A mere eleven days before the 2016 General Election, the latest work of documentary filmmaker Michael Moore opened at Tulsa’s Circle Cinema. In TrumpLand, Mr. Moore focuses little on the GOP candidate himself and mostly on the the voters who support him and why. He also thoroughly discusses the history of Hillary Rodham Clinton and his history as an author with her. Call me a bonafide liberal, but I processed this film as I would a family group dynamic session. I commend Mr. Moore with attempting to connect with all Americans by seeking to underscore our commonalities and why so many conservative and former middle class citizens are filled with so much righteous anger at the Washington status quo. At the end of the day we all still have to live with each other and, more importantly, we must all live with the consequences of who wins this election. I do appreciate more than anything Mr. Moore’s admonition that using the ballot as an anger management tool is not a good idea.
You have to give it up to Michael Moore for traveling to the heart of the rust belt, Wilmington, Ohio, birthplace of the banana split and a hotbed of support for the Trump/Pence ticket. As I alluded to above, this film was akin to a group dynamic session. Moore basically gives a seventy or so minute stand up format explanation on who we all are and how we came to be in 2016. Other than opening the show by segregating the audience, making the Mexicans sit in the balcony (with a wall around them) and the Muslims sit next to them (with a surveillance drone buzzing around above them), there wasn’t much showmanship. As it turns out, I discovered I had more in common with Mr. Moore than I originally thought. I also did not vote for Bill Clinton in 1992 or in 1996. Nor did I vote for Al Gore in 2000. I also supported Bernie Sanders in the Primary. I am also not voting for Hillary Clinton because of how I feel about her on a personal level. I am voting for her because she is far and away the better candidate for the job. After all, we are not voting for her to be our dinner companion.
Call this film an October Surprise if you so wish but make no mistake, this is a sermon intended to educate and prompt personal reflection on the past twenty-five years. I realize that for the most part it will not change anyone’s mind. This film and works like it are intended to appeal to the relatively small segment of undecided voters. Will it change enough minds to matter? We can all only hope. Because this is a work which is intended to sway minds before a deadline, I have not rated it. It is my recommendation that all voters with an hour and fifteen minutes to spare watch this movie before making that trip to your polling precinct. While doing so please be mindful that we all have to live with the consequences of this election.