Talk:Manufacturing Dissent

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This is not a forum for general discussion of Michael Moore. Any such messages will be deleted. Please limit discussion to improvement of the article.

[edit] Manufacturing criticism

The first citation reads: "Moore actually did speak with then-General Motors chairman Roger Smith, the evasive subject of his 1989 debut 'Roger & Me,' but chose to withhold that footage from the final cut." (Christy Lemire, Film Questions Michael Moore's Tactics, AP News, March 2007)

This is strange criticism indeed. Roger Smith flatly refused to meet with Moore. He declined all requests for an interview. Not a single person seriously disputes this. Moore decided to pursue his chosen subject, in a style now familiar, to various venues. I submit that what Manufacturing Dissent co-director Debbie Melnyk describes as an 'interview' is in fact an ambush. The same source states that, "Moore also reportedly interviewed Smith on camera in January 1988 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York." Yes. But is this not the very same scene that is actually shown in Roger & Me?

Moore: Mr. Smith, we came from Flint, where we filmed a family being evicted from their home the day before Christmas Eve. A family that worked in your factory. Would you be willing to come with us to see the situation in Flint?

Smith: I've been to Flint, and I'm sorry for them, but I don't know anything about it.

Moore: Families being evicted on Christmas Eve...

Smith: General Motors didn't evict them. Talk to the landlord...

Moore: They used to work for GM. Now they don't work there anymore.

Smith: I'm sorry, but...

Moore: Could you come to Flint?

Smith: No, I cannot. I'm sorry.

So Michael Moore quite obviously talked with Roger Smith, but one only needed to watch his film to find that out. In addition, the premise of Roger & Me is much broader than what these filmmakers contend. Moore not only attempted to secure a sit down interview with Smith, he hoped they both could visit Flint to discuss the economic damage GM corporate policy was having. smb1971 03:56, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

The above talk post contains information that is perfectly valid and relevant to the main article (please do not remove it again). Specifically this paragraph:

"One of the most revealing revelations the filmmakers discovered about Moore was that while Moore depicted an evasive Roger Smith, then-Chairman of General Motors, in his breakout documentary Roger and Me, Moore did actually meet with Smith twice, but chose to omit the footage from the film. The filmmakers assume that this footage might have negated Moore's central premise of the film that corporate CEOs exploit lower class workers and refuse to answer questions or acknowledge any wrongdoing."

As things stand, readers might form a false impression that Roger Smith agreed to meet up with, and be personally interviewed by, Michael Moore; and was also willing to answer all of the questions he had. One ambush 'interview' was included in Roger & Me, as I pointed out, so this aspect of the page needs revising.

The main page also states that, "...the [Manufacturing Dissent] documentary makers were never able to land their interview with Moore". Elsewhere, however, Debbie Melnyk reveals that she spoke with Moore on a number of occasions:

Tucker Carlson: Did he speak to you?

Debbie Melnyk: Well, we talked to him at various events. I went up to him at a Paul Wellstone Memorial Award in Flint and at one of the premieres of "Fahrenheit 911," where I told him I wanted to speak to him. And he did talk to me at the Flint Memorial Award, but he still didn't do a sit-down interview, which is what we wanted. [1]

Would it be remiss of me to point out that Moore wanted the same thing of Roger Smith -- a sit-down interview, one-on-one? Anything less is straw man territory. smb1971 17:33, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

The Roger Smith confrontation clearly occurred before Michael Moore decided to make Roger & Me. He used guerrilla tactics to ambush his subject at a General Motors shareholders conference. Moore was not a shareholder and should not have been present in the hall. In addition, Moore did not even record the incident. It was actually captured on film by another GM worker. A Christian conservative auto worker by the name of Michael Westfall appeared in, and served as a consultant for, Manufacturing Dissent. [2] This individual has been badmouthing Moore for years (on his personal homepage, on FreeRepublic.com, [www.freerepublic.com/~conservativeautowork/in-forum] [www.freerepublic.com/~carolgr/in-forum] and elsewhere). "Michael Moore was my guest at GM stockholders meetings before his Roger movie", recently he wrote. [3] So was it deceitful of Moore not to include something that happened before he commenced filming? At the very least, the order of events need to be made clear. smb 21:32, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alfred Smith memorial dinner

The allegation in Manufacturing Dissent that Michael Moore took George Bush's words out of context does not appear to be accurate. If Moore was attempting to play the scene straight, then why did he not delete or remove the laughter that followed Bush's remarks? Having watched the clip several times, it seems to me that Moore's actual point, simply made, is that many a true word is spoken in jest. smb 00:17, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/10/18/politics/main242210.shtml Al Smith Dinner

Everyone's supposed to joke and make fun of themselves.

"Gore chose to allude to his debate style and the silliness of some political catch phrases, including one of his favorites: putting Social Security "in a lockbox."

"I'll put Medicaid in a walk-in closet," joked the vice president. "I will always keep lettuce in the crisper." " —Preceding unsigned comment added by Souj12323 (talk • contribs) 21:20, 30 January 2008 (UTC)