Movie Nite on Maui
Had a wonderful gathering of cool people at the house tonight for Saturday Night Movie Nite. Delicious, yummy pot-luck dinners and great white and red wines brought by friends and neighbors. It was an unholy eclectic mix of strong conservative and liberal political thinking (It is a gated community in Wailea, after all!! haha) Interesting evening; as the movie was Michael Moore's, Capitalism: a Love Story Oddly enough, absolutely everyone- Republicans and Democrats in the room loved it! Those who were familiar with Moore's previous works, thought it was his best movie ever. Those who hadn't seen it and were just there for the food and booze and hate Michael Moore for all the reasons people hate Michael Moore were very surprised and impressed; and as we were hanging around afterwards, the immediate reaction was that it really was thought-provoking, well-crafted, intense, funny and very, very entertaining film-making.
The sad part was, that we all agreed- the overwhelming consensus was that the people who should see this film never will. Those who could relate to it and benefit most from it- those who have the most to gain from it will not ever allow themselves that option.
So we all hung around a bit, ate, drank laughed and went home, satisfied that we experienced something most people in America never will. We felt good- Not cocky- just content and satisfied that it was a good time and a brillianty thought-provoking masterpiece of a documentary. All in all it was one of the best movie nights we've ever had. Didn't expect it, either. Thought it was going to be a downer propaganda piece attempt at mind control and lefty koom-bay-ya- but it turned out to be a film that will be a classic soon and will be shown in schools and universities all over America: to inspire dialogue and intelligent debate for years to come. Anyway, that's my movie and i'm stickin to it.
Have a great weekend, all!
The sad part was, that we all agreed- the overwhelming consensus was that the people who should see this film never will. Those who could relate to it and benefit most from it- those who have the most to gain from it will not ever allow themselves that option.
So we all hung around a bit, ate, drank laughed and went home, satisfied that we experienced something most people in America never will. We felt good- Not cocky- just content and satisfied that it was a good time and a brillianty thought-provoking masterpiece of a documentary. All in all it was one of the best movie nights we've ever had. Didn't expect it, either. Thought it was going to be a downer propaganda piece attempt at mind control and lefty koom-bay-ya- but it turned out to be a film that will be a classic soon and will be shown in schools and universities all over America: to inspire dialogue and intelligent debate for years to come. Anyway, that's my movie and i'm stickin to it.
Have a great weekend, all!
Comments
Really interesting film, and I didn't expect the spiritual direction he took. At a time when people are telling us to run from churches that preach on social justice it was refreshing to see a Christian take back his faith.
Posted by: Danielle | April 11, 2010 1:06 PM
Sounds like a great night !!!! I am not surprised.. he did a great job...and the "facts" are the "facts"...I love that your friends that might have been waiting for Michael Moore propaganda and "fiction" got where he was coming from.. I was happy that it is straight forward film....gotta watch it again...
Posted by: Peter | April 12, 2010 5:41 AM
Charles,
The very thing you benefited from that allowed you to enjoy the fruits of your labor, and allowed you to provide your family with financial peace and security for the rest of their lives was capitalism. Without capitalism, where would you or the people in the United States be today? Why would you now, deny to others and future generation the same opportunity and success that capitalism allowed you to achieve? Who gives anyone the right to deny this opportunity? I would argue third world countries that practice socialism, punish success and sacrifice and disincentive hard work ethic.
There is no perfect system but it’s the best system in the world. Capitalism allows people through hard work and dedication to obtain any level of success that they desire to achieve.
And by the way, it was capitalism that Michael Moore benefited from so he could make these movies. If he cared so much about the cause, he should have donated all proceeds to their liberal interests
Posted by: Robbie | April 12, 2010 5:28 PM
Robert: You did not see the film. You have no clue what the theme of the movie was. If you had taken the time to see it, you would have seen that he was not knocking capitalism, per se. He points out very clearly that capitalism (like any other form of government) needs to be controlled, because it has gotten out of control and is now the enemy of you (yes, YOU) and all of us who believe in capitalism and how it could benefit our country and our standard of living- unless it is allowed to run rampant. But, of course, like any knee-jerk Repub, you knock the film, sight unseen, because that's just what you guys do. I forgive you for criticizing something which you have not even seen- but I really think it is a pretty dumb way to think and act. Maybe someday you'll take the time to find out what is really going on in America-- hopefully before it's too late for you and the rest of us who love what this country stood for. If you think OBAMA is taking us down, wait'll you see what unbridled capitalism is going to be like! But then again, you are very connected to the banking industry... and we won't go into that, because i love Suzanne's cooking and don't want to bite the proverbial hand!
Posted by: Charles Laquidara | April 12, 2010 6:22 PM
In this case it would be the actual hand that feeds you not the proverbial. (Grammar payback is a bitch)
Posted by: Bob | April 13, 2010 8:13 AM
If you guys liked this one you should REALLY have them watch Zeitgeist: Addendum. A customer of mine at the bar is one of the CEO's of Liberty Mutual. He showed it to some of his biggest Repub friends and they all said it was one of the most thought-provoking movies they had ever seen!
Posted by: Ari-Jon Laquidara | April 15, 2010 9:02 AM
Un-regulated Captialism will result in the elimination of the middle-class. Capitalism is a much better ideology than say, communism, but in un-regulated capitalism, the biggest guy buys up every one else until there is no competition. Then what? Better hope that guy is the most benevolent son of a bitch on the planet!
Posted by: Chuck Smith | April 17, 2010 6:45 PM