Seeing Capitalism: A Love Story with a Real-Life Capitalist
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Near the beginning of Michael Moore's new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, the filmmaker calls upon Wallace Shawn, an actor/writer friend of his, to explain our economic system in terms he could explain, presumably because Shawn is one of the more knowledgeable people Moore knows when it comes to that subject.With that in mind, I invited a real-life, flesh and blood, Ron Paul-supporting, Glenn Beck-watching, tea party-attending capitalist (who happens to be a well-paid financial consultant specializing in currency markets, extremely well-versed when it comes to the economic collapse of 2008, and a very good friend of mine for many years) to see the film with me and "fact check" Michael Moore.
The review, after the jump.
Opinions on the current economic situation in this country are like assholes - so far all they've produced is shit and thinking about them during sex can make things awkward (and yeah, everyone seems to have one). And though I think all of Michael Moore's films are well-intended (and Sicko is one of the reasons healthcare reform is even up for discussion these days) with this movie he comes daringly close to being some sort of left-wing Glenn Beck. Just as Beck has gained a bright (lucrative) national spotlight for forwarding his own Christian, conservative agenda by calling upon the outrage Americans feel during the trying times of a once-great empire's collapse, Moore, too, uses a reductive and populist approach, melodrama, and lots of outrage (he literally calls for a revolution, not unlike Beck) in hopes of persuading viewers to take a liberal stand.
And sadly, like a lot of Beck's most fervent, thoughtless fans hang on his every syllable, Moore now has a built-in audience of core supporters who will clap and cry just as the tone of his narration might dictate. The first show of the day at Muvico in Pompano Beach had about 150 people, mostly older folks. There was this fantastic bumper sticker on a truck in the parking lot.
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| Michael J. Mooney |
My friend, who we'll call Peter here (he owns his own business and doesn't exactly think talking politics is good for the prospective client pool), said to me about 45 minutes into the movie, "I agree with everything he's saying, except obviously he has the causes all wrong." Not long after that though, it was "how fucking long is this movie?"
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