Michael Moore in his latest documentary achieves what no economist or investigative journalist can achieve in a span of two hours. He gives us the whole story how the financial crisis which sent shock-waves throughout the world not only transpired but how the banks that were involved in it, got away with trillions of taxpayer dollars with the bailout package. Although, the meaning of the title doesn’t jump at the viewer even after the movie finishes, Capitalism, A love story?
The film talks of the sub-prime crisis and how the banks offered mortgages on houses that were already mortgage free and further tries to explain the evermore complexities of the ‘derivatives’ by asking three experts, all of whom cannot explain them. Moore enlightens the audience with something many of us are still unaware of but can be already a part of, ‘the dead peasant insurance’. It is a grim area where companies actually invest money into the employee’s death. What’s next? Killing them if they are not productive or just become a liability and still earn from it? A truly shocking thing. He further takes us on a ride to show us all the dark sides of our government where he depicts how the government was in bed with the Wall Street when the financial bailout package was rolled out.
But all is not bleak, a coverage of Rep. Marcy Kaptur shows her advising the people not to move when the bank forecloses on their house and to ask for a copy of the mortgage, which in many cases, the bank wont have. Also, we are shown the case of factory workers in Chicago who rebel against the owner and in the end are successful in getting their due.
All in all, the film manages to infuriate the audience with the truth and fills them with questions as to if this is the capitalist America we want. There is also an old undiscovered footage of Franklin D. Roosevelt where he calls for a Second Bills of Rights which would promise the Americans the right to housing, jobs, education and healthcare. Alas! Till date, no such amendment came into effect.
In the end, Moore in a heroic stance gets in a van and goes from bank to bank to ask for the money the government gave them from the bailout package. But he is plagued by his own fame. When unsuccessful in doing that, he steps out to make citizen’s arrests which do not pay as well.
As a chain is as strong as its weakest link, for me a documentary is as strong as its weakest point. I think that Michael Moore took the sting out of the whole impact of the documentary with the end part. I personally couldn’t have stood the stink-eye or the looks on people’s face that said ‘you’re a douche’ or ‘get a life’. But who am I to say? What separates me from the documentary makers is that unlike them, I don’t go in search of the hidden or naked truth to put it in front of the masses.