Michael Moore: Art & Politics

(I apologize for the late post on Michael Moore’s presentation and reading – good thing I took notes!)

It was a very eye-opening experience for me when I went to see Michael Moore present his views about life and politics and then do a reading from his new book, Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life. I didn’t realize how intertwined art and politics was for him, even from an early age.

Indeed, the first fifteen to twenty minutes of the presentation was basically him talking about the Occupy Movement and how he was at the one held in Oakland just before coming to do his presentation at Stanford. Initially, I was thinking, “what had I gotten myself into?” because I assumed from briefly scanning the flyer for this event that he was going to do a talk mostly on his art form and his documentaries. Instead, by opening with his thoughts and views on the American government, the Occupy Movement and a whole plethora of American political issues, I was able to see the source of motivation for his films and his art form, and how he utilized his talent in film as an instrument to get his audience to think about important issues, however political.

Michael Moore was very blunt and outspoken about anything political, and he came not just to do a presentation, but to also send a message to students like me. He believed strongly in the Occupy Movement and the idea that the public should find any means possible to show to those in authority and power that they are dissatisfied. His method was through art and film, and that is when his politics became woven with his art. I always believed that his art came first and then the politics associated with the subject of his art but I found that it was actually the reverse.

Then I began to really think about all the non-fiction novels we’ve read in this class, especially the memoirs. Michael Moore’s reading from his own memoir focused on a high school boy who saw the injustices of the highly selective and discriminatory Elks Club, who sought to reveal their faults through a publicized and public speech. This was the source of his later use of film to highlight various injustices in America and other parts of the world. Although many of the graphic novels we read were simply authors who had a story to share, I can’t help but wonder why there aren’t more non-fiction graphic novels out there who will take the time to illustrate the political injustices out there as well. Sacco did it in his own way, but as a journalist, he was more limited than Moore in using his art form; where Sacco presented his subject, Moore took a definite position. In fact, Moore actually believes that schooling hinders creativity by teaching consistency, complacency and conformity, which is very interesting.

Being a filmmaker, Moore also had a different take on his own art form. He spoke extensively on students “learning to march to a different tune” and “doing your own thing.” Moore emphasized the need for people like us to use art to tell the world something they don’t know. He states that through your chosen art form, “Get us mad about he problems in the world. Make us jump up and make people want to go do something.” On film itself, he insists that students “be subjective. Don’t separate your films from politics. It’s a great art form, non-fiction film. Don’t make a documentary. Make a movie. People love movies. Honor the art form. Put the art first and politics second.” The last line especially intrigued me because although his art is fantastic, from his reading and presentation, he seemed primarily focused on the politics first and the art second. I guess this statement, like most art, is open to interpretation.