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Realignment is a pretty tall order, but moving people's positions on current events seems more doable. Not documentary, but the reporting out of Vietnam in the late 60s went a long way to turn the public against the war (the famous claim of LBJ that once Walter Cronkite turned against the war, the rest of middle America would follow). Did An Inconvenient Truth push more people towards accepting global warming?
I'm not castigating him for making a documentary (this or any other). It certainly can't hurt anything and he is on the left side of liberalism. (Plus he's certainly earned his seat by being perceptive of the election results well in advance.) I just don't see his work as doing more than preaching to the choir. That may be partly his style but far more about the political culture that exists, which is quite insular.
The original premise of this thread was making fun of him for the failure of his documentaries to convert conservatives into liberals. I found that to be a weird thing to fixate on Michael Moore, particularly, for.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:24pmI'm not castigating him for making a documentary (this or any other). It certainly can't hurt anything and he is on the left side of liberalism. (Plus he's certainly earned his seat by being perceptive of the election results well in advance.) I just don't see his work as doing more than preaching to the choir. That may be partly his style but far more about the political culture that exists, which is quite insular.
I certainly didn't mean to suggest that it was something specific to Moore. I've been pretty consistent the last few years in moping about self-imposed intellectual and political isolation.Flex wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:28pmThe original premise of this thread was making fun of him for the failure of his documentaries to convert conservatives into liberals. I found that to be a weird thing to fixate on Michael Moore, particularly, for.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:24pmI'm not castigating him for making a documentary (this or any other). It certainly can't hurt anything and he is on the left side of liberalism. (Plus he's certainly earned his seat by being perceptive of the election results well in advance.) I just don't see his work as doing more than preaching to the choir. That may be partly his style but far more about the political culture that exists, which is quite insular.
I think you've discussed this book on here before, but this topic broadly reminds me of a recent interview discussing Amusing Ourselves to Death: https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/ ... sion-mediaDr. Medulla wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:41pmI certainly didn't mean to suggest that it was something specific to Moore. I've been pretty consistent the last few years in moping about self-imposed intellectual and political isolation.
Thanks for passing this along! I read Postman back in the 90s when I was at the apex of my cultural populism and hated it. I'm sure I'd be a lot more receptive to his critique now (I read Boorstin during my diss research and thought it was snobbish, but not out of sync with mass cultural criticism). I might have to re-read Postman (and Debord for that matter). It's hard not to think that the mass cultural pessimists have earned a reconsideration in the past several months. My diss supervisor said that I was sounding like Adorno in the weeks after the US election, and while I'm not that far gone, I am more sympathetic to the pessimists. Strate's comment about a lack of time for reflection fits with Joseph Heath's chief point in Enlightenment 2.0—thinking is hard work that demands time. We may get information faster, but our ability to properly interpret it has not gotten faster and we do a disservice to rationalism by demanding instant and confident positions.Flex wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:43pmI think you've discussed this book on here before, but this topic broadly reminds me of a recent interview discussing Amusing Ourselves to Death: https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/ ... sion-mediaDr. Medulla wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:41pmI certainly didn't mean to suggest that it was something specific to Moore. I've been pretty consistent the last few years in moping about self-imposed intellectual and political isolation.
I was more trying to point out that preaching to the converted really doesn't help or change anything. I think, in fact , that it only more deeply entrenches people's stubborn beliefs, right or left wing. We can either try and change people's minds or start killing each other, either way Michael Moore isn't helping.Flex wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:28pmThe original premise of this thread was making fun of him for the failure of his documentaries to convert conservatives into liberals. I found that to be a weird thing to fixate on Michael Moore, particularly, for.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 2:24pmI'm not castigating him for making a documentary (this or any other). It certainly can't hurt anything and he is on the left side of liberalism. (Plus he's certainly earned his seat by being perceptive of the election results well in advance.) I just don't see his work as doing more than preaching to the choir. That may be partly his style but far more about the political culture that exists, which is quite insular.
Activating people who agree with your basic positions can have tangible positive benefits. Inspiring voter turnout to defeat republicans, activating the base to support single payer healthcare, whatever. There's a larger structural problem with how discourse does and doesn't work in the information age, but there seems to be an obvious, tangible benefit to the kind of thing Moore does (or, at least, what he attempts to do. The movie could still just suck).BostonBeaneater wrote: ↑17 May 2017, 5:13pmI was more trying to point out that preaching to the converted really doesn't help or change anything. I think, in fact , that it only more deeply entrenches people's stubborn beliefs, right or left wing. We can either try and change people's minds or start killing each other, either way Michael Moore isn't helping.