October 19, 2003

Impressions on Michael Moore

Michael Moore came to give a talk today at the Greek Theatre. I had been anticipating this event for a long time, not only because I think Michael Moore is awesome, but also because I was interested in what he would have to say about all the current happenings in politics. We waited in line starting at around 11:30am for the 1pm opening (which didn't actually start until 2pm, but that's entirely besides the point) and when we finally got in, we happened to sit down near one of the most obnoxious old couples ever. In fact, there seemed to be an extraordinarily high number of old people around. By old people, I do not mean those twenty-something people who are out of college. I mean like Gray Panther style folks, with canes and white hair and shit. They seemed to outnumber the students almost two to one from my rough estimates.

In any case, we were just sitting around and chatting, when suddenly I smelled the ever pungent smell of wine and cheese. Let me just say that I neither like the smell of wine nor cheese, but when it's exotic cheese and sour wine, it's exceptionally bad. I was starting to get overpowered by the smell and wanted to be like, what the hell - does this look like a gathering of wine connoisseur to you? No! We're here to listen to Michael Moore speak. You're not even Berkeley students. So take your nasty ass cheese and your smelly wine and GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!! Let us sit in peace! I don't care if you're old! That doesn't justify you tormenting us with your odorous (as well as odious) eating habits!

But I digress. I was talking about Michael Moore's presentation. Well, it started off somewhat slow, with him talking about random stuff that I cannot remember any specifics of. However, as he went on, and he began joking around, I started to get into it more. It was no help that the stupid shits kept interrupting him to say "louder! louder!" as if he was the one controlling the volume of his microphone. Many of the things he said about the "war" with Iraq were quite apt, and rather angering, because it reminded me of all the articles I had read in the NY Times and Washington Post recently about government lies. At the same time, some of the aspects of his presentation were rather contrived, such as the American vs. Canadian game, which pitted three of the most "intelligent" Americans versus one of the "dumbest" Canadians. All in all, I think he concluded with a very positive message, enpowering us as citizens and reminding us not to fall into the lackluster mentality of "anyone but Bush," instead demanding strong stands on issues by Democratic political hopefuls.

I enjoyed the event so much that I ended up buying his new book (which incidently was the reason he was at UC Berkeley in the first place), Dude, Where's My Country?. I got it at Barnes & Noble and instead of paying the $27, I paid only $19 with a 20% discount. Yes! I have managed to read the first chapter, and all I have to say is that it's hilarious. Even if I didn't agree with a single thing he said, I would still think he was a comedic genius.

As I was returning home from the bookstore, I was wondering what it is that makes Moore so intensely popular. My own thoughts are that it is because he is one of the few people who is willing to say things that many people think, but no one is committed to taking so vocal a stand upon. Further, as Donna pointed out to me, it is rare that you see someone so completely dedicated to political causes, willing to invest time and money, without themselves actively seeking political office. These are probably many of the same qualities that make him so detestable to conservatives. Whenever his name is spoken, all I hear from conservatives is that "Michael Moore is a filthy liar. Did you know he concoted many of the scenes in Bowling for Columbine?" These same conservatives, in taking the so-called high road, were ones who defaced publicity in my hall, littering flyers about the event with text such as "Hi, I'm a big fat ugly liar." Knowing who wrote this, I can easily say, well at least he isn't a cowardly, racist asshole who communicates their viewpoint with cheap ass graffiti.