Moore, Michael, 1954–, American documentary filmmaker, author, and activist, b. Flint, Mich. A highly personal, populist, and frequently controversial and polarizing documentary filmmaker, he made his first film, the satirical Roger & Me (1989), in which he unsuccessfully tries to meet with General Motor's chairman, after being appalled by Flint's economic decline due to GM's downsizing. His next major work, Bowling for Columbine (2002; Academy Award), is a scathing look at America's gun culture. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), his most controversial and financially successful film, is an angry critique of the Bush administration's handling of post-9/11 events and Iraq. Sicko (2007) focused on the ways insurance companies deny appropriate care to subscribers; Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) attacked the corporate dominance of American society and its effects on ordinary Americans; Where to Invade Next (2015) is a mock travelogue in which Moore critiques American society by “invading” European nations to survey successful social institutions; and Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018) critiqued Trump's presidential victory and conservative policies. He has produced Planet of the Humans (2020), which criticized solar energy, wind turbines, and electric cars and was denounced by many environmentalists as distorted and out-of-date, and television programs combining news and satire, and written several provocative books, e.g., Downsize This! (1996), Stupid White Men (2001), and Dude, Where's My Country? (2003) and the autobiographical Here Comes Trouble (2011).
See K. Lawrence, ed., The World according to Michael Moore (2004).
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