Michael Moore explains the “backlash” against his comments at the Oscars: Bowling for Columbine experienced a surge in theater viewings and in pre-orders for the forthcoming video release, his book Stupid White Men jumped back to the top of the bestseller lists (for the fourth time!), he obtained funding for his next project, and he’s received tons of supportive letters and e-mails. He even seems to be getting a laugh out of the hate mail.
On the standing ovation that accompanied the announcement of his win for Best Documentary Feature, he says:
It was a great moment, one that I will always cherish. They were standing and cheering for a film that says we Americans are a uniquely violent people, using our massive stash of guns to kill each other and to use them against many countries around the world.
Seems like Mike’s weathering the “storm” pretty well.
And that’s what’s interesting. Of course, Mike’s said all along that the sales of his books belied the idea of a nation firmly behind their President. Yes, other voices like Ann Coulter’s, who couldn’t be further away from Moore politically or stylistically–yeah, both go over the top from time to time, but can you imagine Coulter having a sense of humour about anything? (And no, acting like those wacky liberals are oh-so-funny doesn’t count.)–sold well, but this just reinforces the fact that, despite the polls, despite the Fox News ratings, despite everything, there’s a wide diversity of opinions out there, and not just among the relatively estranged punditocracies of the left and right, whose job it is to be outrageous (but reasonable, oh so reasonable).
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