I understand, to some extent, how and why the U.S. election is on the global stage right now, but when I see things like the results of MSN's poll of the day regarding arts funding in Canada (51% of 53131 responses came back in support of cuts and 14% had no opinion) and then read DJ Lissa Monet's laissez faire opinion about an issue that affects the entertainment industry (or lack thereof) in Canada (http://thatgirliscrazee.blogspot.com/2008/09/bush-couldnt-just-sit-his-dumb-ass-down.html), I can't help but think that the awesome apathy that's prevalent everywhere is crippling us.

Americans are a very patriotic (*cough* nationalistic *cough*) people and it's served them well in business, in sports and entertainment, in politics, et cetera. Why do so many people across the world either love or hate them? Because America, much like a high-class ho, thinks it's the shit. And why not? Why not? It's thinking like that and convincing other people to buy the hype that's resulted in whatever success they've gleaned over the years.

On the other hand, too many Canadians are obsessed with the idea of being anywhere but here, even while they live here, work here, go to the doctor here (and, yes, I know what it's like to go without health insurance), pay taxes here, et cetera.

We need to get it together, people. We're on the brink of a recession that's probably gonna hit the States hard and us hard as well for relying too heavily on them economically. Forget, for the time being, what Congress is doing and ask yourself what our own politicians plan to do to cover our losses. Don't wait for fat cats to put their hands in your pockets, digging for spare change, to wake the fuck up.

And think about how little there is out there for people who have non-standard talents, people who don't fit into the corporate world, but whose creativity and ingenuity wouldn't be maximized in the trades or in public service either. If you've ever been unemployed in this country, you know how boring, monotonous, and few the opportunities here are. Help give kids a chance to grow up to be something more than an administrative assistant at a manufacturing company or a retail sales rep. Things aren't gonna change with one election, obviously, but they won't ever change if we don't push for it. If you decide to sit back and wait for the States to coming knocking at your door to turn you into a celebrity, pack a lunch, man. When it comes down to it, they're more interested in promoting their own than someone who has Canadian citizenship. At least someone's interested in promoting and helping their own.

And, honestly, do you think Obama is seriously going to make a difference? If a dude like Malcolm X or Felipe Coronel became president of the United States, then I'd sit up and be like, whoa, this is serious. But I can't help but believe that the world isn't gonna shake if Obama wins. He's gonna be paralyzed by the media, public and other politicians every time he tries to do anything controversial. And winning is still a big "if" at this point. I don't know if the situation has changed, but the media made a huge deal about the Democrats last time, everybody believed they were gonna win. It turned out that they were a majority in and around New York and L.A. (surprise, surprise) and the Republicans swept the Midwest and the Bible belt. A dude from Bush's administration was quoted in Fahrenheit 9/11 as saying that they didn't need the black vote, Latino vote, the minority vote in general, because it was just that: a minority. He claimed all they needed was the evangelical Christian vote to win. LOL. I don't know how true that is (and I'm sure he forgot to mention big business in there somewhere), but watch it yourself if you don't believe me.

I meant to write more, but I'm way too tired. I've been working on Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials 2.0 for DVD for the last 14 hours. I now know way too many drum patterns...at two different tempos...and on digital drums as well as standard. Didn't have enough patterns for hip-hop. Recognized some of the R&B shit, though. Got a 1960s' movie called Palm Springs up next. Man, the fun never stops.

Alustuksella viittaan muun muassa Michael Mooren Fahrenheit 9/11:sta (Yhdysvallat 2004) tai Alex Gibneyn Oscarin voittaneeseen Taksi pimeyteen -dokumenttiin (Taxi to the Dark Side 2007), joka nähdään Ylellä ensi keskiviikkona kello 23:25.

Ongelma on siinä, että dokumenttien esittämää kritiikkiä nousee vastustamaan apologistit, jotka mielipiteineen ovat oikeasti harvoin marginaalissa. He legitimoivat valtionsa harjoittaman siviiliväestöön kohdistuvan väkivallan sillä, että "rapatessa roiskuu" tai "muualla on huonommin".

Taksi pimeyteen -dokumentissa Yhdysvaltain armeijan sotilaat vangitsivat afganistanilaisen taksinkuljettaja (oli väärännäköinen) Dilawarin ja tämän asiakkaat. Ei seurannut oikeudenkäyntejä, vaan ilmiselvä siviiliin kohdistuva kidnappaus, jonka suoritti valtio.

Viiden päivän jälkeen Dilawar löytyi kuolleena sellistään, kehossaan merkkejä kidutuksesta. Rapatessa roiskuu ja muualla on huonommin, joten hän tai useat muut Abu Ghraibin vankilassa ilman asiallisia oikeudenkäyntejä istuvat (ja samalla ideaalit vapaudesta) ovat uhrattavissa.

Collateral damagen piikkiin voidaan laittaa lisäksi WTC:n tornien hävitys ja eritoten siitä seurannut Irakin miehitys. Myös se on collateral damagea, ettei Irakista löytynyt joukkotuhoaseita, joiden vastainen ja jonka vuoksi ristiretki järjestettiin – samalla kun Pohjois-Korea vinkkaa silmää japanilaisille, että sijoittakaa kumiveneisiin, sillä kohta posahtaa. Tai Pakistanin suhde terrorismin tukemiseen on voimakkaampi kuin valloitettujen Afganistanin tai Irakin.

Requiem for a Dream

Do the Right Thing

Jungle Fever

Malcolm X

The Hurricane

Antwone Fisher

Man on Fire

Identity

Full Metal Jacket

Irréversible

Gladiator

A Beautiful Mind

Cinderella Man

What Dreams May Come

Good Will Hunting

300

Hate

The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Game
Forrest Gump

City of God

The Color Purple

Schindler's List

The Shawshank Redemption
Smoking/No Smoking

Le Grand bleu
Nikita
Léon

Walk on Water

An Inconvenient Truth

Fahrenheit 9/11
Sicko
The Big One
Bowling for Columbine

Bigger Stronger Faster

Ghost in the Shell
Princess Mononoke
Ice Age
Ice Age: The Meltdown

...

The library's latest exhibit is entitled The September Project. The September Project is a grassroots effort to encourage events about freedom and democracy in all libraries in all countries during September. The three events highlighted are: Remembering September 11; Constitution Day (September 17); and Banned Books Week (September 28-October 4, 2008).

This is the first year for the Ursula C. Schwerin Library to participate in the September Project. The library mounted an exhibit using the “Keep It Strong” posters available through The Illinois First Amendment Center .

The posters are eye-catching and promote knowledge and appreciation of the First Amendment. Tying in 9/11, Constitution Day and Banned Books Week, the exhibit features the 10 most banned books of 2007, a definition of intellectual freedom and quotations on democracy, human rights, intellectual freedom and censorship, among other topics. In conjunction with the exhibit, the City Tech community is invited to two showings of Francois Truffaut's 1966 film, Fahrenheit 451, based on Ray Bradbury's novel. Wednesday, Sept 24 (atrium, old bookstore) and Thursday, Set 25 (library projection room, A 431). Both at 12:30 p.m. These showings are part of the library's ongoing Cinem@Tech program.

The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) has also set up a voter registration table in front of the library. Faculty has been encouraged to have their students view the exhibit, since it is a great springboard for discussion and writing assignments on democracy, freedom and civic engagement. The library hopes to make The September Project an annual event at the library and throughout the college. For more information, contact Tess Tobin, Administrative Services Librarian, 718 260-5499.

“Slacker Uprising” Synopsis

The film follows Moore’s 62-city tour during the 2004 election to rally young voters.
Moore is quoted as saying “I thought it’d be a nice way to celebrate my 20th year of doing this” he went on to say ”And also help get out the vote for November. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do to help with the election this year.”

His last election year movie was the Bush-critical Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore is hoping that this movie will help encourage young American voters to go to the polls this November….a number that rose 11% during the last election. It’s also worth noting that He and the producer of the film have no interest in recouping the money for this film.

America needs More Micheal Moore's :P

Watch the following video's for more info :)

Check it out!: http://slackeruprising.com/ and Don't forget to visit: http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Feel free to comment!

Peace ;) ♥

As you may have heard, I've decided to make my new film, "Slacker Uprising," available for free to everyone in the United States and Canada. It is the first time ever that a major feature-length film is debuting as a free download on the internet -- legally. I am doing this for two reasons:

1. Next year it will be 20 years since my first film, "Roger & Me," so I'd like to give those of you who've supported my work over the years a thank you gift in the form of a brand new movie; and

2. I hope the release and wide distribution of this new movie will help to bring out millions of young and new voters on November 4th.

"Slacker Uprising" takes place in the wake of "Fahrenheit 9/11," during the run-up to the 2004 election, as I traveled for 42 days across America, visiting 62 cities in a failed attempt to remove George W. Bush from office. My goal was to help turn out a record number of young voters and others who had never voted before. (That part was a success. Young adults voted in greater numbers than in any election since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote. And the youth vote was the only age group that John Kerry won.)

What I encountered during the tour and the filming was both inspiring and frightening, so I thought, hey, this might make for a funny and enlightening movie! Each night, thousands would show up to volunteer in the Slacker Army against Bush. This drove local Republicans nuts. In one state they tried to have me arrested. At two colleges, rich donors offered to donate more money to the college if they would ban me from campus. Nearly a half-dozen universities kept the Slacker Uprising tour off their campuses. But there was no stopping this movement. By the time we got to Florida, 16,000 people a night were showing up.

It was clear that young people were the ones who were going to save the day -- just as they are in this year's election.

On Tuesday, September 23rd, you will be able to stream, download, or burn a DVD of "Slacker Uprising," free of charge. The distribution is being organized by Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films (they're the great people behind "OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" and "WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price").

To sign up for the download of "Slacker Uprising," click here. You have my blanket permission to share the movie with your friends, to set up screenings in your communities or theaters, to show it on your campuses -- all at no charge. I encourage you to rally voters with it, to raise funds for your favorite candidates, to air it on your local cable access channels or web broadcasts. You can also click here to request a free DVD of "Slacker Uprising" for your school or university library.

As I said, this is a movie for you, my fans -- a little 97-minute digital treat that I think you'll really enjoy. I hope you'll check out SlackerUprising.com and download it a week from today, next Tuesday, September 23rd.

Thanks again for coming to my movies all these years. It's meant a lot to me. I feel very privileged and blessed, and I am honored to be in this "virtual" community with you as we try to reclaim our beloved country.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. The world premiere of "Slacker Uprising" will take place in one of the great slacker capitals of this country, Ann Arbor, Michigan, this Thursday at 5pm at the historic Michigan Theater. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. If you're in the neighborhood, hope to see you there!

P.P.S. If you live outside the U.S. and Canada, I'm sorry that I don't own the rights to make this film available to you for free. But it will be coming to a theater, video store or television network near you soon.

P.P.P.S. If you are not part of the "downloadable" generation, I am making a low-cost DVD of "Slacker Uprising" available at Amazon, Netflix and your local stores in October.

Ma guardarmi intorno meglio del solito.

Nel giro di una settimana ho visto dei documentari sconvolgenti. Posterò i miei personali commenti giorno dopo giorno.

Il primo che vi consiglio di vedere è

Fahrenheit 9/11

è di Michael Moore qui potete vedere i dettagli su imdb.

In pratica parla degli attentati terroristici del 11 settembre 2001, ma spiega anche dei collegamenti che il governo ha cercato di oscurare, primo fra tutti che la famiglia Bush e la famiglia Bin Laden avevano dei rapporti d'affari, più precisamente che loro erano degli azionisti della società per la difesa americana, e che quindi dopo gli attacchi terroristici il caro presidente ha incrementato le misure di sicurezza e la loro società ne hanno ottenuto spudoratamente dei guadagni esorbitanti.

Che dire? vergognoso, si preferisce guadagnare soldi sulla pelle di circa 2000 persone morte alle twin towers, per non parlare di tutti i solditi mandati in iraq e in afganistan.

Se avreste la cittadinanza americana voi che fareste?

Michael Moores selektiver und propagandistischer Blick springt einem halbwegs kritischen Betrachter sofort ins Auge. Moore ist der eifrigste Nutznießer des Prinzips, das er anzugreifen vorgibt. Während er den Republikanern vorwirft, 9/11 zur Manipulation der Bürger zu missbrauchen, gibt er offen zu, mit seinem Film in den Wahlkampf eingreifen zu wollen. Während er der Bush-Regierung vorwirft, systematisch Angst zu schüren, sät er paranoische Ängste vor der Macht saudischen Kapitals, vor Firmen und Regierung. Und wo er diesen Zynismus vorwirft, scheut er sich wie die Sender nicht, verbrannte Leichen zu zeigen und hilflose Verwundete zu filmen, deren Aussagen er zusammenzuschneidet, bis sie in sein propagandistisches Konzept passen. Carlyle, einer Waffenfirma unter Mitarbeit von George Bush, wirft er vor, durch ihren Börsengang 6 Wochen nach 9/11 231 Mio. Dollar Gewinn abgeschöpft zu haben. Michael Moore fährt mit Fahrenheit 9/11 bis 2006 dagegen nur schlappe 222 Mio. Dollar ein. Wo er Bush vorwirft, ein gleichgültiger, machtbesessener Tyrann zu sein, filmt er Saddam Hussein in fröhlicher Runde herumhopsend als harmlosen Kerl. Den Irakkrieg leitet er mit fröhlich spielenden, gutgekleideten Kindern ein. Die Sequenzen werden gefolgt von Bomben und weinenden Müttern. Wer vorher unter Saddam und Udai Hussein litt, ist ihm egal, weil es ihm nicht in seinen Wahn passt. Ebenso verzichtet er auf irgendeine Erwähnung der Giftgasbestände Saddam Husseins, der Konflikte um verhinderte Waffeninspektionen, der gescheiterten Sanktionen unter denen zehntausende Kinder starben. Für Moore ist 9/11 nur ein Mittel zum Zweck, sein eigenes Programm zu forcieren. Seine penetrante Leugnung des Terrorismus gibt noch jenen recht, die im Gefolge des 9/11 unablässig die Gefahr des Terrorismus zur Hauptbedrohung stilisierten und somit unverhältnismäßige Ängste schürten.

Flight 93 ist ein gutes Kontrastprogramm zur Marktschreierei Moores. Auf die Einführung von oskarträchtigen Hauptrollen wird verzichtet. Nicht einmal die Terroristen werden besonders stereotyp inszeniert. Sie erscheinen als angreifbare Individuen ohne spezifische Zeichen des Wahnsinns, fast mitleiderregend. Die polyphone Erzählweise verläuft in einer technisierten Sprache, die positivistisch den Fall "Hijack" einplant, aber seine Besonderheit weder adäquat erkennen, noch auf sie reagieren kann. Die Vermitteltheit von Kommunikation zwischen zuständigen Stellen der Luftaufsichtsbehörde, zwischen Passagieren und Terroristen wird als Problem wie als Lösung gleichzeitig benannt. Flight 93 ist eine Fundgrube für postmoderne Theorien über Zeichen, Deutung und Kommunikation. Mehr als das ist der Film trotz der starken Suspense-Lastigkeit eine realistische und zurückhaltende Darstellung des Geschehens. Durch diesen fühlbaren Respekt den Opfern gegenüber wird Empathie befördert, wo vorher kein Bewusstsein über die Realität dieser Ereignisse bestand.

]]> http://schluss.wordpress.com/?p=629 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:38:45 +0000 maphoan http://schluss.de.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/fahrenheit-911/ Dienstag, 09.09.08 | 23.45 - 01.45 | KABEL1 | USA 2004 | Regie: Michael Moore

Polemische Anti-Bush-Dokumentation in bester "Michael Moore"-Manier, die den US-Wahlkampf des Präsidenten torpedieren sollte, was sich aber als nutzlos herausgestellt hat. Emotional, gnadenlos in seiner Argumentation und ein Michael Moore in Breitbildformat. Ausgezeichnet mit dem Oscar und der goldenen Palme in Cannes.

In an unprecedented move, the latest film from controversial documentarian Michael Moore (Sicko) will be released as a free, high-resolution download for a limited time. Slacker Uprising, a follow-up of sorts to the infamous Fahrenheit 9/11, follows Moore as he went from city to city back in 2004 in an attempt to get young people to vote. It was originally meant to be a theatrical release, but instead will be available on the website BlipTV during three weeks if you're a North American resident, beginning September 23rd. The DVD will come out October 7th.

"I thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate my 20th year of doing this," Moore said. "And also help get out the vote for November. I've been thinking about what I want to do to help with the election this year."

One can't help but wonder what influence, if any, this will have on movie distribution as a whole. As it is though, Michael Moore doesn't expect to make any profit from Slacker Uprising. To download the movie, you need to live either in the US or in Canada and sign up at the film's official website.

Source

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

First things first.  In 2004, Doug Pinnick (bassist/vocals of King's X) and Jeff Ament (bassist of Pearl Jam) wrapped up an album tentatively titled Montana.  In 2004.  At this point in time, Guns 'n' Roses' Chinese Democracy may come out first.  Jeff & Doug have been friends for a while... at least since way back when King's X opened up for Pearl Jam.  During PJ's MTV Unplugged session, Jeff had a big "King's X" written on his hand (in 1992?).

Anyway, today on Blabbermouth it was dropped that Jeff Ament's solo album called Tone (pictured above) comes out on Sept 16th via PJ's Ten Club.  It features Doug Pinnick as guest lead vocals on a track called "Doubting Thomasina."  It's limited to 3,000 copies... CD only.  I'm hoping this makes the 15-or-so track Pinnick/Ament album more likely to be released soon.

Here's a trailer for the movie:

http://www.slackeruprising.com/ on Sept 23rd...

~Dan - np: Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide

Sicko. (2006)

I first saw this on the bootleg at my buddy Jims house. While you may not agree with Michael Moore's views, the facts presented in the movie are pretty affective. Reading news report of people bitching about HMO's doesn't really make you think twice. But seeing someone who has to choose between which finger to attach after a freak accident due to not being able to afford the entire surgery, it has an entirely different effect.

Quote: "Keeping people hopeless and pessimistic - see I think there are two ways in which people are controlled - first of all frighten people and secondly demoralize them. An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern."
_____

Super Size Me. (2003)

Yeah the movie didn't make me stop eating McDonalds right after I initially saw it. But after catching it on TV a year ago, I've only eaten it once. A horrible stomach ache soon followed and I haven't set foot inside since.

Quote: "See, now's the time of the meal when you start getting the McStomach ache. You start getting the McTummy. You get the McGurgles in there. You get the McBrick, then you get the McStomach ache. Right now I've got some McGas that's rockin'. My arms... I feel like I've got some McSweats goin'. My arms got the McTwitches going in here from all the sugar that's going in my body right now. I'm feeling a little McCrazy."
_____

Super High Me. (2007)

TV's Doug Benson (High Times Stoner of the Year) takes a play from Morgan Spurlock's playbook and decides to smoke the herb all day, every day, for 30 days. Tries to remember to film it and make his scheduled doctors appointments. Then reports back on what affects it has had on his body. What's not to like?

Quote: "It is rude to bogart a joint with your vagina. Don't do it fellas."
_____

Good Copy, Bad Copy. (2007)

Before you see this movie, please [illegally] download DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album, Girl Talk's Night Ripper, and Girl Talk's Feed The Animals. Then once you've listened to those three albums, you can then watch or download Good Copy, Bad Copy for free here: http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/.

Quote: "I'd be happy paying royalties for every sample on the record. But thats not what it would be, you know? To actually license a sample would cost millions of dollars which I cant afford. If sampling would be this form of music that, you just can't make music off of cause you'd have to give all your money away, that would still be cool. It would still be this, you know, new way to make music. I think that would be wonderful. But in a theoretical world, if I could clear every sample on there, and I had a million dollars or a billion dollars to do it, it would still take me 50 years to go through the legal hassle. And that's just absurd."
_____

Fahrenheit 911. (2004)

OMG two Michael Moore movies as billyG's top 5?! Is he a hardcore liberal?!? Does he <3 Michael Moore's terrible voice narrating a movie for 90+ minutes? No. No he doesn't. And I'm not even registered to vote. But the war is still going on, our country is on the brink of falling into a depression, and it's time for a change (vote Obama!). Fuck Bush.

Quote: [quoting George Orwell] "It's not a matter of whether the war is not real, or if it is, Victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or East Asia but to keep the very structure of society intact." 
_____

Pretty sure a lot of people are going to disagree with my choices this week, and that's fine. Opinions are great. But no one will know your opinion if you don't leave comments. If you agree and <3 me, then leave a comment. If you disagree and </3 me, then leave a comment. You don't need to register with WordPress to do this.

Next week I'll be back with... a surprise. But the genre chosen has some of my all time favorite movies.

This man has an axe to grind, he's a far left liberal, who has been whining since the 2000 election. He claims to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that President Bush should be tried for murder. However like many liberals he has very selective reasoning and memory. I'm sure he has no plans to write a book about President Clinton, who attacked Iraq in 1998 to distract the country from his sex scandal (resulting in the death of 600-2000 Iraqis). 

He spends much time praising himself and telling his readers about how smart he is. He claims so see things no one else does and thus we need someone wise and sagacious like himself to bring this information to us. And if a newspaper has ever said anything positive about Bugliosi you bet he will spend much time repeating them verbatim in his books, interviews and talk show. 

It's also hypocritical or him not to want to prosecute every member of congress who voted for the Iraq Resolution. Like every other left wing nut case, he is hung up on not finding Weapons of Mass Destruction. They never existed, he reasons because President Bush made them up so he could attack Iraq. This is lazy and inexcusable nonsense. The video below will show you many notable democrats, including President Bill Clinton clearly say he believed Saddam had WMDs. President Bush was not alone and to say he was is ignorant and takes a revisionist view of history.

And by popular demand, I will look at each chapter of the book and expose this garbage for what is truly is.

Part 1; Chapter 1 - Open Up Ones Eyes

• Bugliosi is basically trying to brainwash the reader away from their own common sense. He says we have to get past the notions that a sitting president can be prosecuted or commit a criminal crime. He says if you think this way, then you won't believe his "common sense" evidence. This is his version of  jury selection, however it doesn't work that way in books. Anyone can read what he writes and see his moronic theories and judge them for what they are. So no, we won't go away and stop reading just because we believe that is might just be irresponsible to try a president for murder because soldiers died serving a mission ordered by the Commander in Chief. Just think of what would happen if Mr. Bugliosi was successful in charging the President with murder. Every siting president in the future would have to consider this before they made any national security decisions. It's so idiotic, it's almost not even worth talking about because it will never happen. But here we are...
• All Mr. Bugliosi is doing is trying to be sensational and sell books. It's already the first chapter and he has already mentioned four of his other books many, many times.
• He claims he is the only one who believed the D.A. office screwed up the O.J. Simspon case. Yeah okay, no one had figured that out until his OJ book came out. Give me a break. Most americans knew that cased was screwed during the trial when the made the Juice try on the glove (over a rubber glove).
• Bugliosi defends Saddam Hussein. He claims Hussein was justified in prosecuting and killing Iraqis who supposedly tried to kill him in the early 1980's in Dujail, Iraq. Saddam was justified in attacking the village, which lead to deaths of scores and scored of innocent Iraqi men, some as young as 13 years old!  His reasoning, if someone tried to kill the President of any other country, and they were found, execution wouldn't be seen as an unreasonable punishment. He's shocked and outraged that this "non-crime" is what the Iraqis would use to charge Saddam. 
• Saddam. Wikipedia documents however, Saddam wasn't just going after the men who tried to kill him, he wanted to wipe out the entire city, "1,500 people were also incarcerated and tortured, while other residents, many of them women and children, were sent to desert camps. Saddam's regime destroyed the town and then rebuilt it shortly after. In addition to these punishments, 1,000 square kilometres (250,000 acres) of farmland was destroyed; replanting was only permitted 10 years later. ( The Economist 1982 and Kanan Makiya's book, Republic of Fear)."

When I located Little Fugitive on the Internet Movie Database, to create a link, I was struck silly by the five films that the IMDB was recommending to me. Right there, as plain as day the site states - If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:

The Warriors, City by the Sea, Grace is Gone, Jaws 2, Fahrenheit 9/11

What exactly are they assuming I enjoyed about Little Fugitive? And, what exactly do these films have in common with Little Fugitive?

I consider Little Fugitive to be a cornerstone of American independent cinema. It is a small miracle; a wonderfully crafted, touching example of how a small idea working well within its limitations can make a huge impact.

So, why recommend Jaws 2? Why not the first Jaws? Last I recall, the shark was prowling the coast of Amity not Coney Island. I am sure the Coney Island connection may explain why The Warriors gets suggested, but I can think of ten other films, more in the spirit of Little Fugitive that also have scenes at Coney Island. I don't think City by the Sea has anything to do with eight year old runaway or Coney Island. I never saw it, but I think it had something to do with Atlantic City and Al Pacino or was it Deniro. Does it matter? Grace is Gone is another film I haven't seen, but I know it has something to do with John Cusack taking his kid's on a road trip before telling them their mom died in the war on terrorism. So, perhaps there are issues of innocence at play in each film. I give that one a pass. I guess I am also supposed to give Fahrenheit 9/11 a pass because it was a hugely successful independent film and so was Little Fugitive. However, if that was the standard for a recommendation, why not the Blair WItch Project? At least that was fictional and about lost youngsters.

I only wish one could do a reverse recommendation. I want a way to see what films would point me to Little Fugitive. Would Under the Rainbow send me to Little Fugitive or would Natural Born Killers recommend Little Fugitive to me?

Speaking of Natural Born Killers, a young man here in Milwaukee just killed his girlfriend. His excuse? He had watched Natural Born Killers one too many times and something snapped inside of him. The victim was slated to be an art student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee this fall. Now, I just know that somewhere, probably even on the campus of UWM, some professor has shown or is showing their class Natural Born Killers and treating that piece of garbage like a piece of art. While Little Fugitive does not even get mentioned or shown. Here is a film that re-affirms the joy of life and instead we have instructors who would rather teach classes on Tarantino, Stone, or torture and violence in films. Why teach that when its obvious that so many young adults need to be reminded about the value of life? Is it easier? Is it cooler?

"So what? Who cares? Go to Starbucks," you say. Well, I've acquiesced to drinking the bitter swill at Starbucks, but for anyone who has spent 45 minutes of their lives waiting at one of the new Starbucks drive-thrus while some douchebag orders a triple decaf macchiato, there is truly no suitable replacement for the ease and alacrity of the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru or the sweet, smooth taste of Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Perhaps some context is in order to fully understand how debilitating this is to me. In my view, Dunkin' Donuts is not just some meaningless, faceless chain of coffee purveyors. I grew up in Massachusetts where Dunkin' Donuts opened its first store in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts. It's more than just coffee, it's part of our identity. There are four defining characteristics of a true Massachusetts resident (no, one of them isn't that "you have to be an asshole" -- I know what you're thinking). To be a righteous Massachusettsian, you have to love/appreciate/prefer these four things:

1. The Red Sox

2. Candlepin Bowling

3. Gambling/Lottery

4. Dunkin' Donuts

So you see, not having Dunkin' Donuts in L.A. is more than a mere inconvenience, it's an affront to my self-identity. While Dunkin' Donuts brand coffee is now available at Target, there's truly no substitute for a store-brewed cup of regular Dunkin' Donuts coffee (that's 3 creams and 3 sugars for the uninitiated).

But lest you think that my sole desire for this post is to solipsistically rant about how I am forced to drink Starbucks, I assure you that I have a much grander purpose in mind. What I'd like to discuss is the disturbing trend that I have noticed at Dunkin' Donuts during recent trips back to the East Coast. Since moving to Los Angeles in March of 2006, I have paid a number of visits to Dunkin' Donuts stores in various states, drinking approximately 15 cups of coffee from 7 or 8 different franchises -- a fairly substantial and diverse sample size.

My first trip back to Boston occurred in June, 2006, when I returned for a weekend to attend a good friend's wedding. I eagerly raced to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts location only to receive a bitter cup of coffee more consistent with black tar than the saccharine ambrosia of my fondest recollections. Another coffee from another store produced similar results, but I blindly dismissed my experiences as aberrations. Looking back I should have considered that in the previous 2,000 odd cups of Dunkin' Donuts I had quaffed in my lifetime, I had absolutely no memory of ever having an imperfect cup. But at the time, I saw no pattern.

The exact dates and times of my subsequent Dunkin' Donuts visits elude me, but I can attest that I drank cups from locations in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. And what was similar was that in every instance the coffee was harsh and acrid, nothing like it used to be. A pattern had fully and undeniably emerged.

My most recent cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, which I had just two weeks ago, was so hot in temperature that even after I poured half of it out and replaced it with half & half, I still couldn't drink it ten minutes later. Now anyone who is a regular coffee drinker knows that particular restaurants will try to cover-up the low quality of their coffee by brewing it extra hot.

You may remember the infamous 1994 McDonald's coffee case, Liebeck vs. McDonalds Restaurant, where an elderly woman sued McDonalds after she suffered third degree burns when she spilled McDonalds coffee onto her lap. ABC News called the lawsuit "the posterchild of excessive lawsuits." Now I shouldn't have to tell you that anytime the mainstream press informs you of something with absolute certainly, it's best to reconsider independently; and in this case it's no different. Because anyone who had the displeasure of imbibing the scalding hot, liquified ground rubber that McDonald's passed off as coffee would know that McDonald's was not some poor, little multi-billion dollar conglomerate being conned by a duplicitous 81 year old, former department store clerk. During the case, the woman's attornies discovered that McDonald's required its franchises to serve their coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees fahrenheit, whereas most establishments serve their coffee at approximately 140 degrees fahrenheit. At McDonald's temperature, the coffee would cause a third-degree burn in two to seven seconds. Liebeck was awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages but eventually settled for closer to $600,000. [Note: McDonalds has since replaced their coffee with Green Mountain coffee beans].

So you might be wondering what could possibly have occurred in the past two years that would effect the quality of Dunkin' Donuts coffee so drastically? Well, as it turns out, in December, 2005, three private-equity firms, Bain Capital Partners, the Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners acquired Dunkin' Donuts from Pernod Ricard, the French wine and spirits company. The deal was finalized in March, 2006, the very month I moved to California!

If Bain Capital rings a bell it's likely because you may have recently heard that it was co-founded by that phony corporate stooge, Mitt Romney. And if the Carlyle Group sounds familar, chances are that you saw the scathing Michael Moore documentary, Fahrenheit 911, that delves into the shady history of the global private equity firm that employed George H.W. Bush as a senior advisor and listed as one of its investors the Bin Laden family. After 9/11, the Bin Laden family's investments became embarassing to the Carlyle Group so the Bin Ladens were forced to liquidate their assets. Here's a refresher courtesy of Michael Moore.

Finally the picture is crystal clear as to what happened to Dunkin' Donuts: those evil rat bastards at the Carlyle Group and Bain Capital are skimping on the quality of the coffee beans in order to save a lousy buck! It gets worse, according to the New York Daily News, since 2006 Dunkin' Donuts has been suing existing single-unit franchisees in order to replace them with multi-unit franchisees. The article, written by a Dunkin' Donuts franchise owner, details the betrayal:

Dunkin' Donuts has sued other franchise owners 154 times since 2006.

Over the same stretch of time, McDonalds was involved in five lawsuits. And Subway, a company that has four times the number of locations as Dunkin' Donuts, sued its franchises 12 times.

After talking to dozens of franchise owners just like us, we learned that this was more than an unusual litigation binge. This was a corporate strategy.

In order to compete with Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts has announced a plan to open 15,000 stores by 2016. There's only one problem with that plan. Because Dunkin' Donuts is made up entirely of franchisee-owned stores, it relies on franchisees to open new stores.

Only large, multiunit owners who already own dozens of stores have the means to expand quickly.

Dunkin's answer to this conundrum is to systematically replace single-store owners with multistore owners. And because they can't just force these mom-and-pop shops to sell, they strong-arm them with threats of lawsuits over minor "contract infractions."

The consequences of this are real, personal and painful. The owners of these stores - who overwhelmingly tend to be immigrants - lose their entire life's work.

Maybe America runs on Dunkin', but Dunkin' itself is a corporate giant that runs on the sweat of franchisees large and small.

We small franchisees have just about been sweated out. And with us, perhaps the last vestiges of what mom-and-pop New York used to be.

Dunkin Donuts was like a kindly grandmother that plied you with tasty treats; now they're like an alcoholic, pederast uncle that scars you for life. These corrupt, soulless bastards make me sick. And they're un-American to boot! So this is where I draw the line; this is where I fight. To borrow a line from The Dude: "This will not stand, ya know. This aggression will not stand, man!"

You might imagine that the intended locus of my anger would be those brobdingnagian corporate entities that have hijacked my beloved Dunkin' Donuts. Oh, but you would be mistaken. No, I prefer to put a face on my mortal enemies, so I choose to hold the George Bushes and Osama Bin Laden most responsible for this outrage even if they are no longer associated with the Carlyle Group. After all, if you're going to misplace some anger, you can find worse targets than the Bin Laden and Bush families, right?

I feel like forming a Political Action Committee devoted to seeing George W. Bush impeached or maybe buying a rifle, flying to Pakistan, parachuting into the mountainous tribal region, living off the land for months by eating moss and tree bark, befriending the local tribesman in order to persuade them to identify Osama Bin Laden's hidden lair, and then finally smoking his cowarldy ass. Screw due process and the rule of law, it's time for some Edmund Dantes, Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, old-fashioned, eye-for-an-eye style vengeance!

Corporate America, in its all-encompassing pursuit to milk every last cent out of a credulous public, has finally crossed the line.  Join me, friends, our time has come to poke these avaricious mongrels where it hurts most: in the wallet! I advise an immediate boycott of the Bush family, the Bin Laden family, Dunkin' Donuts coffee, the Carlyle Group, Bain Capital Partners, and Thomas H. Lee Partners. Divest your money! Save your souls!

Until those un-American corporate fiends have withdrawn their rapacious claws from my beloved company and Dunkin' Donuts coffee is fully restored to its resplendent glory, we shall not rest! Our fortitude will not flag! Our anger will not abate! Anarchy will reign! Justice will prevail!

[I'm not playing around here, I'd dead serious. And as it turns out, you won't have to worry about hurting a small business owner with your boycott since it appears that they'll all soon be replaced by "multi-unit" owners anyway.]

Bigger,Stronger,Faster*

Starts tomorrow here





A: Bisabuelo, ¿por qué están empujando a un golfista en un carrito de la compra?

M: Oh, lo siento. Es de mi otro sueño. ¡Venga, Fred, lárgate!

A: Tengo una teoría sobre lo que ocurrió. He oído decir que a los de tu generación os encantaba pasar todo el día tumbados al sol, haciendo el vago. Creo que por eso agotasteis todo el petróleo barato, para calentar la Tierra, eliminar el invierno y estar siempre bien morenos y guapos.

M: No, de hecho el sol nos daba mucho miedo. La mayoría trabajábamos en edificios con las ventanas cerradas herméticamente y con máquinas que filtraban y depuraban el aire y el agua. Cuando nos aventurábamos a salir al exterior nos embadurnábamos de protector solar y nos poníamos gafas de sol y sombreros para protegernos la cabeza. Pero aunque odiábamos el sol, todavía odiábamos más el frío. Todo el mundo se trasladaba a los estados cálidos, donde casi nunca nevaba, y se pasaban todo el día en casas y oficinas con aire acondicionado y se desplazaban en automóviles con aire acondicionado. Por supuesto, eso suponía un gasto de mayor gasolina, lo que calentaba aún más el planeta, por lo que la gente ponía un poco más fuerte el aire acondicionado.

A: ¿Por qué inventaron las bombas nucleares para matar a todo el mundo a la vez si ya tenían bombas de petróleo? Cuando transformaron las bombas nucleares en centrales eléctricas, ¿no sabían que una podría estallar y destruirlo todo?

M: Hace cien años nos dijeron que la fisión nuclear produciría electricidad “tan barata que saldría casi gratis”. No fue así. El segundo presidente Bush… ¿o fue el tercero? Bueno, desde luego no fue el cuarto presidente Bush… El caso es que uno de los malditos Bush aumentó la producción de las centrales nucleares, pero después de que un obrero contrariado llenase su camioneta de fertilizantes y detergente y la estampase contra el lugar en el que trabajaba, con lo cual arrasó un pueblo cercano, se suspendió el programa de inmediato.

A: Papá dice que en tu época había más de seis mil millones de personas en todo el mundo. A veces me asusto e intento no pensar en toda la gente que murió de hambre o por enfermedad. En la escuela he oído decir que ahora hay unos quinientos millones de personas en el mundo. Me parece mucho. Pero a veces me preocupa que tal vez sigan produciéndose muertes en cadena. ¿Tú qué crees?

M: No te preocupes. Las muertes en cadena se han acabado. Ahora estás a salvo. Sigue desenterrando todo ese plástico y no te pasará nada.

A: Bisabuelo, ¿cómo sobreviviste?

M: Tu bisabuela y yo estábamos en el extranjero de viaje cuando comenzaron las muertes en cadena. Sobrevivimos porque, en alguna parte de la Gran Región del Petróleo, encontramos una cueva con mucha comida, teléfonos móviles y un buzón de FEDEX. Nunca habría creído posible que alguien pudiera sobrevivir tanto tiempo en una cueva sin que le descubriesen. Pero nosotros lo conseguimos, al igual que quienquiera que hubiera usado la cueva antes. Lo más extraño de todo era que allí dentro había un dializador. Me decía una y otra vez “no, no es posible”…

A: Papá dice que confiaba en que la bisabuela y tú volvieseis a casa para estar todos juntos y calientitos. Aunque estoy enfadada con vosotros por haber gastado todo el petróleo sin siquiera habernos guardado una garrafa, lo mejor sería que toda la familia estuviese aquí cuando nos acurrucamos debajo del edredón familiar las noches en que la temperatura baja de los cero grados y los vecinos no pueden venir. Una vez hacía tanto frío que tuvimos que dormir con un par de animales y, aunque estábamos más calientitos, apestaba tanto que no pegué ojo. Mamá me dijo que a veces calentabais incluso el exterior para disfrutar del aire libre en magas de camisa, tomando copas. ¿Os quedaréis con nosotros la bisabuela y tú?

M: Claro que sí, me encantaría, pero me temo que a nuestra edad también apestamos bastante.

A: Mamá me contó que una vez fuiste famoso durante unos minutos por gritar algo durante una de las guerras del Petróleo. Ahora lo único que me queda es una vieja fotografía tuya con la boca abierta y señalando algo. ¡Con dos dedos extendidos! ¿Por qué estabas enfadado? ¿Por el petróleo?

M: Esto…, bueno, la bisabuela no me dejará hablar de eso mientras viva. Esa noche se puso elegante, estaba guapísima y… ¡Venga, devuélveme la foto, pequeña! ¡Comienzo a oír abucheos en mi interior!

A: Claro, toma. ¡Gracias, bisabuelo! ¿Quieres decir algo para terminar? La vela está a punto de apagarse.

M: Sí, cuando recuerdo esa época, me doy cuenta de que los diez años transcurridos entre 2005 y 2015 representaron el momento más crítico para nuestra especie. La mayoría de nosotros intentó advertir a los demás del peligro de quedarnos sin petróleo, pero casi nadie hacía caso. Había gente buena, gente que se preocupaba por los demás, por nuestros hijos y el planeta. Luchamos, pero no lo suficiente. Las fuerzas de la codicia y el egoísmo pudieron con nosotros. Parecían empeñados en conducirnos a la extinción y estuvieron a punto de lograrlo. Lo siento. Lo sentimos. Quizá vosotros podáis hacer mejor las cosas.

Fue justo entonces, cuando comenzaba a soltarle un sermón sensiblero, cuando me desperté del sueño bañado en un sudor frío, murmurando algo sobre una factura atrasada de una tintorería de Toledo. Me incorporé en la cama y entonces comprendí que se trataba de un sueño, que nunca sucedería algo tan ridículo, así que me recosté de nuevo, me arrebujé debajo de la manta eléctrica y soñé plácidamente con helado sin lactosa…

Texto extraído del libro ¿Qué le hicieron a mi país, man?, de Michael Moore, Ediciones B, Barcelona 2004

Links que vale la pena visitar:

1. American Petroleum Institute - www.api.org
2. Artic Power - www.anwr.com
3. Greenpeace - www.greenpeace.org
4. Sierra Club - www.sierraclub.org
5. Climate Action Network - www.climatenetwork.org
6. Amigos de la Tierra - www.foe.org/act/takeaction/index.html
7. Proyecto Underground - www.moles.org
8. Red para la Energía y Economía Sostenibles - www.seen.org
9. World Wild Fund - www.takeaction.worldwildlife.org

SOBRE EL AUTOR

Michael Moore es originario de Davison, Michigan. Nació en 1954 y es conocido por su postura progresista –se dice que subversiva– y su visión crítica de la globalización, las corporaciones, la violencia armada, la guerra en Irak y, por supuesto, las políticas de George W. Bush.

Como cineasta ha realizado Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine (por el que recibió un Oscar en el 2003, en categoría de mejor documental), Fahrenheit 9/11 y Sicko.

Ha escrito ¡Todos a la Calle!, Adventures in a TV Nation, Estúpidos hombres blancos, ¿Qué le hicieron a mi país, man?, Cartas desde el frente, Guía oficial de Fahrenheit 9/11 y, el más reciente, Tocando los co…lores a los americanos.

Dopo la soleggiata siesta estiva, torniamo a parlare di prime visioni e inauguriamo la stagione con una pellicola che ricorda più il ruggito del leone, che lo sbadiglio del risveglio: cinema militante fino al midollo è quello che ci offre Michael Moore, che dichiara di aver realizzato il suo nuovo, prezioso Fahrenheit 9/11 nella speranza di convincere gli americani a mandare via dalla Casa Bianca i giocatori di Risiko che l’hanno occupata. La finalità è più che nobile e tanto ardore etico merita appoggio incondizionato. Come per The Passion di Mel Gibson, anche per Moore il fine detta totalmente le regole alla ricerca espressiva, che risulta secondaria rispetto alla volontà profonda di dire. Suona strano accostare Gibson a Moore, ma in questo 2004 sono questi due i film più esorbitanti dalla normale prassi rappresentativa del cinema: non a caso sono i più contaminati da linguaggi mass-mediologici anticinematografici o poco battutti sul grande schermo. Se Gibson ha girato una crocifissione al limite del pornografico, con il seguito di noia che accompagna quasi sempre la pornografia (dal porno viene la carne sbrindellata della sua messa in scena), Moore, invece, gira un grande video clip, o un grande Blob, intriso sia di immaginario televisivo che di tempi drammaturgici assolutamente cinematografici.

Pensando però al film precedente di Moore, vien da dire che il vincitore della Palma d’Oro è meno convincente di Bowling a Colombine (un vero gioiello), forse perché l’analisi dei fatti è meno brillante e inaspettata, o forse perché Fahrenheit ha una narrazione lineare, mentre Bowling era più segmentato, frastagliato e complesso nella scrittura che emergeva dall’intelligente montaggio. Bowling era girato come un noir in flash back, in cui conoscevamo i colpevoli, ma dovevamo ricostruire i moventi; Fahrenheit è invece una narrazione con antefatto, rottura repentina dell’equilibrio, spiegazione delle cause, reazione del protagonista, ed è un incrocio spurio tra una commedia con Jerry Lewis e Dean Martin, un gangster movie, il filone post-Vietnam, e tanti altri riferimenti. A volte incerto tra i vari stili, tra il sarcasmo e un filo di retorica, Fahrenheit 9/11 non è un capolavoro e probabilmente non era il film più bello dell’ultimo Festival di Cannes, ma è un film che oltrepassa il cinema allargandone i confini e consolidando l’invenzione di questo ciclone americano, il documentario-fiction, il film-pamphlet, che mutua il linguaggio dell’inchiesta giornalistica con quello della televisione, i tempi propri del cinema di genere con quelli dei clip e dei cartoons. Quindi un buon lavoro per Michael Moore, l’illuminista del cinema americano.

Fahrenheit 9/11, di Michael Moore, Usa, 2004, 110 minuti

Cast: Michael Moore

Uscita: 27 agosto 2004