In the June 26th issue of The New York Times, in an editorial entitled "All Hail Moore," David Brooks offers a scathing indictment of the incomparable stupidity of the "muckumentary" Farenheit 911. "In years past," he writes, "American liberals have had to settle for intellectual and moral leadership from the likes of John Dewey, Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr. But now, a grander beacon has appeared on the mountaintop, and from sea to shining sea, tens of thousands have joined in the adulation." Our new guru of American liberalism, which reflects our new generation of political and cultural liberals just as clearly as Bill Clinton and John Kerry, is Hollywood's new celebrity, Michael Moore. Christopher, commenting on "The Passion over Farenheit 911" (in Against the Grain), writes: The problem with Michael Moore is that he so effectively contributes to the dumbing down of the Left by his willing indulgence in radical conspiracy-theorizing and vulger anti-Americanism, as recently exposed by David Brooks ("All Hail Moore" New York Times June 26, 2004)." The lines of the culture wars are being drawn more sharply every day indeed.
Incidentally, my wife told me that this morening on NPR they were interviewing a very offended Ray Bradbury, who is outraged that Moore stole the title of his film from Bradbury's book, Farenheit 451. When Bradbury called Moore's agent to ask if he could speak with Moore about the matter, he was told that Moore would get back to him. He never did.
Also, be sure to check out Christopher Blosser's new blog: "Watching Michael Moore: Ractions to the Film 'Farenheit 911' and its director."
No comments:
Post a Comment