Playlist: Capitalism: A Love Story

However you may feel about Michael Moore--personally or politically--it would be disingenuous not to acknowledge his cultural relevancy as a filmmaker. His documentaries tackle generation-defining subjects, subjects that are simply not being addressed directly or with any real substance in other media:

Roger & Me: Globalization and the Outsourcing of American jobs

Bowling for Columbine: Gun Culture and Violence

Fahrenheit 9/11: September 11 attacks and the War on Terror

Sicko: Health Care

Capitalism: A Love Story is again on point with an examination of the recent (and current) financial meltdown and the subsequent billion dollar bailouts for Wall Street (from BOTH Republican and Democrat-led Congresses).

In fact, I think Moore is doing himself a disservice by continuing to take such a prominent on-screen role in his films. He--and this really isn't a cheap shot about his girth--is getting in the way of his own message. By his own headline-producing actions, he has become a liberal lightning rod, for good and for bad, and in a sad irony, he has managed to alienate the very audience that would most likely benefit from what his movies have to say. At their core, his movies are about the glory of democracy and the power of the American people--beautiful, sentimental heartland values. The fact that they now come coated in a layer of propaganda is a true shame.

Quickly: There are some legitimate technical criticisms of Moore as a documentarian. Though powerful in several parts, Capitalism is his weakest film due to some questionable subject choices that came across as reaches in his attempt to prove his larger point.