Thanks for the post Michael.
Does someone know the measures by which Cuba is judged 39th? Without
detailed information i assume that 39th is pretty good for a country
that has been suffering a 50-yr blockade by the most powerful nation in
the world. Even today a shipment of medical supplies is being held by
the US at the US/Canadian border.
An interesting aspect of Ms Wong's review is that after remarking,
Moore
violates the contract between reporter and audience: to tell the
truth.
she later use the quote:
"The
treatment Moore and the rescue workers receive in the film was
done specifically for them, because they [the Cubans] knew it would
make great propaganda," Dr. Julio Cesar Alfonso, a Miami doctor who
practiced medicine in Cuba for four years, said in a June 22 interview
with The Miami Herald.
Quoting a Cuban expatriate's interview in the Miami Herald as the
single source of contrary information is hardly acceptable journalistic
searching for the truth.
Does Moore diminish his effectiveness by some of his practices? I
think so from having seen his previous films. He doesn't hide his
position though. I would challenge Ms Wong to analyze the fraction of
US films that are in fact propaganda in whole or in part and never
advertise themselves as such. Would the US lung cancer rate be so high
had not Hollywood promoted smoking in its films, usually for a fee?
herb