Thursday, January 27, 2011

Michael Moore Article

In the article "Working-Class Hero: Michael Moore’s Authorial Voice and Persona," Louise Spence looks at Michael Moore's persona in connection to his film-making.  He looks just like the "everyman" but really views himself as being better than the average person.  Since he includes himself in each of his films, the audience is able to see a side of his persona.  Though it is hard to say if this is his "real" self.  Moore shows himself as being sure of everything that he speaks about, and is skeptical of everything that the opposing side has to say.  Instead of Moore including information from all sides of what is being argued, he is sure to only include things that will benefit his argument, and further promote his side.  He is rather inconsiderate and says unnecessary things to politicians and celebrities alike, and works to destroy their ideas to make his seem more important and correct.  Spence goes on to explain that Moore is not intellectual in many of his films and writings, but instead just wants to showcase his distrust and disrespect for all authority.

I must say that I agree with Spence's viewpoint of Moore.  Although I have never seen his documentaries, I have seen him on certain news programs where he has come across as a rather pretentious man.  He seems to believe that he is always right, and his view on certain subjects should be the view of all Americans.  He doesn't come across as a person who wants to better America, but rather as someone who wants to belittle everyone who has ideas that he thinks are totally wrong, just because it's not what he thinks.

1 comment:

  1. Dominique says...

    The article that I read was entitled Who's Afraid of Michael Moore? A cover story in New Statesmen. The article is about the documentaries that Michael had mad, specifically the one about health care. The article is very opinion based and it talks about how Moore is one of the very few and last true journalist. How people try to discredit him because although some of his facts may not be true, they prove good points and bring certain topics to the attention of Americans in a way that is easy to understand and even more easier to believe.
    This article glorified Moore and made it seem as if he was the last man to take a stand against the media, more specifically news channels such as CNN, and MBC and newspapers like the New York Times who do not bring the hidden truth to the public. The author calls his work Sicko "brilliant". In the article they also talk about how journalism can both be good and bad and how Moore incorporates both of these components in all his documentaries.
    Then at the end of the article there are various comments made in interviews conducted by Jonathan Beckman of various other film makers and such who categorize Moore as a hero or villain. For the most part all of them see him as a true hero of film making, communicating to the public and he knows how to generate controversy where it is needed.
    I have to say that I do believe that Moore is a great filmmaker; his stuff does seem a little far stretched sometimes. I often find myself questioning if this is a controversy or a conspiracy theory. I also have to agree that Moore is able to communicate to the audience in a way that few journalist can. He finds ways of getting to the truth at any risk possible. I watched the movie Sicko and I too understand the message that change in our health care system is a must. I think Moore is a great journalist and film maker alike. A man who is very unique in the field of journalism.

    ReplyDelete