StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Director Michael Moores Capitalism - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Director Michael Moore’s Capitalism" describes that the movie is not about the interrogation of capitalism theories put forward by economists like Adam Smith or Karl Marx. Quite expectedly, the movie has little to remedy the negative outcomes of capitalism. …
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.2% of users find it useful
Director Michael Moores Capitalism
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Director Michael Moores Capitalism"

Director Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story, a 2009 American documentary, portrays some of the dark sides of capitalism through snippets of well-thought-out interviews and historical events that led to present-day capitalism in the US. The movie throughout has flavors of humor and sarcasm as Moore himself conducts personal interviews and analysis.
Recollecting 1989, when autoworkers in Flint, Michigan, were protesting against layoffs, the movie fast forwards 20 years when the issues are still the same. To find an answer to how capitalism has impacted people’s lives in the US, Moore visits the nation’s capital, asking average American people how they are doing keeping economic needs and aspirations in mind. The movie starts with footage of an armed robbery. Interestingly, one of the robbers was in the clutch. Viewers are then introduced to a few shots from a film named ‘Life in Ancient Rome,’ as Moore shows some more recent symbols of American power, including the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center wrapped with its usual stardom.
I appreciate the way the movie continues to gradually refine with another hour and a half of alternating sobbing and smirking remarks by a cross-section of the audience. Included in that cross-section are actor and writer Wallace Shawn who defines free enterprise. Some of the recorded opinions are welcome and greeting, till they succeed to talk freely without provocation from sidesplitting Mr. Moore. Despite invocating ancient Rome, the story more realistically starts post-World War II, which is the period from which the movie will examine issues of capitalism categorically.
Moore presents himself as an “Everyman” whose relatives benefited from the postwar middle-class prosperity. I agree with Moore when he represents a collective dream of a happy and prosperous future that came under a difficult phase during the time of the Vietnam War. This is followed by a snippet of grim-faced Jimmy Carter, warning about the threat of idolizing self-indulgence and consumption. The movie then portrays the rise of Ronald Reagan’s policy, which led loose the bull of free enterprises in the widest sense. It was during Reagons’s time when corporate gained more power and unions debilitated. Moore calls tax cuts and household debt a “spokesmodel for the president.” Cut in tax rates led to a rising in household debt in the US. During covering such moves, shots from “Roger & Me,” Mr. Moore’s first film, are also included.
The movie has many instances of scenes in which people interviewed were victims of the greed of their employers. One instance of an employee whose wife was insured without his knowledge made a big chunk after the death of the woman, often called death peasant insurance. Incorporated in the movie is the ‘casino mentality’ of Wall Street and the influence of Goldman Sachs in Washington.
The movie examines why young people are more attracted to finance than science. Perhaps tilt towards a luxurious life along with fat salaries that executives in financial corporate houses like Goldman Sachs and Price Waterhouse Coopers allure many to join them in the mad race that led to the financial crisis of 2008 in the first place. In his course of query, Moore visits offices of big financial corporate houses trying to learn about ‘derivatives’, and ‘credit default swaps’ from financial executives. Interestingly, a past Vice President of Lehman Brothers, Marcus Haupt, could not explain such terms convincingly to Moore in the movie. In the run-up to the crisis, the director also explored the role of Alan Greenspan and the US Treasury Department. A few members of Congress including Ohio Senate member Marcy Kaptur covered and agree with Moore that the bailout package by the Obama administration was illegal. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1425424-capitalism
(Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words - 1)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1425424-capitalism.
“Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1425424-capitalism.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Director Michael Moores Capitalism

Documentary Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore

From the paper "Documentary capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore" it is clear that Moore argues that the capitalist system is not a just system.... Through a series of montage shots, interviews, and self testimonials, the film describes capitalism's characteristics and criticizes its outcomes.... This is the powerful image of capitalism's negative features: the collusion between corporate America and the state, and the economic disparity between the rich and the poor, where the rich do not care what happens to the poor....
14 Pages (3500 words) Term Paper

A Sociological Analysis of Michael Moore Interview by Paxman on News Night

They discussed the issue of capitalism.... Paxman wanted to know if the main objective of Moore was to reform capitalism or to end it as he intends to overturn the system.... Moore focused on ending capitalism as he saw it as evil.... capitalism had protected the interests of the dictators, the rich elites, and the privileged for far too long.... capitalism is defined as an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods by investments that are by private decisions....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Capitalism: A Love Story (movie)

Michael Moore's documentary, capitalism: A Love Story investigates these darker sides to challenge the idea that capitalism is the ideal economic system.... capitalism, there is a darker side to capitalism that is often forgotten.... While the movie may downplay the benefits of capitalism, it proves that it is also the root cause of worsening social problems in the United States.... The film uses examples from real Americans' lives to question the benefits of capitalism....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Rhetorical Analysis: Capitalism: A Love Story

capitalism: A Love Story” is a documentary by Michael Moore that seeks to bring out the evils associated with capitalism, in a bid to dissuade Americans from a fiscal, economic and governance system that most of them are familiar with.... Moore capitalizes on this state of affairs to rally Americans against capitalism and those who promote it....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Critically Analyzing The Film Capitalism: A Love Story (dir. Michael Moore, 2010

capitalism: A Love Story capitalism: A Love Story is an American documentary movie released in the year 2010.... The movie also has a religious angle which analyzes whether capitalism is immoral and whether Jesus would have advocated capitalism.... capitalism capitalism is an economic system that encourages private ownership of both production processes and the capital goods.... capitalism promotes private investments and private control over large business enterprises as opposed to government controlled economy....
4 Pages (1000 words) Movie Review

Comparing Karl Marxes view on capitalisum to Michael Moores view in his movie Roger and Me

Michael uses local dialects to bring out the extent of capitalism in a small town Flint, Michigan which is also his hometown.... Companies like GM should look at the effects of their actions in favor of capitalism.... capitalism can be defined as a system which is prone to crisis.... All this recessions and unstable markets are caused by capitalism.... In Marx's view capitalism is an act of corporations taking a surplus labor from its workers....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Relevance of Marxist Theory to Media Texts

The media text chosen for this purpose is michael Moore's documentary film, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' released in 2004.... The paper "The Relevance of Marxist Theory to Media Texts " highlights that one Marxist idea which can be said to have relevance to the film is that of imperialism or neo-imperialism which is not necessarily attributable to Marx himself but to people like Kautsky and Lenin....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Relevance of Marxist Theory to the Study of Media Texts

The media text chosen for this purpose is michael Moore's documentary film, 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.... Although michael Moore is a liberal left-of-center Democrat political activist, his film, Fahrenheit 9/11, draws upon the Marxist-Leninist theory of imperialism in the shape of US invasion of Iraq which was not in self-defense but to take over the world's second-largest oil reserves in aid of boosting its own ailing economy....
9 Pages (2250 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us