the whole "it's not your fault you took an interest-only mortgage" thing. I'm sorry but did someone put a gun to your head to sign what is OBVIOUSLY a bad deal?
No one takes responsibility for anything anymore. Liberalism and the entitlement sentiment are turning America into a second class nation.

Wow, this thread brought out some clueless right-wingers, if nothing else.

You don't get to stay a filmmaker very long if your films don't make money - kind of like expecting there to be no commercials during a broadcast television special on a natural disaster simply because of the subject matter.

It's also interesting to see the conservatives posting here who seem to think that Moore should be living in a cardboard box by the freeway as some kind of penance for being successful... and you guys are accusing him of hypocrisy?

Furthermore, I'd be curious to know how many of the posters criticizing people who signed bad mortgages have ever bought, refinanced or took out a home equity loan on a house themselves during the bubble years around 2000-2004 when trick mortgages were being pushed by everyone from big banks to smaller outfits set up to target the unsophisticated and/or inexperienced buyer.

Those experienced in buying property know just how complex the process is and how easily buyers can be taken advantage of by unscrupulous lenders and realtors. The types of risky ( I/O, adjustable, cash-out, no-doc) mortgages pushed in the bubble years went from being a tiny fraction of mortgages written to a considerable percentage directly as a result of GOP- driven deregulation of the banking, lending and securities industries.

My issue is not that Michael Moore has a million dollar penthouse or that he is rich far beyond what I have attained. On the contrary I congratulate him on his success. What does bother me is that he made a movie demonizing the very system that made him his wealth.

There's something to be said for opinions and just plain common sense. Right wing talk show hosts like for you to buy into their opinions based upon racism, selfishness and greed, while guys like moore are just explaining something that should make sense to anybody.

"Just getting a crumb from the table." perfect quote