“North Country”에서 Josey Aimes의 난공불락의 권력에 대항하여 투쟁하는 모습이 공포스러웠던 이유는 바로 나 또한 그녀처럼 지극히 주류에서 비껴나가 있는 마이너러티이며, 권력앞에 끝없이 무기력한 억압받는 자이기 때문이다. 다시 말하자면, 권력에 대한 저항이 불러올 엄청난 파장과 고통이 이미 예견된 것이기 때문에 그녀의 저항은 더욱 공포스러울 수 밖에 없었다. 그러나 (North Country에서) 남성성으로 대변되는 권력자들에 대한 혐오감과 내가 부여받은 별볼일 없는 특권으로 그 특권마저 박탈당한 자들에게 내가 억압을 가했던 순간들과 일치하면서, 다른 한편으로 나 자신의 비열함에 대한 모멸감마저 들었다.

다수가 소수에게, 억압하는 자가 억압받는 자에게 가하는 습관화된 폭력에 대해 저항할 수 없음, 혹은 저항하려 하지 않음을 생각해 보면 (North Country의 광산 (남성) 노동자들이 여성들에게 가하는 일상적인 폭력이나, 고용주가 노동자들에게 가하는 보이지 않는 위협을 생각해 보자), 자본주의 사회를 살아가는 노동자들이 안고 있는 불평등, 불합리, 불공평한 처우는 당연시 될 수 밖에 없다. 따라서 노동자의 권리와 생존권을 위해서 절대권력에 저항하는 노동자들은 사회의 골칫거리도 위협도 될 수 없다. 오히려, ≪노사과연≫의 이야기처럼, 투쟁의 목적은 “만족해하는 임금노예가 되는 것”이 아니라, 노동자 계급의 해방이 그 목적이기 때문에, Josey Aimes의 투쟁이 더욱 아름다운 것이다.

노동절 새벽에 …

실패의 가장 큰 원인은 욕심에서 출발한다. 모든 일이 쇠퇴의 길에 들어서면서부터, 초기의 순수함과 열정은 증발하게 되고, 그 자리에 명예, 돈, 권력에 대한 집착만이 남게 된다. 멍청한 DK가 발단이 된 Dr. P와의 짧았던 언쟁과 그동안 가끔씩 터져나왔던 나에 대한 비난 - 나를 victim 이라고 표현했던 것은 분명 나를 향한 비난임에 틀림없지만, 결국 자신에게도 비난의 화살이 돌아갈 수 있음을 잠시나마 잊고 있는 듯 했다 - 은 차치하더라도, 그 분을 지켜 보면서 지난 Big Boss의 모습이 오버랩되는 것을 느낄 때마다 실패를 향한 답습의 속도가 너무 빠르다는 것을 느꼈다. 정말 지켜야 할 것들을 쉽게 놓아버리고, 전혀 방어할 필요가 없는 무가치한 것들에 집착을 하는 모습이 너무나 답답하다.

새로운 Boss의 논리에 따르면, 나는 거대 괴물로부터의 희생자이면서 동시에, 오직 돈때문에 모인 멍청이에게 내가 받은 고통을 그대로 전가시키고 있는 폭력배일 수도 있지만, 지난 Big Boss가 그래왔고 새로운 Boss가 지금 답습하는 것처럼 자신들의 권력찬탈의 위협으로부터 보호받기 위하여 우둔한 수요자들을 가끔씩 착취하는 허울좋은 공급책은 절대 아니다.

민방위 교육 3년차, 첫 소집훈련. 민방위 교육장 1교시 강의를 요약하자면 다음과 같다. 90점짜리 인생, 혹은 A+급 인생을 위해 반드시 필요한 것은, 사회에 대한 무조건 복종과 앞 세대가 이미 정해놓은 루트만을 따라서 움직이는 것이란다. 지독한 보수주의자적(保守主義者的)이며 우파주의자(右派主義者的)적인 생각임에 틀림없다 (한가지 모순당착(矛盾撞着)인 것은 지독한 보수주의자(保守主義者)이면서도, 공무원이나 학교교육을 심하게 질타한다는 것이다. 분명 공무원이나 교사들을 대상으로 같은 강의를 할텐데 말이다). 어쨌든 나는 그런 90점짜리 인생이나 A+급 인생은 싫다. 절대복종만이 존재하는 수동적 삶은 나를 더 지치게 할 뿐이다.

오히려 오늘같은 지루한 일상에서의 이탈이 긴장감을 잃지 않게 하는 힘이 되어 줄 수 있을 뿐만 아니라, 잘못된 사회통념(社會通念)을 의심하거나 타파하는 것이 적극적이고 능동적인 삶을 살게 하지 않을까 생각해 본다.

내년부터는 인터넷으로 민방위 교육훈련을 한단다. 내년에는 이러한 지루한 강의를 듣고 시험을 볼는지도 모르겠다.

Michael Moore is an undeniable Democrat. He does not hate America. He hates Bush. All he wants is Bush’s defeat in an election. And he absolutely wants Kerry to win the game. That is why he might create Fahrenheit 9/11. Its release unfortunately was too early for people to last anti-Bush movements. As you know, their memory span is getting shorter. Moreover, his pathetic antipathy to Bush administration makes people, including non-American citizen, even uncomfortable. He should have had much more keen and liberal insight to see the world more broadly. Mr.Moore’s provincial viewpoint will certainly make him nag Kerry someday whether he will be elected as a President or not.

Politics is a skill to deceive people into believing and following politician’s ideology and policy. In this sense, idiotic Bush was caught and failed, and finally he was the derision of clever Michael Moore. On the other hand, Moore is a successful, shrewd, Democratic businessman who knows what to sell, whom to sell, how to sell, when to sell, and where to sell. And he is also a seditious demagogue in postmodern society, I strongly believe, because he can reassemble scrappy, nonchronological, sometimes inappropriate, and already known images into the terrific show for personal attack, which wins top honor at 2004 Cannes Film Festival. As you know, he has taught himself how to incite the labor class and stimulate their feelings from “The Big One,” “Roger and Me,” to “Bowling For Columbine.” He is also very good at laying bare power holders’ secrets, which he knows very well that the have-nots would enjoy a lot. As a result Fahrenheit 9/11 comes out in the world.

Fahrenheit 9/11 is the controversial compilation of Bush’s deceptions. Its plot is as simple and outspoken as 1970’s anticommunist education in South Korea. To make a long story, Michael Moore completely intended to beat Bush up this time, stitching fragmental and unrelated video clips together. He successfully taunted his great President and his administration, using explicit derision and condemnation. However his controversy unfortunately would divide the world into black-and-white dichotomy. More unfortunately, it actually causes people to divide two extreme groups such as left-wing or right-wing, anti-Bush or pro-Bush, anti-American or pro-American, the have-nots or the haves, and Democrats or Republicans. Any negotiation cannot be expected under the condition in which one should choose friend or foe in his game and a neutral cannot be accepted. It will never end before defeating an enemy, Bush administration. Moore’s idea is so stupid, childish, and dangerous (because North Korea can be an axis of evil all the time in his standpoint), even though what he has done is admirable in a sense.

However what really bothers me in Fahrenheit 9/11 is that the truth or the fact manufactured by him cannot incite people or politicians to change their ideologies, policies, or actions. As usual, his documentary does not suggest any alternatives or solutions even after dividing people into two angry extremists. If he asserts that it is audience’s turn to do something for a change, it will be so irresponsible. Unless a series of his works are extended to the real actions to stop the war, it can be exactly the same as foolish American reality shows (I believe that it actually is, because he does not care about the war but Bush. How many American do change their belief after watching it? Or do they at least reflect on their conduct in Iraq?), which people just watch to kill the time. What I truly want him to do is not to show us his ideologically prejudiced conspiracy theory but to show us the facts more close to the reality. It is sad to say, however, Fahrenheit 9/11 is not an anti-war documentary but an anti-Bush propaganda film. Therefore he didn’t give up investigating Starbucks and the connection of Jew. Who knows that they are producers of his film? That is why I hate narrow-minded Moore. And his own Fahrenheit 9/11 is not persuasive at all.

Moreover, Moore’s story still possessed the viewpoint of the American, which he has never overcome. His camera just follows eyes of American from the beginning to the end of the pro-Democratic propaganda. Absolutely ridiculous is his insistence that he is a spokesman of labor classes, the have-nots, or leftists of the United States because he is an unchangeably privileged upper-middle class white straight male Democratic American. He can never be Springsteen, I believe. He is totally different from us. That is what he continuously said in the movie, using his mike and camera, isn’t it? It is pathetic that he neglected others’ view such as Iraqis in the middle of real unwanted war. It is not that important for him to record screaming Iraqi poor women or tortured Iraqi innocent men. But what he really worried about is poor young American’s recruitment, young U.S. soldiers listening to “Bodies” by Drowning Pool or “Fire Water Burn” by Bloodhound Gang, and the number of casualties which the government tried to hide (Actually he may not care about those things but worries about the reelection of Bush). And he continuously forced me to participate in his partly manufactured melodrama or tearjerkers, exploiting and dramatizing an American mother who wailed for her son. Damn it, Michael Moore! I’ll tell you something. “There’s an old saying in Tennessee… well, it’s an old saying in Texas, I believe also in Tennessee. Fool me once… shame on you. Fool me… I won’t get fooled again.”

Moore’s greatest end in this flick is for Bush only to be fucked up. He does not care about the fear and the agony of others, non-American people oppressed by the United States. Please remember how many innocent Korean had been murdered by U.S. soldiers in their killing spree during Korean War. We don’t have to jump on another American propagandistic bandwagon, even though we cannot be free from the United States. Kerry may change the United States. But I don’t think anything can be expected from his winning here in Korea. Mr. Moore, please don’t exploit innocent, ignorant people for your political interests!