The Awful Truth (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Awful Truth was a satirical
television show that was directed, written, and hosted by filmmaker Michael Moore
, and funded by the British
broadcaster Channel 4
.
, or Moore's own previous show, TV Nation
) in that it comprised a series of documentary
segments. For the first season the format involved presenting them to a studio audience (the second season moved to Times Square
), often accompanied by a coda
and commentary by Moore as to what happened after the segment was first filmed. The show focused on exposing problems in American government, business, and society. It often used outlandish sketches and stunts to point out the inherent absurdity of a situation and hint at potential solutions. At times, the show's sometimes humiliating tactics drew enough attention to cause corporations involved to rethink their policies. For example, after initially denying a man coverage for a pancreas transplant, Humana
agreed to pay for it.
Season 2
, Illinois
, and aired on the Bravo cable network in the US and on Channel 4
in the UK. The second season was filmed in New York City
. Both seasons are also available on DVD.
Season one had 12 episodes and premiered April 11, 1999 ending June 27, 1999. Season two had 12 episodes, and premiered May 17, 2000 and ended July 5, 2000.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
television show that was directed, written, and hosted by filmmaker Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
, and funded by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
broadcaster Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
Format
The show emulated television newsmagazine shows (such as 60 Minutes60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, or Moore's own previous show, TV Nation
TV Nation
Production on the pilot episode of TV Nation began in January 1993. Moore initially turned to friends and colleagues in many production areas, while also making a point to ensure the show's employees were unionized. For the show's title sequence, graphic designer Chris Harvey put together the...
) in that it comprised a series of documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
segments. For the first season the format involved presenting them to a studio audience (the second season moved to Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
), often accompanied by a coda
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
and commentary by Moore as to what happened after the segment was first filmed. The show focused on exposing problems in American government, business, and society. It often used outlandish sketches and stunts to point out the inherent absurdity of a situation and hint at potential solutions. At times, the show's sometimes humiliating tactics drew enough attention to cause corporations involved to rethink their policies. For example, after initially denying a man coverage for a pancreas transplant, Humana
Humana
Humana Inc. , founded in 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base of over 11.5 million in the United States, the company is the largest Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and has a...
agreed to pay for it.
Episodes
Season 1| # | |Segments | |
|---|---|---|
Season 2
| # | |Segments | |
|---|---|---|
Notable scenes
- After legislation to display the Ten CommandmentsTen CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
in public schools, Moore interviews the bill's co-signers and asks them what the eighth commandment is; most cannot answer the question correctly. Dave WeldonDave WeldonDavid Joseph Weldon, is an American politician and physician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing .-Early life:...
does suggest "thou shalt not steal," which is correct for most Protestants, but Michael was using the Roman Catholic/Lutheran list (Moore is Catholic). Nobody (including Moore) identifies the actual eighth commandment from Exodus 34:25 (see Exodus 34:27-28 for reference). - Moore creates an "African American Wallet Exchange" in Harlem, in response to four NYPD officers who fired on and killed Amadou DialloAmadou DialloAmadou Diallo was a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant in New York City who was shot and killed on February 4, 1999 by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed officers: Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss. The four officers fired a total of 41 shots...
, because they thought his wallet was a gun. Once all the wallets are exchanged, Moore deposited them in front of the NYPD headquarters. - Staging a mock funeral outside of HumanaHumanaHumana Inc. , founded in 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base of over 11.5 million in the United States, the company is the largest Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and has a...
's corporate headquarters when a health care policyholder is denied a claim to fund a potentially life-saving pancreasPancreasThe pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...
transplantOrgan transplantOrgan transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...
. This segment became the inspiration for Moore's sixth feature film, SickoSickoSicko is a 2007 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates health care in the United States, focusing on its health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The movie compares the for-profit, non-universal U.S...
, released by The Weinstein CompanyThe Weinstein CompanyThe Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
on June 29, 2007. Moore's original plan for Sicko was to stage ten 'stunts' like the mock funeral in front of health-care agencies, but eventually decided to scrap the idea. - A group clad in ColonialColonial AmericaThe colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
clothing behaving in a manner reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials in protest of Kenneth StarrKenneth StarrKenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....
, and his tactics during President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's impeachment trial, with the idea that colonials know how to conduct an economical witch trialWitch trialA witch trial is a legal proceeding that is part of a witch-hunt. * Witch trials in Early Modern Europe, 15th–18th centuries** Salzburg witch trials - 1675-1690, Salzburg, Austria** Spa witch trial - 1616, Belgium...
. They also read parts of Starr's report on Clinton while Starr was head of the Office of the Independent Counsel, and also highlight certain high-profile politicians own 'anti-moralistic' behavior (in particular Newt GingrichNewt GingrichNewton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
's affair and subsequent divorce). - Crackers, the corporate crime fighting chicken (a character first introduced in TV Nation), traveling to Disney World to confront Mickey MouseMickey MouseMickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
about unfair labor practices. - The Iowa Caucuses Mosh PitMoshMoshing is a dance in which participants push or slam into each other. They also flail their limbs to breakdowns of hardcore punk and its sub-genres. It is most associated with aggressive music genres, such as hardcore punk and heavy metal...
, in which Alan KeyesAlan KeyesAlan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
dived onto a portable mosh pit and crowd-surfedCrowd surfingCrowd surfing is the process in which a person is passed overhead from person to person during a concert, transferring the person from one part of the venue to another...
to Rage Against the MachineRage Against the MachineRage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
to win the endorsement of The Awful Truth for the 2000 presidential election. - The Sodomobile, a pink van loaded with gay men and women, traveling across the country to U.S. states that have on-the-books sodomy laws, to fight for gay rights. At one point they encounter Pastor Fred PhelpsFred PhelpsFred Waldron Phelps, Sr. is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church , an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas...
, infamous for protesting at the funeral of Matthew ShepardMatthew ShepardMatthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
, picketing during the funerals of other young gay men. - An election special where a FicusFicusFicus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
tree was run against the otherwise unopposed RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent Rodney FrelinghuysenRodney FrelinghuysenRodney P. Frelinghuysen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
for a seat in Congress. In total 23 plants ran as write-in candidates for HouseUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
seats. The Ficus write-in votes were later refused to be counted by the election committee, but the ones that were showed the Ficus having a 4-1 lead over Frelinghuysen. - A visit to Philip Morris (now Altria) headquarters, where a group of lung and throat cancer victims used their electronic voice boxes to sing Christmas tunes.
Location filming and DVD release
The first season of the series was filmed in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and aired on the Bravo cable network in the US and on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the UK. The second season was filmed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Both seasons are also available on DVD.
Season one had 12 episodes and premiered April 11, 1999 ending June 27, 1999. Season two had 12 episodes, and premiered May 17, 2000 and ended July 5, 2000.