Bombing Capitalism

Bombing Capitalism

By Esther Iverem

SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

Seeing Black

October 2, 2009

 

http://www.seeingblack.com/article_701.shtml

 

On a throwback vibe, you could say that "Capitalism: A Love Story" is the bomb.

 

By exploring the economic system of capitalism as an

evil, Moore sends a salvo into the heart of America's

economic machine. Along the way, he explodes some

serious myths: Myth #1: that the economic system of

capitalism is the same as or tied to the political

system of democracy. Myth #2: That TO be an American is to

be a capitalist and that to be anti-capitalist is to be

anti-American. Myth #3: That poor, people of color with

bad credit, who bought houses that they couldn't

afford, caused the financial meltdown in the United

States. Myth #4: That mainly Blacks and Hispanics are

losing their homes to foreclosure.

 

He also drops other bombshells, such as the internal

Citigroup memo declaring that the United States is no

longer a democracy but is, rather, a plutocracy, where

the richest 1 percent of the country is in charge of

the rest of us peasants, and where the system of

government have been warped in the past 30 years to

serve the rich. Then there is the relatively unknown

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur from Ohio-not one of the

usual suspects on talking head news shows-calling the

bailout of Wall Street a financial coup d'etat and

telling Americans who have lost their homes to become a

"squatter" in their homes and not leave. There is the

laundry list of Washington insiders who received sweet

V.I.P. mortgages from Countrywide, which was a leader

in dispensing high-interest "sub prime" loans to

homeowners. The explosions go on and on.

 

Moore's documentaries, exposing the smelly underbelly

of American society, have always included poignancy,

comedy and a smart-assed attitude. In "Capitalism: A

Love Story," he outdoes all his previous efforts in a

magnum opus that ties together all that he has covered

in the past, beginning with "Roger and Me," a funky

exploration of General Motors, released 20 year ago,

followed by documentaries on America's gun culture,

post-9/11 realities and the warped health care system.

This exploration of ideology provides a convenient

framework for Moore to organize his attitudes toward

the world and life. So we see those Chicago workers

from Republic Windows and Doors staging the factory

takeover that gained international news. We see again

the shameful aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We see,

most poignantly, the frustration of a nation that

helped to elect a Black man who promised change.

 

Moore is bold and minces no words in this project. He

goes for broke, betting that he can bring the American

public-or at least a sizable gang-to join him, or to at

least stop drinking the fantasy Kool-Aid that we, too,

might make it into realm of the magical 1 percent. His

success in that effort will not change the fact that he

has produced his documentary masterpiece.

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