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Michael Moore’s latest movie is an anti-capitalist one. As a “hero” for the working class, Moore of course is against capitalism. Considering he is a millionaire filmmaker, some might find that hypocritical enough. Disney paid him $21 million to make the anti-Bush hatefest Fahrenheit 9-11. He got 50% of the profits from the “Cuba’s health care system is so great” film Sicko. Yet somehow he’s still against capitalism, and claims he hasn’t made a lot of money because he’s a documentary filmmaker. So just ignore the millions he’s got in the bank, right? And for most people, that would be hypocritical enough, too. But no — with ultra-libs like Michael Moore, simply hypocrisy is never enough. They’ve always got to take it above and beyond.
First, Moore didn’t use union labor to make his anti-capitalism film:
Michael Moore, champion of the working class, used non-union stagehands to film “Capitalism: A Love Story.” The porcine provocateur is promoting his anti-Wall Street jeremiad by giving free tickets to unions, but the American Federation of Teachers has turned them down because Moore didn’t hire any members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. “Michael Moore and one of our sister unions, IATSE, are in discussions about concerns the union has,” the AFT told ABC News. “The AFT has decided against accepting tickets until those issues are resolved.” Moore’s agent, Ari Emanuel, seems to blame the IATSE for treating documentarians as “second-class filmmakers.”
Hey, I have nothing against using non-union labor. It makes perfect sense to me. Why pay more just because the IATSE says you should? But for a holier-than-thou liberal who claims to be a champion for the working class, and especially for union members of the working class, it’s more than a tad hypocritical.
And on top of that, it turns out that Michael Moore’s anti-capitalist film is funded by… Goldman-Sachs. Yes, really:
Michael Moore’s new movie, “Capitalism: A Love Story” opened today.
The first thing that must be said is that it isn’t really a love story. Capitalism, Mr. Moore tells us, is “evil,” and if his word isn’t enough, he quotes two Catholic priests who say that capitalism is sinful and immoral, as well as Bishop Gumbleton of Detroit, who says that capitalism runs counter to the teaching of Jesus.
But if you can get past that – admittedly, a big if – there are some pretty entertaining moments in this movie. Mr. Moore is as tough on the Democrats as he is on the Republicans and the corporate executives. Democrats Richard Holbrooke, Donna Shalala, Senator Kent Conrad, and Senator Christopher Dodd all get skewered in the film for participating in Countrywide’s “Friends of Angelo” program that offered favorable treatment for mortgages. Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers are targeted for their big corporate paydays following (and, in Mr. Summers’s case, also preceding) government service. Mr. Moore asks how Timothy Geithner got his job as President Obama’s Treasury secretary, and the answer turns out to be, according to the movie, by completely screwing up as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The funniest moments of all in the movie, though, may just be in the opening and closing credits. We see that the movie is presented by “Paramount Vantage” in association with the Weinstein Company. Bob and Harvey Weinstein are listed as executive producers. If Mr. Moore appreciates any of the irony here he sure doesn’t share it with viewers, but for those members of the audience who are in on the secret it’s all kind of amusing. Paramount Vantage, after all, is controlled by Viacom, on whose board sit none other than Sumner Redstone and former Bear Stearns executive Ace Greenberg, who aren’t exactly socialists. The Weinstein Company announced it was funded with a $490 million private placement in which Goldman Sachs advised. The press release announcing the deal quoted a Goldman spokesman saying, “We are very pleased to be a part of this exciting new venture and look forward to an ongoing relationship with The Weinstein Company.”
Knowing that background puts the rest of the movie in a different context. Mr. Moore shows Rep. Dennis Kucinich asking rhetorically on the floor of the House of Representatives, “Is this the United States Congress or the board of directors of Goldman Sachs?” Later, Mr. Moore shows up at Goldman Sachs headquarters in Manhattan driving an armored Brinks trunk and announcing, “We’re here to get the money back for the American people.” Maybe Mr. Moore should look in his own pockets.
So it turns out that Michael Moore truly is a gigantic hypocrite (keyword here being gigantic). This is, of course, unsurprising. It’s actually very typical behavior of liberals. They espouse certain ideals and condemn others. They expect for everyone to live a certain way but they themselves don’t. Michael Moore wants to be able to enjoy the perks of a capitalist society, but no one else should be able to because it’s EEEEEVIL!.
Fortunately — or unfortunately for Michael Moore — his newest movie has bombed. No one cares if he thinks that capitalism is evil, because on the whole Americans like it. So far, it’s grossed $1,902,000 from 962 theatres. Do the math: that’s short of $2,000 per theatre, which is not exactly a strong amount. But hey, if Michael Moore hates capitalism so much, this should make him happy, right?
Right?
Hat Tips: Jammie Wearing Fool and Alarming News
Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) USN Retired says: Paint the fat man with the laser and let go the Mk.84 LGB. It will take a one ton GP to do the job.
WayneB says: If I remember correctly, he didn’t use Union labor on his other movies, either.
JerryT says: Cassy has done a good job of zinging the hypocrisy of the world’s largest porcine producer. OTOH I don’t think she builds a good case for equating all other liberals with the jerk-of-all-jerks Michael Moore. While I’m inclined to agree with her I think she needs to build a better case before making such blanket statements. This would give the liberals less a foot in the door. However I rated this a “5.” 🙂
American Patriot says: Who is Michael Moore, really?
Does Michael Moore, of “Roger and Me” fame, have any credentials to be considered a working-class hero? A number of blue-collar workers, and a new biography, question his claims.
http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=18233
BobV says: Spot on analysis that will unfortunately do nothing to persuade Moores fans.
He’s a hero of the working people dammit, regardless of how he lives his life or treats actual workers.
So the fact that he rails against our private insurance, but uses it for his benefit, and capitalism, despite being a millionare, and rips down america in general, despite living here and making his money mostly off americans, matters not one whit to them. He’s golden.
The only thing he could do to fall from grace in their eyes would be to vote republican. Or possibly start a dog fighting ring.
Moore is loved in Germany. He is the guy that goes after those evil dirty guys. He’s the guy that comes to Europe and tells everyone how muvh he wants Americans to be like them. He is such a wonderful American.
When I come back with facts and rip his movies and books to shreds I get blank stares.
Mark says: “Gigantic”. Now there’s an understatement. “Hippo”crite more like it.
Cylar says: In a sane world, the haul from his films would be around $35. The fact that they make any money at all says more about us than it does him.
Flappin’ fool. I’m just plain tired of the guy, kind of like I’m tired of Jimmy Carter.
Cylar says: The first thing that must be said is that it isn’t really a love story. Capitalism, Mr. Moore tells us, is “evil,” and if his word isn’t enough, he quotes two Catholic priests who say that capitalism is sinful and immoral, as well as Bishop Gumbleton of Detroit, who says that capitalism runs counter to the teaching of Jesus.
Oh, I’d LOVE to pull out a Bible and have the good Bishop explain THAT one to me. Maybe he thinks the atheist Soviet communists were closer to what Christ preached?
I don’t put a lot of stock in people who claim to speak for Jesus, then turn right around and molest little boys, shelter illegal immigrants, and commit countless other crimes in God’s name. I won’t even get started on all of the crimes against humanity that the Catholic Church has committed or tolerated down through history.
I’m an evangelical Christian, so I have very little theological agreement with Catholics to start with. But claiming that capitalism – the fairest, most voluntary, most efficient economic system ever devised, to be against Christ – is just further proof of how disconnected from the real Jesus that they really are. Then again, I run into plenty of naive fellow believers who still think that the government’s welfare state somehow represents “compassion.” Such people should be ashamed of themselves. It’s such a wrongheaded notion that I hardly know where to begin.
Unbelievable.
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