Faucheaux- For the Love of Capitlism

Michael Moore is a rather infamous American film maker from Flint, Michigan. His most well known documentaries are Sicko, Roger&Me, Fahrenheit 9/11, and TV series The Awful Truth. In the usual Moore style, his 2009 film Capitalism: A Love Story inquires what price the American people are willing to pay for their love of capitalism? 

Beginning with a comparison between us and the Roman Empire, we are taken on a tour of the very roots of “American greed.” On to wistful flashbacks of post World War II United States, the good ole days when there was no global competition from distraught Germany or Japan and the middle class was established as a comfy family where mother could quit her wartime Rosie job and father had a reliable retirement package in his pocket for safekeeping. Followed by speeches from Jimmy Carter warning against the dangers of "self-indulgence and consumption" and from Ronald Regan "turning the bull loose" for free enterprise.

A series of interviews are conducted for Moore’s investigation of "Dead Peasant” insurance policies. These are life insurance policies taken out on a company’s rank-and-file, or common employees with the company listed as the beneficiary. This means that the company receives the insurance benefits when the employee dies. 

Moore shows the effects of these policies from a very emotional point of view, interviewing the families and widowed spouses of deceased employees who were left in difficult situations when their loved one passed away.

The film shows many examples of foreclosure and families being put out of their homes, in some instances showing neighbors having a protest or giving the people sent to see the eviction through a hard time just for doing their job. There is also a clip Ohio Representative Marcy Kaptur encouraging Americans to be squatters in their own homes, not to vacate, but to stand their ground.

The film then shows the 2008 presidential election where labeling Barack Obama as a Socialist backfired for his opponents. Once again with the flare for dramatics, Moore shows scenes of crying and cheering Obama supporters as he is elected as the 44th president of the United States. Moore expresses his optimism that the election of Barack Obama would bring much needed change to the country, I wonder if Moore is satisfied with the first term.

Moore shows the initiation of FDR’s Second Bill of Rights, saying that it could have been the saving grace of the nation and protected us from the effects of capitalism. But before the bill is put into action Roosevelt passes away, leaving self-seeking politicians to form an unhealthy relationship with Wall Street and corporations. The middle class is left with diminishing employment and billions of dollars are put at the disposal of the banks and the insurance companies. 

Towards the end of the film, Moore says that we will never be the country that FDR wanted us to be, instead we are this... and shows scenes of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. To me this is a very inappropriate comparison. While there were many man-contributed mistakes that led to the amount of devastation caused by Katrina, there is no accuracy in attributing scenes of people sitting on their rooftops surrounded by fifteen feet of water to capitalism. 
No matter how you spin it, this scene was added simply for dramatic effect and Moore should have more confidence in his audience. We are capable of comprehending a message without having to add inaccurate details for theatrics.

There are good points made by this film, but I feel like it can be an insult to American viewer’s intelligence when things are blown out of proportion just for the sake of pointing fingers. This is just another example of how dangerous slanted media can be to people who soak up every word that is told to them.  Watch the movie but form your own opinions of it carefully.

Moore, after attempting a humorous citizen’s arrest of the Wall Street executives, concludes that “Capitalism is an evil which can only be eliminated, a better system is that of democracy. Rule by the people, not by money.”