Michael Moore Exposes the Dark Side of Capitalism
By Brendan O.
Honestly, it is difficult to decide which is more unusual: a large-scale economic system that has suddenly gone berserk, or the way Michael Moore portrays this as the focus of his film, “Capitalism: A Love Story.”
Many of us have begun to categorize Moore’s documentaries as their own genre. They are often hilarious, with subjects of the utmost seriousness. He is a witty high-flier with a mischievous sense of humor, who won’t back down in the face of authoritative opposition.
“Capitalism: A Love Story” reveals a dark side of the economic system that is capitalism. Moore delves into the heart of the middle and lower classes who have suffered the most as a result of capitalism and the recent economic meltdown.
Capitalism is the economic system used by the United States and much of the world. It functions on the premise of supply and demand. Unfortunately, it also functions on the drive of greed. Lately, this drive for more and more profit has triggered avaricious politicians, bankers, and high ranking government officials to dip their tight-fisted hands ever deeper into the American taxpayers’ pockets.
Moore brings us into the lives of decent people who have had their homes repossessed by banks. We learn that, astonishingly, there is a foreclosure on an American home every seven and a half seconds. We meet the Hacker family of Peoria, Illinois. Their debt to Citibank loses them their home. As if that weren’t enough indignation for one family, they wind up working for the bank by clearing out their own home. Citibank paid them a check for $1000 to do this.
There’s no way Moore could possibly run out of footage after two years of greedy bankers and politicians who worked together to make this the worst economic decline since WWII.
Moore interviews airline pilots who are so underpaid that they are eligible for food stamps. He also reveals the filthy insurance scheme called the “dead peasants” insurance clause. This repulsive item allows corporations to collect extensive payments in the event of an employee’s death.
Near the end of the film Moore winds up driving an armored car to the front doors of the insurance company AIG, along with a few big name banks, and requesting “the money back for the American people.” He also drapes the buildings of Citibank and JP Morgan with yellow tape that reads “Crime scene – do not cross.” Moore attempts to make a citizen’s arrest of the heads of these big companies, declaring that they stole $700 billion from the American taxpayers.
Moore points his fingers at all of the heads of the big banks and corporations, at politicians, and even at our ex-presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, but he fails to mention a real remedy to his resentment with capitalism. He scratches the surface of socialism without entirely endorsing it.
“Capitalism: A Love Story” reveals some sad truths about the economic system of our country. It is a little biased and not always fair, but it is a very moving and entertaining documentary. The logic is not exactly dead on but it is a very watchable film.
It definitely earns a spot in The Family Times “must-expose-oneself-to” list of disturbing documentaries. See below-
-Food Inc.
-Supersize Me
-The Cove
-Split Estate
-Gasland
-Hoop Dreams
