Does Michael Moore hate America?
I. In reguard to my question from last week, I did find out a little bit of information. I didn't figure out the actual answer, but Mike Wilson's "behind the scenes" information was useful. There was an interview with the people from the bank (where Michael Moore got his gun) that revealed some unknown facts. The only things we saw were Michael Moore going into the bank, opening an account, and getting a gun. However he had already spoken to the lady at the bank prior to the filming, and his gun had been shipped from another location. Where i'm going with this is that the people shown in the documentary are at least somewhat aware of what Michael Moore does with his films.
II. This week we began watching another documentary, this time by Mike Wilson. It uses many of the same fallacies to present the opposite viewpoint of Michael Moore's. Mike Wilson believes that Michael Moore hates America, and he does everything in his power to prove that to the viewers.
I think the most effective persuading technique that Mike Wilson uses is the interview with the guy who "diagnoses" Michael Moore with an actual mental condition. I don't remember what exactly that guy's profession was, but I remember him being a qualified authority.
Mike Wilson, much like Michael Moore, uses fallacies to trick the audience. He uses rhetorical questioning, appeal to pity, appeal to the people, cartoons with loaded language, unqualified opinion, red herring, and the use of qualified authorities.
So far i'm not particularly enjoying Mike Wilson's documentary. I liked Michael Moore's a lot better. I wonder if that might have been the other way around if I had seen them in reverse order though. I thought "Bowling for Columbine" was a lot more entertaining and interesting. "Michael Moore Hates America" is more factual and straight forward. Mike Wilson does what he has to do to make his point, and that's it. There isn't any "wow factor" to hold the audience's attention.
III. One thing I would like to know more about from this week's class is: Have Michael Moore and Mike Wilson ever had an actual sit-down interview together? It was shown in the documentary that Wilson went to a college where Moore was speaking and asked for an interview, but he was refused. So I want to know if the two men with contrasting viewpoints have ever had a civil conversation about their documentaries or their differing opinions.
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