Michael, No Moore
by Timothy Meyer

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore has found himself in the headlines yet again after winning the Palme d'Or best film award at this year's Cannes Film Festival for his latest film, a documentary entitled Fahrenheit 911. The director had to travel to France to find an audience willing to embrace him; if he had any real courage, he ought to express his views on September 11th in New York City or Texas. However, Americans may be spared from Moore's most recent political propaganda on the big screen thanks to Disney, who has decided not to distribute a film which attempts to link President George W. Bush with prominent Saudis. All of this is an attempt to say that President Bush is somehow personally liable for the attacks on September 11th. Nice try, Michael. And bravo to Disney for exercising the judgment to not allow Miramax, the Disney-owned studio for whom Moore made the film, to distribute Fahrenheit 911 within the United States.

Moore initially went on the attack following Disney's decision by posting a message on his personal website. "Are we ever going to get control of our 'free press' again?" Moore wondered. Surely Moore can't really believe that Disney is some sort of right-wing company conspiring against him. This is, after all, the same Disney who not so long ago hosted gay pride celebrations. So while Disney is far from being conservative--and let's be honest, does Mickey Mouse really have to be ideological?--it has demonstrated good judgment. Simply put, many Americans don't want to view Moore's paranoia. He should be reminded that it was the "free press" that allowed him to distribute his previous documentary film, Bowling for Columbine, in which Moore unrelentingly smeared Charlton Heston and those Americans who support gun rights. Apparently Moore had conveniently forgotten that the 2nd Amendment is included in the exact same document that grants him his freedom of speech to voice his opinions and allows for a free press. Moore has a right to flap his mouth to whomever will listen and create whatever films he wants. However, Disney and any other production studio, are individual distributors and are in no way required to disseminate Moore's films or his messages.

Despite his initial protest that he was being denied his right of free press, Moore quickly fessed up to the real motivation behind his remarks. On a CNN interview, Moore admitted that he had known for about a year that Disney had no intention of distributing the film. Why then, would Moore continue with production on Fahrenheit 911? While no one besides Moore can know for sure, it can be suspected that this film is just the latest in a growing pattern of public hostility by Moore against the Bush administration, the most famous incident being the crude director's shameful acceptance speech at the 2003 Academy Awards.

Secondly, the film will end up being distributed. It will probably not happen within the United States, but Moore will likely find an audience for his message in Europe. And good for him too; there is no reason to suspect that he did not put a lot of time and energy into his work and as an artist he wants his final product to be shown. But American distributors also have a right to refuse showing Moore's work here in the U.S. Lastly, Moore wanted attention and knew that if he created a controversy the media would oblige.

Moore's record of hostility against President Bush and anyone even remotely conservative is well-documented. But he does not seem to like Americans at all. "We Americans suffer from an enforced ignorance. We don't know about anything that's happening outside our country. Our stupidity is embarrassing," Moore said back when he was promoting his book "Dude, Where's My Country?" He has also made a mockery of September 11th, using that tragic day to emphasize his familiar political message. In a posting on the left-wing website refuseandresist.org, an excerpt of an e-mail from Moore appeared the day after those attacks. "Many families have been devastated tonight. This just is not right. They did not deserve to die. If someone did this to get back at President Bush, then they did so by killing thousands of people who did not vote for him! Boston, New York, DC, and the planes' destination of California -- these were places that voted against Bush!" he wrote. Moore was right, those people did not deserve to die. They also did not deserve to have their deaths used for political means by an egotistical filmmaker whose best friend appears to be headlines.

"I want him [Bush] paraded in handcuffs outside a police house as a common criminal because I don't know if there's a greater crime than taking people to war based on a lie. I've never seen anything like Bush and his people. They truly hate our constitution, our rights and liberties," Moore said of Bush in an interview last year. Opinions on the war aside, it is certainly Moore's right to say that. But it is responsibility of those who disagree with him to refuse to support his films.