This Divided State: Michael Moore at Utah Valley State CollegeWhen liberal filmmaker Michael Moore was invited to speak at Utah Valley State College, it created a firestorm not usually seen in the heart of conservative Mormon country. Would conservative activists prevent Michael Moore from speaking? Would Utah liberals win their fight for freedom of speech? The answer lies somewhere within This Divided State.
83% @ Rotten Tomatoes
In a conflict that epitomized the battle between red versus blue states in the days leading up to the 2005 election, Michael Moore's invitation to speak at Utah Valley State College created a controversy previously unheard-of in the quiet community. Nestled within a deeply conservative state, the university is located in the heart of Mormon country, and when the invitation to Moore was issued, complete chaos broke out, with vitriol being spewed by proponents of both the right and the left. Petitions were launched, forums and protests held, while Moore supporters were accused of demeaning their religion, the apotheosis of offense. Prominent local businessman Kay Anderson offered a bribe to prevent Moore's engagement, while the UVSC student body president feared for his safety. Fox's Sean Hannity was eventually invited to speak as a counter-balance to Moore, and both speeches are included with with illuminating results. Documentarian Steven Greenstreet was there to document the entire process, after dropping out of college when he heard what was going on. The result is a non-judgmental presentation of the facts that, miraculously, avoids caricature and manages to capture the many shades of gray that are so often eclipsed in the deep divide between the right and the left.
TV Guide 4.5 Star Review
If you thought the ugly, partisan battle that led up to the 2004 presidential election was the most depressing thing since the Civil War, Steven Greenstreet's excellent documentary about the grand mal kerfuffle that ensued when members of the Utah Valley State College student council invited filmmaker Michael Moore to speak at their school will offer little comfort. Home to a whopping 25,000 students, UVSC is located in Orem, Utah, a town that has dubbed itself, "Family City, USA." Like most places in Utah, Orem and UVSC are overwhelmingly Mormon and, by extension, politically and socially conservative. When word got out that the student council was going to be spending $40,000 to bring Moore, a man who prides himself on being a liberal gadfly, to this picturesque corner of Bush country (Orem boasts a 12-to-1 Republican to Democrat ratio), you'd think Hitler was on his way...
