[Chewbacca]

I feel yeah Grojlach. I promise not to use the words conjecture or strawman in this thread again! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

It is amazing that my opinion of BFC and Michael Moore remains the more or less the same after this thread and all the other threads on this topic. I realize it is odd that I have never quite clarified my clear and exact opinion in any of these threads, but I think my opinion of the guy and of the film has become largely irrelevant. I have grown amused by the accusations that I play the role of Moore's defender becasue I am sympathetic to his politics when I dont really know Moore's politics. I know we share the same desire to have a new President come November, but beyond that I am pretty much clueless of Moore's stance on various issues that are important to me.

True I think BFC explores a provactive and important question and true there are some parts of the film I enjoy more than others.

My central issue all along has been the attacks on the film and on Moore which are presented as undeniable irrefutable logical and rational fact, when indeed I have found most of the critisms posed this way to be speculative opinion. ( I promised not to use conjecture any more!)

Another contention I have is the attacks on BFC take away from the question invoked in the film and the attakers never seem willing to even mention this premise, much less explore it. I wonder if they are afraid of the answers a thoughtful exploration of the issue may uncover. Indeed they attack the questioner, but I think the questioner is irrelevant as the question posed stands on its own merits.

Another contention of mine, which I have already mentioned, is making statements of opinion and passing them off as concrete fact. When this point is made an inevitable response is the opinion (usually in the guise of fact of course) "Well Moore does it too". Well "so what" is my response. I'm not critisizing Moore, but Moore's critics.


I realize, after one circular argument after another that can all be boiled down to "is fact" VS "no, is not fact, is opinion", that the same uusual suspects are going to fill their roles on both sides, and if they are convinced that the opinions are indeed fact, why should I waste any more time trying to persuade anyone otherwise.

Contrary to at least one person's opinion I think I have clearly offered perspectives on many of the disputed portions of the film that show there is indeed more than one way to veiw the facts and that indeed whether or not Moore is a liar and BFC is full of deception is all in the eye of the beholder.

All in All- I have lost nothing and gained nothing. As allegedly damning and convinving all the critisms of BFC and Moore are supposed to be, and after numerous repeatings of them, I am still thoroughly unconvinced on many points of critism and my veiws of the film are largely unchanged after the fact.

I take a grain of salt whenever someone, whether it be Moore or his critics, trys to spoonfeed an opinion and expect me to absorb and repeat it as rede and rule with out question. This skepticism has served me well both while watching Moore's films and while reading the critiques of them.

Skepticism- I salute you!


Regards,

[ 07-09-2004, 03:16 AM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]