Where in the World is Michael Moore?

The following is a review of the Michael Moore Where to Invade Next film. All views represented are that of the author, and do not necessarily represent that of Excalibur or its publishers. 
Out of the way, world. Michael Moore is coming in with all his boorish beauty. From the creator of Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 comes the newest controversial documentary, Where to Invade Next. The documentary centres around Moore telling politicians to sit down and let him do the future invading.
This film has little, if anything, to do with war, as I falsely assumed by the title. Instead, the premise sees Moore invade various foreign countries in order to steal their best ideas and bring them home with him to the United States. Moore travels the globe to visit countries including Slovenia, where undergraduate education is free, Norway, where criminals, violent and nonviolent alike, are treated ethically in something more like an overnight camp than our idea of a prison, and Italy, where employees indulge in four weeks of paid vacation and 36 holiday leaves. Moore interviews the people making these structures possible, while simultaneously criticizing his own country’s apparent inability to focus on anything other than money and military.
At this stage in his career, Moore seems to be almost a caricature of himself by sweating and smirking his way through interviews with CEO’s, police officers, and even presidents. But this film ultimately takes a position of optimism and vulnerability, as we see Moore is perhaps more concerned with cultural changes than politics. While touring through these different countries, we discover how social programs like free education or legalization of recreational drugs cultivate equality.
The film says that suffering is created through imbalances of power and inequality is the result of the reinforcement of these power imbalances. Through changing the power imbalance by the same people who reinforce it through public institutions, equality is entirely possible. Through humanity, empathy, and a bit of logic, happiness is possible once we start caring about each other and stop focusing on the dollar bills.
His style storytelling makes for a whirlwind presentation of desperation, humour, and hope. Perhaps fame or age has softened Moore up, as he’s no longer trying to add fuel to an ignored fire. He may be trying to keep up to his usual antics, but simultaneously starting a cultural revolution.

Taint Gudgeon, Contributor
Featured image courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival