Orwell rolls in his grave.....

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Actually, my use of the term "hippie" is used in a non-political way.

 

And what exactly is the "Independent" POV if it can't come from, in some degree, the Right or the Left?

 

Besides, if Mikey Moore can call himself the "I" word, then I can call myself the "I" word.

 

Hippie.

 

*Scans the icon list.* Here we go...

 

[NoCalMike 0]

I always though Independent refers more to lack of affiliation to any specific political party, then whether your ideals tend to lean left, right or center........

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

But anyone could register as an Independent, so that definition is cheezy. I could register as a Democrat if I wanted to -- it doesn't mean I am one though...

[Guest Olympic Slam]

I'm an Independent because it says so on the skateboard I bought from Wal-Mart

[Jobber of the Week 0]

My Dad was an Independent but turned Republican after Reagan inspired him into doing so.

 

He never talks about politics to others, although I've managed to pull that out of him since we both think Bush II is the biggest liar to arrive in politics in some time

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

You know, I think I may have a future in politics.

 

Like John Edwards, my old man was a mill worker.

 

Unlike John Edwards, I don't have $50 millions dollars nor can I talk to the dead when arguing a case in court...

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Thought I'd push this up to the top to mention that I'm going to go see this film and I'll write my impressions as soon as I can.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Thoughts: This movie shows why Michael Moore movies work so well, because Moore fills up his films with sarcasm, cartoons, and acid-tongued comedy. This film is more of the straight-up informative, and to that end after watching 30 minutes you feel like you can watch an hour. It can get pretty boring.

 

While there's information about the media in here that people on both sides would nod their head, there's parts that Republicans will find tough to swallow. It is an indie left-wing movie, after all. There's WAY too many scenes of a speech by Michael Moore. He's more "OMG CORPORATE EVIL" instead of "OMG BUSH EVIL" here, but he's still there. At least somewhere in there he makes goofy noises that would make Screamin' Dean proud.

 

The title warns you that you're going to see Orwellian references and comparisons. And while they're expected, I still didn't find them very relevant much of the time. Ditto constantly zooming in at words appearing in the dictionary ("Hey, let's zoom in on self-censorship.")

 

The filmmaker mostly keeps his trap shut through the whole thing. He appears in the beginning, talking about how he's been persuing this subject for over twenty years, including video of an interview with an editor of the New York Post shot on an old videocamera.

 

From there on he just opens it up to the interviewees, but again, liberal talking points rear their ugly head again. People who think that the wealthy should be able to do whatever they want with their money and not be obligated to help out the rest of society will want to shout at the screen for a few minutes, most of that time taken up by a Congressman from Vermont. Then there's someone talking about how the Republicans "stole the election" in 2000 and too much time on that stupid "blacks didn't get to vote" thing that just made my eyes roll.

 

Suddently we go into F9/11 territory, asking questions that have probably already been examined or answered, or exposed as overblown. Why is Bush Sr profiting off his son's actions in the Carlyle Group? What's up with those bin-Laden families flying out of the country? (yes, I know, that was Clarke's fault.) The October suprise. It also at one point tries to respond to the whole liberal media bias thing, while risking defending the same media it spends the whole movie attacking while doing so.

 

Things start getting so distant from the media and into Republican-bashing that I zone out until we get back to meda ownership. If you were waiting for the film to set it's sights on Clear Channel, this is where it goes full-out against them and the other communications companies. This is probably the best part, although it does foolishly speculate that the government could take over the net with excuses such as the fear of terrorism or indentity-theft, which is highly suspect since the net is, of course, a product of many nations.

 

Otherwise, an okay movie that's not for everyone (especially the short attention spans) that basically says "Hey, how about some extra media owners here?"

[NoCalMike 0]

JOTW, I would go see it, but it isn't showing in Sacramento yet......if you enjoyed it which you seem to, partially, I recommed "The Corporation" I saw that and it was pretty fantastic and depressing at the same time.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

I will see that, but after "The Hunting of the President."

 

Did I enjoy this film? Yeah, but I think it's political agenda hurt it. If it hadn't been hitting some of the trademark liberal lines like "Bush stole Florida" as well as Moore and the co-opting of HIS talking points about Florida and the Carlyle Group (all these subjects have very loose ties to media), it could have been more effective.

 

After the first half of this movie, I was ready to reccomend it to almost anyone. Certainly libs, old-school conservatives with a hint of caution, though probably not neo-conservative fans of George W Bush. After seeing the second half of the movie, I probably wouldn't be able to reccomend it to conservatives of any degree, which is unfortunate, since many small-town conservatives see monopolies and consolidation as a bad thing themselves.

 

It doesn't wear it's politics on it's sleeve like F9/11 or Outfoxed, but parades it around just enough to shoot it's main message in the foot. The Orwellian stuff isn't helping, but that's probably because 1984 has been referenced ad nauseum by anyone who feels their privacy is being infringed in any fashion.