Sarangel
<font color=red><font color=navy>Rumor has it ...<
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- Jan 18, 2000
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From the San Francisco Chronicle 6/30/04:
Sacramento -- In an irony even Mickey Mouse would find hard to miss, America is about to weigh two wildly contrasting versions of itself in theaters this weekend as the Walt Disney Co. debuts its own foray into documentary filmmaking right alongside Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- which the studio refused to release.
Disney officials insist their 88-minute film, "America's Heart and Soul" -- stitching simple, positive vignettes of everyday Americans with sweeping vistas and up-tempo music -- is neither a response to Moore's politically charged hit nor any type of political statement itself.
But the studio invited the Sacramento-based conservative group Move America Forward to a screening this week a block from the Capitol, allowing its members to make the comparison to Moore's film that the studio has refused to make. The political group's invitation to its members praised the movie's virtues, "unlike the negative and misleading story line of Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' "
"We want everybody to see our movie," said Dennis Rice, head of publicity for Walt Disney Studios. "By definition, it has to be seen as a nonpartisan approach. We are not teamed up with anyone, let alone Move America Forward. We just want our movie to be seen in its purest form."
More diorama than documentary, the film, to be released nationwide Friday, introduces audiences to a varied collection of Americans -- from a Vermont dairy farmer to a Colorado cowpoke to the Rev. Cecil Williams, leader of San Francisco's Glide Memorial United Methodist Church.
"I'm encouraging people to see it, but it would be a different thing if the movie is under attack," said Melanie Morgan, a KSFO-AM talk show host and vice president of the group, which formed to publicize progress in the war against terrorism it feels is underplayed in the mainstream media. "But if I perceive a direct frontal launch on it, then we'll definitely fight back."
Already, the attack is forming. Responding to Monday's Sacramento screening, Moore posted a statement on his Web site accusing Disney of "joining forces with the right-wing kooks who have come together to attempt to censor 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' "
The film also has been shown to selected audiences with other political bents, such as the Sierra Club, and more apolitical groups, such as the Future Farmers of America, Rice said. Others noted that the marketing technique is similar to that used frequently by independent filmmakers who first look to win over a niche audience -- and recently employed by director Mel Gibson in the walk-up to the release of his controversial "The Passion of the Christ."
"It's a great strategy, and it works," said Pat Forerro, a documentary filmmaker and cinema professor at San Francisco State University. "You go to those specialized audiences and let them do the publicity."
Though Disney states the contrary about its film, "I would argue it's incredibly political," Forerro said. "I don't believe that documentaries are truthful. Their goal is not to tell the truth. Their goal is to make you think. "
Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" was released through Lions Gate Entertainment last weekend after Disney helped ignite controversy around the film by refusing to release it. The film, which took the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, grossed $23.9 million in its debut weekend to become the nation's most popular film and is playing on hundreds of screens nationwide.
In contrast to its scathing critique of Bush foreign policy, the messages in "America's Heart and Soul" -- which will begin playing on 100 screens Friday -- are more thematic, general and affirming. Besides their espoused patriotism, Puritan work ethic and shared can-do-it-ness, Disney's mini- profile subjects give voice to no particular political philosophy. Message detection may prove a more nuanced, subjective exercise -- a bit like deconstructing "Up With People" or a Super Bowl halftime show.
"You get a horse to trust you, and you have a wonderful thing," says Roudy Roudebush, an on-the-wagon cowboy who a few minutes into the film rides his steed into a Telluride, Colo., saloon for a deep drink of water. He soon adds: "We've experienced being free ... because there aren't many people, and there isn't much government. And so it's hard to have your freedoms even infringed a little bit. Cherish your freedom."
A young New York opera singer, Ben Cohen of "Ben & Jerry's," and blind mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer follow suit, offering thoughts on entrepreneurialism, achieving goals and caring for family. George Woodard, prone to pick a little banjo when not milking cows with his young son in Waterbury Center, Vt., opines: "There's nothing more important than watching a child grow up."
"If those are Republican values," said KSFO's Morgan, who saw the film Monday, "then I'm glad to be a Republican."
But as Americans prepare for an election-year Independence Day weekend when some theaters will offer two takes on reality, some say Disney will unwittingly join with Moore to play into a political polarization they see advancing in America.
"America's Heart and Soul" is "like Disneyland, being the antiseptic, squeaky-clean version -- no disturbing thoughts allowed," said Howard Suber, a professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television who specializes in producing and marketing. "I take it for granted that the same people who went to see 'Fahrenheit 9/11' are not going to rush out and see 'America's Heart and Soul.' "
While he doubts the Disney movie will be much of a hit, author and Pulitzer Prize-winner Dale Maharidge, who conducted hundreds of interviews with average citizens nationwide for his new, pulse-taking book "Homeland," said Tuesday that Disney's movie may prove "fiscally brilliant. Michael Moore's work is mirror," he said, "and people don't like to look in the mirror. "
As for the movie's softer take on average citizens, "there is some of that Norman Rockwell America," he said, "but to focus on it at the exclusion of everything else, you're deluding yourself, and you're not doing a service to society. Why not talk to a Wal-Mart worker who loves America and yet works for $7 an hour and wants health care?"
In Sacramento on Monday, no one at the Move America Forward screening of "America's Heart and Soul" saw the two films as juxtaposed, even though some had opinions on Moore's work.
"I didn't see it as being an answer to 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' " said Paul Johnson, 26. "I thought it was cool to see average Americans you don't normally see."
Ronni Diel, who came from Nevada City to attend the screening with her husband, Larry, agreed.
"I don't think they compare at all," she said of the two films. "This is positive, and Michael Moore tears everything up."
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Besides! I thought it was late enough for you not to notice until morning!! 
