Did you know that there was a documentary that shows Michael Moore in a pretty bad light? My flat mate Oli just told me about “Manufacturing Dissent”, a documentary that aims to expose the allegedly misleading tactics of filmmaker Michael Moore. It is written, produced and directed by Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine who, in the first place, wanted to make a biography of Moore since they admired him a lot for what he had done for the documentary genre. But during the course of their research they realized that they didn’t agree with Moore’s tactics any longer and decided to turn the tide.
I haven't seen the film, but I did a little research to find out about what kind of discoveries Melnyk and Caine made.
I’m sure you all remember “Roger and Me”, in which Moore claims that he never got the opportunity to talk to Roger Smith, the chairman of General Motors. In fact, he got to talk to him twice, but never mentioned it in the film since this wouldn’t have suited Moore’s central premise of the film that corporate CEOs exploit lower class workers and refuse to answer questions or acknowledge any wrongdoing.
In “Bowling for Columbine” Moore goes door-to-door in Ontario to prove that Canadians leave their front doors unlocked. He wants to describe the safety Canadians feel in their homes because guns are more regulated in their country than in the US. However, due to Moore’s producers, only 40 % of the homes he visited had unlocked doors…
In “Manufacturing Dissent” Melnyk and Caine also blame Moore for having taken quotes from President Bush out of the context to suit his purposes in “Fahrenheit 9/11”.
Moore vehemently rejected all these allegations and claimed that if he had really landed an interview with Roger Smith that General Motors would almost certainly have publicized the event to discredit him. Melnyk and Caine maintained that they never got to talk to Moore about their discoveries and that Moore had previously remained quiet on the matter.
So it’s up to us what and whom we want to believe and what and whom not…
I’m sure you all remember “Roger and Me”, in which Moore claims that he never got the opportunity to talk to Roger Smith, the chairman of General Motors. In fact, he got to talk to him twice, but never mentioned it in the film since this wouldn’t have suited Moore’s central premise of the film that corporate CEOs exploit lower class workers and refuse to answer questions or acknowledge any wrongdoing.
In “Bowling for Columbine” Moore goes door-to-door in Ontario to prove that Canadians leave their front doors unlocked. He wants to describe the safety Canadians feel in their homes because guns are more regulated in their country than in the US. However, due to Moore’s producers, only 40 % of the homes he visited had unlocked doors…
In “Manufacturing Dissent” Melnyk and Caine also blame Moore for having taken quotes from President Bush out of the context to suit his purposes in “Fahrenheit 9/11”.
Moore vehemently rejected all these allegations and claimed that if he had really landed an interview with Roger Smith that General Motors would almost certainly have publicized the event to discredit him. Melnyk and Caine maintained that they never got to talk to Moore about their discoveries and that Moore had previously remained quiet on the matter.
So it’s up to us what and whom we want to believe and what and whom not…
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