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Manufacturing Dissent

One expects a documentary critical of Michael Moore to be a right-wing polemic, but narrator/co-director Debbie Melnyk starts Manufacturing Dissent by telling us that she admires Moore and his politics. Yet, although she gives plenty of time to Moore’s defenders, the film leaves the impression that there isn’t much to admire. According to Melnyk and co-director Rick Caine, Moore plays a role that isn’t really him, has profited considerably from the Republicans and corporations he publicly attacks, and distorts facts to a degree that crosses an ethical line for a documentary. He also avoids interviews with those he thinks are out to get him–a hypocritical behavior for the maker of Roger and Me. Manufacturing Dissent isn’t as entertaining as Moore’s documentaries, but its far more evenhanded and gives Moore’s fans (of which I’m one) something to think about.

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