CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY - Theatrical review

Well, folks, whether you love him or hate him, Michael Moore has made yet another documentary to stir the emotions of any politically, socially, or ethically minded person in the country. Granted, many people may think of Moore as a liberal supporter of the left wing, but let me assure you, no party is safe in his most-recent effort, "Capitalism: A Love Story." In fact, even the Democrats get called out on this expedition of moral prosecution. So, let me make it clear at the outset that Moore is careful not to examine simply a Republican or a Democratic side of the issue. No, the real culprit of this film is the greed of humanity itself.

The film starts with an entertaining approach to what made the Roman Empire fall, and you may find what is happening in the United States quite similar, if not a mirror image. From there, we see firsthand what it's like to observe people getting evicted from their homes through a foreclosure process that is done by force; and I can assure you it's not something you'll see on your local 24/7 news channels. No, you actually get to see the real, ugly truth of how your local sheriff's department comes out, breaks down your door, and throws you out on the street. Needless to say, you'll learn how this process takes place all due to a system that works for the rich and cares nothing for the real people who are the true hearts of the country.

Granted, I may come across as a bit biased about Michael Moore's new movie, being a victim of the economic conditions of 2009. I, too, lost my home, various properties, and my human dignity as I have struggled to find full-time work. Some of the people you will see in this film have lost just as much and have gone through the same conditions I have. Therefore, how can I not connect with this film or not have a biased opinion about its content? I do my best to keep a sense of humor about my own condition, though. I'm constantly doing a parity of George Costanza from "Seinfeld" and going up to girls and saying, "Hi, my name's Tim, I'm unemployed, and I live with my parents." It doesn't get me laid but it does keep a smile on my face.

Moore even takes a look at religion's view of capitalism. He interviews several preachers and bishops in the religious community who all admit capitalism can be a hideous evil. What? I thought the Christian community supported right-wing capitalism. Have we been lied to all this time into believing so? Moore even does a parody of an old film of Jesus. He dubs Christ's voice as Jesus tells his disciples to support bankers, and he denies healing a blind man because he has a preexisting condition. A funny moment to be sure, but is it all that far from reality in the United States?

Then he examines the word "capitalism," and we learn quickly that it does not exist in the United States Constitution. The word does not even exist in the Declaration of Independence, for that matter. Then again, I don't think most people realize the true meaning of freedom itself. "Freedom" has become a word that anyone is willing to alter for their benefit. And this is why many Americans have cooked up such words as "capitalism" and "democracy"; yet I'm willing to bet half of all Americans don't even know what those words mean. For example, the last Tea Party movement was in Washington, DC, in September, 2009. A woman there ranted how she wanted our Constitution protected and preserved, and then she ranted that Muslims were taking over our country. Does this woman not realize the Constitution protects our freedom of religious choice and our freedom from religious persecution, too?

We also get an examination of how Wall Street is run like a Las Vegas casino. Anyone who knows anything about gambling knows that the house always wins. With hardly anything for regulations, how can it not? The real shocker that will get your ire up is how your employer can take out a life insurance policy on you, and if you die, they collect. In the film, you will meet a man and his family that this exact thing happened to. His deceased wife worked for Walmart and the Walmart Corporation took out an insurance policy on the woman. When she died, Walmart collected over a million dollars in benefits from her death. Can anyone tell me how this is morally right and not completely sick? After seeing the segment, it just gave me more reason to protest Walmart. What's even more disturbing is I began to wonder if anyone I have ever worked for over the past two decades has taken out a life insurance policy on me?

Moore also takes us through a brief history lesson on how this whole economic mess started, beginning with the Reagan era. He shows us how Reagan began deregulation of the banks (further deregulated by Clinton, but Moore fails to mention that) and how Reagan basically crippled America's unions. In doing so, the profits of corporate executives skyrocketed, while the wages of the common employee stagnated. This has always been an issue that has gotten my ire up the last few decades. I mean, didn't our government come up with the forty-hour work week, but then they do nothing to protect those rights for the American worker? Granted, that's why corporations came up with the "salary wage" so they could keep you at bay 24/7. Basically, the executive steals three-quarters of the company's profits while they make sure the little employee works an eighty-hour week with no hope of having recreational time with friends or family. Then, again, this has always been an area that makes me more than angry! I'd truly like to know, being someone who has just as much of a college education as most executives, what justifies an executive CEO taking home over half of the company's profits when almost all other employees put in as many hours? Please, I challenge anyone to give me an answer that makes "fair sense." Then again, with so many Americans working longer hours than expected, is it a wonder our divorce rate is over 50%. Well, a topic for another time, I imagine.

The Good:
Overall, Michael Moore does manage to drive his point home. Even though it comes across as entertaining propaganda at times, you can't help admit it is full of truth and challenges the audience to wake up. Sure, you could accuse him of being as one-sided as any of your twenty-four hour news media is, but you can't deny that the facts are as plain as day. The film itself opens with a guy warning anyone with a faint heart or a condition to make them severely angry to best leave the theater. To me, that's enough warning to stay for the whole thing. It is a very good effort on Moore's part, but one in which I would liked to have seen him expose more details.

The Bad:
What bothered me most is that Moore focuses so much attention on how the corporate breakdown in Wall Street crippled the real-estate industry. Thus, it trickled down to the average American and brought our economy to its worst recession since the 1930's; and notice how everyone is afraid to use the word "depression" to describe our current condition. I would liked to have seen Moore get into other details that have also been corporate crimes in this country. For example, he barely touches on the debacle of student loans, nor does he attack the credit-card industry with much conviction. For that matter, what about all the consumer fraud that happens on a daily basis that he doesn't even address, yet those entities are as much to blame for our current conditions. Since being unemployed, do you realize how much fraudulent e-mail I get on a daily basis trying to con me into working from my home and making thousands of dollars each month? It's stuff like this that Moore never covers in his movie.

Not to mention, why didn't he address the credit-rating system that is designed to benefit only the wealthy? And what do I mean by that? The credit-rating number system is a fraud to all Americans. And why, you ask? Well, use common sense. For example, I was a good credit risk for over two decades. I paid my bills on time, paid income taxes, paid property taxes, and contributed to the system like a good American should. What happened? All the big corporate executives crippled us overnight and then I lost my job and lost everything I worked for. Now, I'm the bad guy because I can't pay my bills; therefore, my credit score goes down the drain. Therefore, if I try to get anything with credit, I'm denied or hit with extremely high interest rates; yet all those years I was the good guy don't count for anything! Big bankers get their bailout, but guys like me not only get no bailout, we also get a bad credit score on behalf of big corporations. When are people going to realize the credit-rating system is a crime on the average American? Better yet, why didn't Moore expose this issue in his movie? In fact, this is the one area--since he hardly covered it--that makes me knock off some major points for the film.

The Ugly:
To be sure, the ugly will be all the lame right-wing nonsense you will hear trashing Michael Moore's latest effort. Let me assure you once again: This film is not about a right or left-wing point of view but one of wealth and power gone over the edge. In fact, everyone gets blamed, all the way from government to big corporations. Nevertheless, I'm sure the Glenn Becks of America will view this film as a Communist takeover of the American people. To those folks, I say this movie speaks for itself, and perhaps its critics need to purchase a brain for a good price when brains go on special at Walmart.

Closing:
No matter how you view "Capitalism: A Love Story," it is a movie that will leave you thinking. Are you one to believe in the foundation of selfish greed or one to believe in supporting the moral ground of all people: neighbors, friends, and family? Either way, life is what you make it, and whether you are judged in this life or the afterlife, you are still judged. Therefore, are you willing to take the risk of having more toys in the end just for personal satisfaction, or do you truly care for the American values of a common wealth for all? Keep in mind, the common wealth and pursuit of happiness are meant for all Americans according to the Constitution our forefathers put in place. Remember, this is not a country of "I the person" or "Us the corporation"; it is a country of "We the people." Therefore, whether you agree or disagree with your neighbor, your neighbor has just as much right to the freedoms, justice, and pursuit of happiness meant for everyone.

Perhaps this is a time to put away our self-righteous beliefs in a system we've all been brainwashed into. Maybe we should turn off the ideas of the idiot box (television) for a while and get back to some good old-fashioned morals. Read some good literature, do some thoughtful research of our own, and use our own brains to develop reason and thought. In fact, maybe we should quit dividing ourselves over right or left propaganda and begin to realize there is a bigger world beyond those ideas. Think of this: Are we truly human beings? Meaning, would we not help our best friend or family members in a time of need, even if our political views were different? However a person answers those questions, Moore's film is one that brings those values into question, even if it may make us angry for the sake of entertainment.