yes, taibbi stated this especially well, and also pretty accurately described my frustrations with moore. it really is to his credit as an artist -- not just as a polemcist -- that his demonstrable errors (e.g. charlton heston never gave a pro-nra speech within days of the girl being shot, as suggested in _columbine_, the klassic kael kontradictions she laid out for _roger & me_, &c., &c.) and demonstrable self-importance and nearly nader-ish, questionable treatment of the people who've worked for him (pick 'em) doesn't blunt the impact of his films. their essential truth(s) remain powerful and no american today comes close to his capacity for satire leavened with outraged conscience. but, those errors (apart from his own conduct) are straw men for his ideological adversaries he needn't -- and, i'm sorry, but if he were a more serious "documentarian," he wouldn't -- allow in the first place.
so, i don't hate him -- like taibbi, i rather wish we didn't need him. the, uh, rhetorical limitations of his enemies on the right don't, in any way, diminish his own limitations. moreover, i cheer with everyone else the unparalleled success of _fahrenheit_ -- can't wait to see it, myself, although given the sell-out crowds, i'll have to -- and hope its apparently devastating impact as a film redounds to the presidential race with a vengeance come november. consider that the third cheer from me, along the lines of j. hoberman's review for _columbine_: "two cheers for michael moore...and a raspberry."
===== ________________________________james keepnews
Art is algebra plus fire.
-- Borges
_____music+writing+webart+multimedia performance
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