[Reader-list] Michael Moore's Populist Politics & the American Left

[Naeem Mohaiemen]

On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 11:12 PM, Madhumita Lahiri <ml49 at duke.edu> wrote:
> I seriously doubt if Michael Moore aims to win over the undecided American middle, as opposed to people who already agree with him for the most part. But perhaps that's just my perspective from the South, where he is seen as a crazy, anti-God, anti-American radical.

Madhumita/Isaac
Just to digress from $700B (that's a shitload of pocket change), to
analyze Michael Moore for a second ...

I don't doubt that people in the South think he's utterly bonkers, but
I also think that is an impression the American Right has worked on
thoroughly to establish. I remember when FAHRENHEIT 911 and going to
screenings in NY (which of course super welcoming) and then monitoring
right wing radio and finding them in an utter utter froth about MM.
And I think it's precisely because they feared his potential as
somebody who could appeal to middle america, or another population,
the one that exasperates Frank in "What's The Matter With Kansas"--
one that votes against their own economic interests (GOP that
bankrupts them) because of culture politics (Ok I may not have a job,
but GOP will keep me safe from gay, abortion having, gun-toting
terrorists).

I look at MM and I think he's in the middle of his own frenzied
version of image politics. I keep thinking that he deliberately
continues to cultivate this aw shucks, I'm just an average guy, look
at my clothes, and my haircut is still the same as in ROGER & ME, and
no I didn't get gucci glasses after the oscar, and I'm still a slob.

I think all this is deliberate because he's very aware that the
problem for the American Left is that they are easily stereotyped as
effete upper crust (Katrina Vanden Heuvel), tenured Radical (Noam
Chomsky), nutty spoiler (Ralph Nader), timewarped guru (Bob Avakian),
ice cream hippy (Ben Cohen/Ben & Jerry's), etc etc (I know I am
leaving out 100 flavors). Of course all these caricatures are unfair,
but they exist and are used.

I think MMbeing kind of corny is actually interesting because lot of
middle America resonates with that if you look at culture consumption
(I know I know, massive over simplification). He wants to get the
NASCAR crowd more than the latte crowd. It's the same reason Al
Franken flying-tackled a heckler at a convention, because he wanted to
prove he was the Vince McMahon/World Wrestling Federation of the left,
consciously fighting the pinky-uplifted stereotype.

I don't know is MM's experiment to be the Rush Limbaugh of the left)
is working, but I think it at least has a chance and is worth
studying.

Just look at what happened here on sarai. I FWDed Moore's piece
because I have a sense of who is on his list, and it is definitely
more middle america (or middle anything) than sarai, leftturn,
nettime, foil, etc etc mailing lists, and I found it interesting that
soccer moms/pitbulls may be reading this prose. But as soon as I faced
a little bit of dismissal of MM, I retreated and brought out the, as I
put it ironically but without the quotes) the heavy Hitters. I'll see
your Economist and counter with five economists.

The fact that I was just for a second defensive about having sent
Moore to Sarai, tells me that something interesting could be going on
here. He's over the top to us, and embarrassing to me, but he may be
appealing (or could appeal) to a whole other audience.  Maybe...?