Michael Moore: Great American, Capitalist Icon

I totally disagree with those who liken filmmaker Michael Moore (no relation to film actor Roger Moore--at least I don't think there is...) to a terrorist. His films, "Roger & Me," "Bowling for Columbine," "Fahrenheit 911" and "Sicko" have achieved a rare if not unprecedented distinction among documentary films: commercial success. Like most documentaries, his films have an unmistakable point of view (at least they're less insidious than many purportedly "balanced" docs on PBS and CNN). But Moore is both a gifted story teller and a brilliant entrepreneur--a multimillionaire, in fact. The over-the-top, anti-Bush mythology of "Fahrenheit" notwithstanding, Moore is uncomfortably on-target in many of his criticisms of the the rich and powerful and the inadequacies of our health care system (see my Blog posts on health care). What makes him even more formidable is the fact that he's FUNNY.

Did anybody watch Moore's speech in his hometown of Flint, Michigan on C-SPAN several months ago? Despite rhetoric and movie scripts that are often shrill to the point of meanspiritedness, no one can deny that the man is bright, thoughtful and earnest. Those who feel Moore's socialistic solutions would wreck what works and do little to fix what doesn't should debate him--not demonize him. Or, better yet, go out and try to make movies as entertaining and thought-provoking as Moore's are. Is Mel Gibson the only one who's figured this out?