Everybody seems to have a strong opinion on Michael Moore. Neo-Conservatives and the filthy rich have a legitimate beef–they’re the ones he’s constantly targeting. But whats interesting to see and hear is the criticism he gets from other “progressives” who say they “agree with his ideas, but not his tactics,” mention his white privilege to discredit him or, even worse, snide remarks about how the hell he’s gonna make a health-care movie (Sicko), as fat as he is. Another popular one is the supposed contradiction of how much money he’s making off a system he opposes (with no mention of how much more money these already-rich movie industry cats are making off of him). One thing I’ve noticed that most of these folks have in common: they actually haven’t seen his films.

Some have called his films incoherent. Instead, I see someone trying multiple forms of agitation to reach the widest audience possible with the rare soapbox he’s attained. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) is vintage Moore: a barrage of historical and statistical information with archival footage anchored by interviews with angry people fucked by the system. There’s a hilariously re-edited old Jesus movie and well-narrated, animated explanations of how our financial institutions work. And, of course, Mr. Moore himself trying and failing to get interviews from bigwigs and pulling off stunts like wrapping crime-scene tape around Wall Street.

Some parts irked me, some parts riled me up. Sitting in a sparsely-filled Atlanta theater on the film’s opening day, I got reminded that we all have varied reactions to the same information, depending on how its presented. An older black couple sitting behind us cheered on the Wall Street stunt, which I found contrived. Others were visibly choked up and jeering at the screen during some of the interviews, which I found manipulative. Apparently, Saba and I were the only ones in the theater who found many parts LOL-worthy.

Capitalism: A Love Story isn’t a pleasant film. It’s not even anything new if you’ve been really paying attention. Moore’s films do not aspire to be aesthetic masterpieces nor provide easy solutions to complex problems, and anyone expecting that, and hating when they don’t get it, is missing the point. What he wants is to expose, through pulling heartstrings and tickling funny bones, the injustices of a political-economic system, and not apologize for it. And if you even just mildly agree with that, then your best bet would be to just shut the fuck up for a minute and just watch the film. Then talk.