Samstag, Januar 26, 2008

Michael Moore zur Oscar-Verleihung: Diesmal keine Buhrufe zu erwarten

Als vor einigen Jahren der amerikanische Autor Michael Moore bei dern Oskarverleihung eine Rede hielt, in der er sich sehr kritisch zu George W. Bush und dem Irakrieg äußerte, gab es Buhrufe aus dem Publikum, man ließ Moore sicherheitshalber gar nicht erst ausreden und führte ihn ab wie einen Schwerverbrecher. In Deutschland trieften daraufhin neokonservative und antideutsche Blogger vor Häme. In seinem neuen Newsletter berichtet Moore, wie sehr die ideologische Verblendung in den USA seitdem abgenommen hat und den Bürgern die Augen aufgegangen sind:

I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know (if you didn't already) the good news that "Sicko" has been nominated for this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary. It was a pleasant surprise when we got the news on Tuesday.

Of course, every reporter who's called me in the past few days wanted to know if I plan on giving an "anti-war" or "anti-Bush" speech, should "Sicko" win, as I did when we won the Oscar for "Bowling for Columbine" in 2003. (As you may recall, it was the 5th day of the war when those Oscars were held, and I said from the stage that, while I enjoy making nonfiction films, we live in fictitious times with a man of fiction in the White House. A ruckus ensued with a loud roar of cheers and boos, then someone cued the band to get me off the stage. As host Steve Martin said a few moments later, Teamsters were out back loading me into the trunk of a car.)

Well it's five years later and we are still at war. But there's no booing these days. 65% of the public is now opposed to the war and to Mr. Bush. The Academy, instead of cutting off the microphone, now nominates anti-war films for Best Documentary. That's right, three of the five nominees this year are Iraq War films!

I am very honored to be in this group of documentaries, three of which I brought last summer to our film festival in northern Michigan. "Taxi to the Dark Side" is a brutal examination of U.S. torture in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Operation Homecoming" has actors reading letters from soldiers in Iraq. "No End in Sight" has ex-Bush administration officials admitting how they messed up the occupation, lamenting how things would have been so much better if only Bush had put people in Baghdad who knew what they were doing (and wouldn't we all have loved to see THAT? Hahaha). And "War/Dance" tells the moving story of kids in a dance competition in war-torn Africa. A diverse group of films, and proof that nonfiction movies are stronger than ever.


Hier findet man den vollständigen Text.