Michael Moore Smugs It Up for His Latest Doc
Self-Righteous Prickism Works Like a Charm /
Dustin Rowles
Trailers | June 15, 2009 | Comments (34)
Here’s the teaser trailer for Michael Moore’s latest documentary about the bailout fiasco. It’s effective. And kind of funny. And, as always, it works.
Smug bastard.
The movie opens October 2nd. And yeah: I’ll be there.
Posted by: twig at June 15, 2009 10:10 AM
Re: George's minidiv question the other day, I can't believe I forgot about Moore. Is he the smartest dumbass or the dumbest smartass? Or the smuggest smartass? Or the smartest smugass?
He's one of those ... or maybe all of them.
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at June 15, 2009 10:12 AM
He's like the Anti-FoxNews. Which, unfortunately, isn't really much better than Fox News itself.
But it is a smidge better.
Posted by: annoyingmouse at June 15, 2009 10:13 AM
He's not like Fox in that Moore is laughing at his critics/enemies, as opposed to harboring a desire to murder their children.
Posted by: Tracer Bullet at June 15, 2009 10:25 AM
I recently rewatched Bowling for Columbine for a paper I have to write for a class. He's very convincing, and convicted; he believes in what he's saying. It's kind of funny, pseudo-Mr. and his friend were playing cards while I was watching it, and when Moore does the statistic about how we have 11,000 gun-related deaths a year here, and in Canadia it's something like 400, they both said, "Yeah, well, the population of Canadia is about 10% that of the States, so.... that accounts for a good portion of that difference." It's just funny how you can make statistics work for your argument if you word them properly. I mean, don't get me wrong, I get what he's trying to do and I laud him for standing up for what he believes in and trying to open people's eyes, but at the same time, well-intentioned propaganda is still propaganda, you know?
Also, I still can't watch the end bit with Charlton Heston. It just comes across as an unfair ambush of a very old man. It makes my tummy rumbly.
Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at June 15, 2009 10:32 AM
he looks a little ben franklin-ish without his beard.
why am i so horny today?
Posted by: gp at June 15, 2009 10:34 AM
I love you Mikey!
p.s. I poop on the haters.
Posted by: Cindy at June 15, 2009 10:43 AM
Well there's a website waiting to happen... www.pooponallahaters.com
or
www.pooponmichaelmoorehaters.com
Whichever.
Posted by: Landon at June 15, 2009 10:53 AM
I do enjoy Moore's films but the self-rightious duchery does get tiresome. Also, the fact that they are so ridiculously biased tends to give me pause and encourage me to explore the counter-arguments. Maybe that's his goal. (riiiiight)
Posted by: admin at June 15, 2009 10:59 AM
You quiche eatin’ Prius driving bottled water drinking three miles a day running sons-a-bitches don’t know shit about Moore. God forbid you all learn something about the common man, if it weren’t for people like Moore trying to show you guys the truth about this country, you wouldn’t know shit. Now go back to watching your boring Kevin Smith movies.
P.S. GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Guess Who! at June 15, 2009 11:33 AM
gp! Is that what's wrong with his face? Lack of beard?!
I was watching that clip and the whole time I was staring at those smooth jowls and thinking 'something is....wrong...I feel a disturbance in the filmforce'
As for Moore...eh, I like his films, I do tend to find them interesting and if nothing else, I learn a little something. I dont always necassarily integrate it into my belief system or use it to alter my own opinion but the knowledge exists and I cant fault anyone for teaching me things.
I think he is in danger of swinging into preachy, but at the same time I cant think of any one else who's reeeaaallly bothering to do what he does(I am happy to be corrected on this, if I'm wrong) so I say go for it Moore. Not to mention Bowling for Columbine was one of the first documentaries we ever watched on one of our film studies courses. I've seen it a dozen times, both before and after that screening but every time the clips from the cctv of the actual shooting bring tears to my eyes and a sickness to my gut. Not a lot of films, fact based or otherwise, inspire such a reaction. Yeah that's nothing to do with Moore, he didn't engineer the shootings (how fucked up would it be if he had made all the bad shit happen so he could be a succesful if polarising film maker ?!) but still, you tend to tie the emotion to the how and where you felt it so there ya go. I'll probably watch this, Sicko was amazing and painful even if I've only seen it once or twice(Oddly despite liking it I find it dull second or third time in) so if he's on the same form, i'll tune in
Posted by: Nadine at June 15, 2009 11:47 AM
AvP: According to those number you gave, US would still have like 3x the gun death rates as Canada. In fact, it is something like 8-10x. Not to distract, but people really CAN'T use statistics to say whatever they want (this is a pat phrase that people say that is one of those argument enders). People can lie about the statistics, but that has nothing to do with the statistics. Moore presented them in one way, but if you control for population size there still is a very large and very significant difference between the two countries.
I agree about the Heston part...uncomfortable, especially since we know now he was Alzheimering.
Posted by: fifteenkeys at June 15, 2009 11:54 AM
Do people really think other filmmakers' movies aren't biased?
Rock on P**kie!
Posted by: Cindy at June 15, 2009 12:45 PM
AvP: According to those number you gave, US would still have like 3x the gun death rates as Canada. In fact, it is something like 8-10x. Not to distract, but people really CAN'T use statistics to say whatever they want (this is a pat phrase that people say that is one of those argument enders).
And yet the point remains that there's a gulf of difference between 3x and 30x, as was the case in AvonB's figures. Misquoted statistics can't be used to 'prove' anything (and note that statistics inherently never prove anything beyond correllation; causation is always a trickier issue), but they can be misquoted to seriously distort the relationship between two sets of figures in an effort to prove a point. Hendry, for example, famously demonstrated that statistical patterns can be manipulated to show that rainfall in the UK is an accurate predictor of inflation rates. (And by 'famously', of course I mean 'famously to econometrics nerds')
I'm kinda torn on Moore. I agree with about 90% of his views, but I loathe the way he expresses them. His early stuff like TV Nation or Bowling For Columbine was fantastic, and while a little manipulative, was relatively fairly presented. But in more recent stuff (his last book or two in particular), he's just such a self-satisfied, preachy ass that I find him as unpalatable as his right-wing equivalents. The way he brings his message to the public isn't going to persuade anyone who doesn't already back him to buy into his viewpoint, so it just feels like a giant exercise in patting ourselves on the backs and saying "Yes, we too hate the amorphous concept of Big Business, so let's not even bother to have a rational debate about the pros and cons of bank recapitalisation; instead, lets caricature and mock those businesses that received bailouts and feel really happy that we, and we alone, were willing to sit around and complain about it."
Posted by: Shay at June 15, 2009 12:56 PM
Oh Guess Who! I know why you're so angry now... what with everyone always hating on a bloated, self-righteous, self-important, manipulative, grandiloquent sack of shit and hot air who uses a public forum to try and make people like him or think he "knows a thing or two" about livin' in the real America, what it means to rage against "the man."
Likewise that dude Michal Moore can be a piece of shit too.
Posted by: PissBot at June 15, 2009 12:59 PM
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA!
PissBot wins the week.
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at June 15, 2009 1:06 PM
@ fifteenkeys: Just so we're clear, that's my recollection of the numbers *he* gave, not *my* numbers. I do realize that even proportionally the US has a ridiculous number of firearm related deaths each year, and I don't think I stated or implied that he lied about the statistics; but he did present them in such a way that it sounded like a far larger difference than it is in reality, and that is manipulation. And I think he's doing a great thing, making people aware. I am all for educating the population. I just want people to remember that documentarists have agendas too, and to look into actual facts and statistics compiled by disinterested parties.
The kid was a textbook psycho- or sociopath. No empathy, no remorse. It's wasn't Wal Mart's *fault* he shot up a bunch of people, but Moore did try to make it seem like it was, and like they're the only purveyors of guns or ammo in the U.S. when that just isn't the case. A lot of stores sell those items, from outdoor stores to pawn shops, all over the country. It just makes it seem like a bit of a personal vendetta against Wal Mart as opposed to an unbiased argument. That's all I'm saying.
Will I watch this movie? Most likely. Will I take every word he says at face value? Not for all the tea in China. I will, however, go on to perform my own research and learn more about the issue at hand, and be a little better person for it. So, go Michael Moore.
Boy, I do go on, don't I. Blah blah blah.
Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at June 15, 2009 1:19 PM
...and Shay said that so much better than I did. I am a rambling mess right now. I blame higher education. Thanks, secret fake internet boyfriend!
Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at June 15, 2009 1:22 PM
Dear PissBot,
You have a lot of hate in your heart, I hope it isn’t your undoing. My pronouncements are nothing more than mild insane musings about absolutely nothing. Every once and a while I will cast my net just to see what sort of internet stray I can pick up and amuse myself with, sorta like the way I used to pick up hoes back in the day. And the name “PissBot,” it’s so very look at me. You are loud and you are fat. I’m fat also, but I’m quiet, people hate fat loud guys more than they hate quiet fat guys, so there. Oh, and I like women.
P.S. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Guess Who! at June 15, 2009 2:00 PM
AvB, I agree. He's very convincing, sure, until you realize that just like everyone else with an agenda he's twisting the statistics to better fit his needs and his argument. He does make some valid points, but some of his methods just turn everything sour for me, and he definitely doesn't tell you everything. It's easy to buy what he's selling you, and he does raise awareness, but it's also good to remember he's incredibly biased.
Posted by: figgy at June 15, 2009 2:02 PM
Thanks, secret fake internet boyfriend!
Ours is a forbidden love...
Posted by: Shay at June 15, 2009 3:08 PM
PissBot (sic) so very lok at me eh? And "Guess Who!" is what? An attempt at cammoflage? It sounds more to me like a "I used to be the gigantic dick hole in the comments section who couldn't keep his dumb fucking mouth shut on sensative issues, no matter how ridiculous the argument was. I used to try and stir up the shit like B-Slim, but have none of his style or delivery. But I was controversial like my home-boy Michael Moore so people should remember my first handle if I go with 'Guess Who!'"
Now you're the gigantic dick hole in the comments section who can't keep his dumb fucking mouth shut on issues, no matter how ridiculous the argument was, still trying to eloquently stir up the shit, trying to still sound controversial...just named after a shitty board game.
It takes a ton of conceit to make such an assumption as to be remembered.
...Oh, and I like women.
Sweet! We have that one thing in common. But it ends there...because women love ME back.
Posted by: PissBoy at June 15, 2009 4:37 PM
Fwiw, comparing gun deaths to gun ownership in different countries is pretty useless. There are demographic factors at work that render it completely meaningless. Take for example the U.K.: even if you ignore the manipulation that the U.K. engages in with their crime statistics, the U.K. has ALWAYS had a much lower firearm-related death rate than the U.S., so the fact that their rate since they banned firarms has very little meaning.
Posted by: Eep at June 15, 2009 6:14 PM
Well, I was going to say what Shay said, but I don't think I could say it as well. So let's just leave it at "Yeah, what he said."
Posted by: meaux at June 15, 2009 8:10 PM
It just makes it seem like a bit of a personal vendetta against Wal Mart as opposed to an unbiased argument.
---
Never underestimate the vehemence of the Wal-Mart haters. Years ago, the company wanted to build a Super Wal-Mart on a rolling patch of land just outside the city limits of my town, adjacent to a main (and sometimes congested) county roadway. The best argument against it was that it wouldn't help the traffic congestion, but you wouldn't believe the other arguments put forth: the greenspace advocates (Wal-Mart haters in sheep's clothing) complained, the wetlands advocates (ditto) complained, even Indians (ditto) got involved (there were some bones and artifacts and shit on the land somewhere, later removed), so we were treated to the sight of a teepee village for a few days, sprung up as a protest.
Finally Super Wal-Mart said, "Fuck it."
Fast forward to today: Our town is now home to TWO Super Wal-Marts (I kind of imagine Wal-Mart execs back in Bentonville, going, "Double up on Morgantown, we'll show THOSE fuckers who's boss"), and that rolling patch of green, wet land has been leveled and has a shopping/hotel development going up on it (it's already home to one of the biggest Kroger groceries in the Mid-Atlantic). Next up: a McDonald's!
And not a fucking word of protest about it from anybody.
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at June 15, 2009 11:20 PM
This guy is an absolute fucktard. He is actually happy for the demise of GM. And his GM doc was simply trash. It was filled with lies, half-truths, and sloppy "journalism".
Posted by: L.O.V.E. at June 16, 2009 1:13 AM
First of all PissBoy I want to apologize for getting back to you so late, but before dinner I like to take a nap then watch Keith Olbermann’s show and enjoy a nice brandy and at that time I like going over the day’s events in my mind. I really don’t want to get into a pissing contest with you because I will surely lose, I’m just confused as to why you even responded to my comment in the first place, I mean I’m so predictable and transparent and shit, you should have immediately known I was up to no good. Most pajibians just look at my comments and keep going, but you took the time to read my musings, then opened up Microsoft Works Word Processor and sat there for I don’t how long just to piss on my name and question my intelligence by using your intelligence as a barometer of some sort.
See PissBoy, you shouldn’t take pajiba so serious. The only person who should take pajiba serious is Rowles, because pajiba is his baby. Likewise, don’t take what I say personal, it’s only business. And if I’ve hurt your feelings I apologize it was not my intention.
Posted by: Guess Who! at June 16, 2009 1:36 AM
Just stirring up the shit man. Just stirring up the shit. But my mother died making me quiche on my 9th birthday, I have a pet-Prius I adopted because it has a missing tire and couldn't find a home, belong to the Bottled-water Conservancy Federation of America, and witnessed 4 terrorists raping a deer on my most recent morning jog. Your comment just hit a nerve.
Posted by: PissBoy at June 16, 2009 7:42 AM
Word, bucdaddy.
Posted by: Eep at June 16, 2009 9:30 AM
Pissbot, Pissboy, Guess Who!... let's all agree that if you're stirring up shit and arguing online, all three of you are probably dateless, friendless losers. Capiche?
Posted by: Look At Me at June 16, 2009 11:57 AM
Wow...you have me pegged. When will it be my turn to be as awesome as you?!
Posted by: PissBoy at June 16, 2009 1:46 PM
PissBoy, I was just thinking about something. Maybe we should form a team to combat people like “Look At Me,” I’ll be the male of course.
Posted by: Guess Who! at June 16, 2009 7:17 PM
Pissboy- when you turn off the internet, pick up a barbell and a book on meeting women.
Guess Who!- when you act like a male, you get to be the male.
Posted by: Look At Me at June 17, 2009 8:08 PM
When did Pajiba comments turn into youtube comments? We're better than that! C'MON! (Gob voice)
Posted by: dmo at July 7, 2009 2:19 PM
I'd be smug if I saw the GM bankruptcy coming 20 years early, too.