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Agnes Varnum is a freelance writer, film programmer and communications manager for the Austin Film Society. She is the primary contributor to doc it out and Tribeca Film Institute's Resources.

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Moore on CNN

July 10th, 2007 • Related Posts • Tags

This is fantastic! Wait for the bullshit CNN commentary at the very end meant to discredit the entire thing. I hate CNN, ever since I saw the “report” on how “Osama” (as in Osama bin Laden) rhymes with “Obama” (as in Democratic Senator). They actually put a picture of them side by side, and that is news? But I digress….

There Are 5 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by David on 10 July 2007:

    That’s because most progressive discourse is embedded in the beliefs of the enlightenment, which are based on empiricism, reason, and rationality. Spectacle, emotion, and association trump facts. Stephen Duncombe has a new book which addresses the spectacle of fantasy and illusion (it’s titled Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy). Still, in the above clip, Michael Moore rants in a defensive mood and rarely makes sense. Granted, he’s right on in his previous film, but during interviews he appeals to reason in an age of spectacle even though most of his films function as spectacle (in a seductive and convincing manner).

  2. Comment by agnes on 10 July 2007:

    Right, so all those years I spent without health coverage, and that $1200 bill I got from the hospital when I had a throat infection is a figment of my imagination.

    I wouldn’t argue that progressive politics and the Democrats need a total overhaul in their messaging, but let’s not confuse poor PR with the facts of peoples lives. Smoke and mirrors does indeed work which is why the conservatives in this country have been able to do the damage they have, including fiscal damage, which is supposedly their big issue!

  3. Comment by Mark on 10 July 2007:

    Awesome! Thanks for posting this, Agnes.

  4. Comment by David on 10 July 2007:

    No, it’s not a figment and to suggest so is irresponsible, even reactionary. But the PR by Democrats do not speak to people’s desires or fantasies. I never suggested that it is a figment or product of someone’s imagination. Just the opposite: that it remains part of the imagination because the majority of people don’t have health care; it remains part of an imagined desire instead of a material reality. No need to confuse poor PR with facts, but it’d be more clever to illuminate those facts with an ethical spectacle based on dreams and real needs instead of righteous indignation, a solitary appeal based on reason, or moral superiority.

  5. Comment by agnes on 10 July 2007:

    I guess I don’t know what the “it” is in “that it remains part of the imagination because the majority of people don’t have health care”.

    I’ll have to read the book. I have a big reading list though, so I can’t promise when. Thanks for the suggestion and for your comments.