Why You Won't Find Michael Moore's New Movie in Theaters
Michael Moore, ever the subversive character, released his new movie, Slacker Uprising, today. But it's not in theaters. It's only available online (including at Amazon Video On Demand). Oh, and it's free (not unlike the ramen and clean underwear Moore famously gave out to said slackers to motivate them to hit the polls). The movie follows Moore on a tour of swing states in 2004, and as I watched it I kept thinking of Titanic. Not because Kate Winslet plays Moore's love interest (wouldn't that be interesting), but because we know how this "Get John Kerry elected!" story ends (I guess that makes Karl Rove the metaphorical iceberg). Anyway, here's Moore's official quote on the whys and wherefores of this film: "This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans. The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November. I think 'Slacker Uprising' will inspire millions to get off the couch and give voting a chance." -- Stephanie Reid-Simons, Amazon Video On Demand
tim maguire on September 24, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I've appealed to the slacker vote in lesser elections, but no matter how enthused they are about voting for you, they're still not going to show up on election day.
john b on September 24, 2008 at 12:37 PM
The real reason it won't be in theaters; If they give it away they don't have to justify the lack of revenue. At no charge it's still over priced.
Richard Blaine on September 24, 2008 at 12:55 PM
The only way that this project could have been commercially viable was with a Kerry win in 2004. Then Moore would be claiming full credit because of "Fahrenheit 911" and this "Slacker Uprising !!!
DensityDuck on September 24, 2008 at 01:19 PM
I was gonna vote for Bill Clinton in 1994. But voting isn't cool, so I stayed home and got trashed on Listerine.
JorgXMcKie on September 24, 2008 at 01:37 PM
I won't download it because just that effort, let alone watching any of that (undoubtedly) pathetic drivel would be way more cost than any possible worth I could receive. I already know all I want or need to about Moore, his politics, his methods, and his ego.
bustoff on September 24, 2008 at 02:22 PM
Wake up, lardass! There's a REASON they are called "slackers". It's not on account of their civic pride, and it's not because they get the vote out on election day. Instead of coming out with another who-gives-a-shit movie, try offering "slackers" free booze and pot brownies at the polling places. On the other hand, they will probably get stoned and try to cast their vote in a gas station bathroom instead.
bustoff on September 24, 2008 at 02:24 PM
Wake up, lardass! There's a REASON they are called "slackers". It's not on account of their civic pride, and it's not because they get the vote out on election day. Instead of coming out with another who-gives-a-shit movie, try offering "slackers" free booze and pot brownies at the polling places. On the other hand, they will probably get stoned and try to cast their vote in a gas station bathroom instead.
Rabblerouser on September 24, 2008 at 02:24 PM
I hate to say it, but slackers vote nowadays, and are far more enthused about Obama than they ever were about Kerry. There's also a far stronger structure in place for getting those voters to the polls... or even getting them to vote by mail-in ballot.
How do you think Obama got to where he is, anyway?!
Jfearon on September 24, 2008 at 02:36 PM
So, if Republicans show no respect and little interest for winning the support of the next generation of Americans, this helps them how?!
It's already hard enough on young Republicans in college, because the other side is doing a better job of indoctrinating new Obama evangelists / making political participation "cool", while we're having a harder time getting any help from the Republican Party, or even getting the occasional speaker.
When older Republicans display this kind of attitude, it just reenforces the idea that the Republican Party is out-of-touch with younger voters. I understand that it's hard to effectively reach them, but as much as he can be incredibly misleading and sounds like a broken record, at least Michael Moore *tries* to do so.
Way to win votes, guys.
- a disgruntled, twentysomething Young Republican
JB on September 24, 2008 at 02:51 PM
"So, if Republicans show no respect and little interest for winning the support of the next generation of Americans, this helps them how?!"
Who's showing no respect for "the next generation"? You just equated them to slackers!
minimlst on September 24, 2008 at 03:41 PM
Can't wait to watch it. I'm tired of watching all the Wall Street Slackers on CNBC whine about needing a government bailout.
bobby b on September 24, 2008 at 04:48 PM
"So, if Republicans show no respect and little interest for winning the support of the next generation of Americans . . ."
- - -
Make that "the least influential, least insightful, and least appealing small segment of the next generation of Americans", please. We've all been through that age, and we all remember the people who played the role of the slackers, and they never got off the floor to vote back in my day, they don't now, and they never will.
But do not misread the word "slacker" as representing an entire age-group. There are slackers in every age group, including mine, who aren't going to make it to the polls this November because their bong needs cleaning that day, or they just got the new Battletoads, or . . . whatever. Problem is, a whole bunch of non-slackers are gonna miss the voting, too, mostly because it's new to them, they don't know where to go, they don't want to go alone, too many students are schooling out of their hometowns, etc . . . All good, addressable reasons. But start calling them all slackers, and I think you lose 'em right off.
Don on September 24, 2008 at 05:35 PM
Wait... there's a new Battletoads?!?
That's too bad, because I was *so* going to vote... ;o)
Trudger on September 24, 2008 at 05:58 PM
"DensityDuck on September 24, 2008 at 01:19 PM
I was gonna vote for Bill Clinton in 1994. But voting isn't cool, so I stayed home and got trashed on Listerine."
You must have been REALLY loaded since Clinton was elected in 1992 and 1996.
Friedrich on September 24, 2008 at 09:41 PM
The word "slackers" should not be used in a scientific discussion. If you had studied just a little you'd have known that it's just a vulgar term for the Lumpenproletariat. Your continued usage of the word shows your bourgeois ignorance and your imperialist disrespect for this lowly stratum of the working classes … Donnerwetter, Lenchen! Put some more arsenic on Karl’s carbuncles, don’t you see he’s suffering like an animal?