This Is It

I came out of the theater dancing. I came out wanting to celebrate life. I came out inspired. And it's only been four months.
Directed by Kenny Ortega, 'This Is It' takes an unabashed look at the last few months of Michael Jackson's turbulent life. Thankfully for us, and Michael, those last moments were spent doing what he loved to do. Entertain. The sets are vast, the creativity of his team unbridled, the magic of the man still sizzling on stage. Ortega takes us on a journey showcasing not only MJ's passion for his craft, but also his vision of what was to be his final 'curtain call'. What emerges is a man not willing to settle for the ordinary, to compromise on the mediocre. You see Michael quietly take command of this gigantic ship with an authority and calm that would put the best MBAs to shame. He is an uncompromising task-master. Asking softly for reruns 'one more time'.
Even as his perfectionist self demands the best from those around him, he is quick to remind them of why they do what they do. 'All for the love - l-o-v-e. God bless you all.' His sharp cool mind keeps tabs on everything happening around him, even as he loses himself to his art.
I often found myself wanting to reach the person behind the glasses. To understand the driver behind his life, the demons and pain he would undoubtedly carry around. And yet i couldnt hold on to that thought for more than a few moments. For the truth is Michael was real only when he was on stage. And never has that come across more clearly than it did with 'This Is It'. He comes alive in a way few people do. At 50, he seems just begining to take off. With a voice as moving as it was 30 years ago(watch him croon to 'Human Nature'), a verve that runs through his body when he dances, he simply awes the people around him, no strangers to performers themselves. An undeniable presence, that believes with every breath he takes that this is what he was meant to do. And what he was doing was important. Because he was doing it for us. Nobody else. The fans. He would not compromise. He would not be lenient, even with himself and his failing health. For that one last spectacular show. To 'show us a time we had not seen before'.
An inspiration. A man as men were meant to be. Alive.

Capitalism

I'm not entirely sure what an appropriate approach for this review is. And i think that is symptomatic of another Michael Moore production. Once you leave the theater, you're never quite sure what it is that you've witnessed, what the necessary import should be. You're only aware of having been swept away in a wave of reactionary emotion.
'Propaganda is a very strong weapon. I'm always amazed by what propaganda can do', opines an elderly statesman clearly in awe of the State's propaganda machine. Ironically, Moore doesnt seem too reticent in crunching the machine himself. He weaves in and out of political and economic terminologies without as much as a pause, never once clarifying what he means by them. Words like Capitalism, Socialism, Democracy, Corporatism are thrown around in good measure, without a clear ideological thread that binds them or a vision that differentiates between them. Moore uses dramatic footage to prove the evils of Capitalism, but one is never quite sure what he means. He presents unethical company practices and uses them to discredit the 'profit motive' principle. What one has to do with the other, Moore doesnt delve into. He uses priests and bishops to pontificate over how Jesus would not deal in derivatives. He provides endless examples of how the govt-corporate nexus is eating through the core of american value and economic system, and yet ends up promoting further govt intervention.
To Moore's credit, he has a compelling collection of heart-wrenching and anger-inducing portions that eventually work towards getting a rise out of the viewer. But it's painfully obvious that his latest work of fiction is not thought provoking, but simply provoking. He ends the unrelated string of sob stories by insisting on a people's revolution. Whether he prefers a systemic change from within, or simply an off-with-the-head French revolution template, one does not know. What is clear however, is that there is a paradigm shift taking place in this country, where a citizen can create a raw unapologetic piece of propaganda promulgating socialism and receive rave reviews and a thunderous reception from the every day american. This is a far cry from the America of McCarthy, another extremist who attacked american principles from the other side. These are dangerous times, dangerous times indeed. I wonder if historians, decades from now, will consider Moore's Capitalism the first shot across the bow.
'Democracy instead of Capitalism', he exclaims in the end. Moore does not know what he means. Neither did the people in the theater cheering him. And i am sufficiently concerned.

PS: As an aside, one would like to thank Moore for revealing a new hero. Marcy Kaptur kicks ass.