Socialist Action (US)

The monthly paper of Socialist Action, San Francisco, 1983–2010

Moore talks about his movie

Socialist Action, Vol. 8, No. 2, February 1990 · scan p. 19 · Hal Verb · about 520 words

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"It's very important to me to point out that the problem isn't Roger Smith. The problem isn't even General Motors. The problem is an economic system that is unfair and unjust. It's non-democratic. It hurts a lot of people. It creates a lot of economic violence. The problem is that we have to change this economic system we live in. We have to have a say.

—Michael Moore, (Premiere, Jan. 1990)

The film was originally scheduled to open at the Galaxy Theater. When Moore learned that janitors there were on strike, he pressed Warner Bros. to open at the Kabuki. Moore said that if the film had premiered at the Galaxy, he would have publicly declared that no one should see it. He is determined to Emphasizing this point, Moore related the conditions he insisted on before agreeing to have Warner Bros. distribute the film. The agreement stipulated that the four persons from Flint making the 60-city U.S. tour with Moore be allowed to have the film shown at union halls, that no film be shown where a picket line would be crossed, and that Warner Bros. and the director agree to buy homes for the four Afterwards, I went up to Moore and asked if he would "internationalize" his film by seeing that it be shown in countries like El Salvador, Chile, and Peru. He said he intended to, and a spokesperson for the "Plant Closures Project" said they were also eager to have the film seen in Eastern Bloc countries. They didn't share the mainstream press view that these countries were seeking a "capitalist solution" that with a sense of frustration, thinking that things in Flint "Roger & Me" presents the devastating effects of capitalism; but if you want to know how to fight back, Socialist Action's pamphlets "How Labor Can Fight Back" and "Lessons of the P-9 Strike" are a good place to fill with to "solve" the situation. We have to think about these things."

SAN FRANCISCO-First-time Moore premiered his film, "Roger for the "Plant Closures Project" at on Jan. 10.

filmmaker Michael & Me," in a benefit the Kabuki Theater all the time who work at other airlines but are still at the pickets every week (that's the real strikers, the IAM) and they all say the same thing—they know they ain't getting their jobs back, but they are going to stay out till they take Lorenzo down.

This has had a real big effect on the workers in the other airlines. We all know that we could be next. The airline bosses all want to turn us into Continentals, no union, no nothing. A lot of guys where I work are saying that if the strikers at Eastern can make Lorenzo go bust, then we can do the same if the owners try anything against us. Nobody said that in 1983 when Continental happened, so the strike is making people think things through.

Anyway, my advice to you is to get your people out to the picket lines and really get into the fight, and the same for Pittston.

Les Moore, Queens, N.Y.

← Contents of Vol. 8, No. 2, February 1990

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