While I have generally enjoyed most of Michael Moore's productions (Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, even some of his books), I have always (in the back of my mind) understood that Michael Moore is the Ann Coulter of the left wing in this country - a little more honest, but you can't always depend on every word Moore uses or says. Otherwise, like Coulter to the right wing, Michael Moore's pieces are usually red meat for the left wing.
Went to see Fahrenheit 9/11 last night.
This movie is in a different class from his other two movies - Roger & Me and Bowling, and this movie will touch a nerve in a totally different way, just by virtue of the immediacy of the footage and the graphic nature of some of that footage.
First, while the movie revolves around events of 9/11, the movie does not show any footage of the planes striking the towers or the pentagon. In fact, as far as I can tell, it never shows any of the crash scenes in any state - before, during or after - except for one scene of the Pentagon (which is obviously quite a few hours after the attack). It does show the images of shock and dismay in the streets, chaos, panic, and evidence of destruction (litter, the fallout, etc.). But rather than show the actual events, we are shown a blank screen for a couple of minutes with an audio of the sounds of the attacks. And, amazingly, 3 years later, you don't need to see the attacks to know just what those sounds are, and it doesn't take much to visualize what probably is going on.
On the other hand, the movie does show a lot of carnage, both American soldiers & civilians, and Iraqi civilians (as far as I can tell) from the current war. Some footage I had previously watched on the news (the picture of the US soldier trying to get out of his tank after it had either hit a mine or was struck by an RPG, with his arm bleeding). Some, I had seen pictures of, but never saw the video (such as the two of four contractors who were killed, burned and strung up from a bridge in Fallujah).
Over time, the movie starts out with a recap of the 2000 election, and the point that Moore is making is not that this sucked - it did. The result was awful and unfortunate. But pointing a strong finger at the Democrats, as if to say "how can you then roll over and play dead?" The scene of Al Gore asking if there were any objections, and all of the members of the House (all minority, as far as I can tell) got up to raise objections - all they needed was 1 - count them - one Senator to sign on to make that objection to the election results, and they couldn't get a single solitary Democrat to step forward and sign on to the objection (primarily revolving around allegations of black disenfranchisement in Florida). Scenes of Gephart and Daschle asking for cooperation and practially bending over for the new administration. It makes you think that wrong or right about contesting the election, that one thing that was lacking was a spine. They were defeated, and they accepted it in a way that says "well, at least I still have my job, and thats all I really cared about anyway." It made the Democratic party look weak and impotent. Which they have looked for the past few years.
Then the movie becomes a mix of tangled webs between Bush and his family and friends and the House of Saud and Binladen family and their friends. Business relationships, W's failed businesses, transactions, etc. Combine this with a quick examination of Bush's National Guard records, shows more intrigue, as another fellow who was also listed on Bush's forms as not having completed physical requirements and thus barred from flying is also a friend of Bush's and business associate. Confusing stuff that is sometimes hard to follow. If you believe that there is an unethical connection between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family (as I do), you will shake your head in disgust at all of these connections. IF you don't believe that its unethical, you will shake your head at how Moore can push all this stuff.
Finally, on to the big fights...Afghanistan and Iraq, and the cost of war...not in terms of money, but in terms of human lives. The lies or misleading basis for the war that led us into a carnage of human misery, gleefully cheered on by the press and bought by many in the American public.
But ultimately, this movie comes down to yet another class-warfare (and I don't say this as if it is necessarily a bad thing - but its a less-than-subtle twist) battle. Who serves in the military? Not the children of congress-critters - they only have one between all of them in Iraq. Rather, Moore returns to his old homeground of Flint Michigan (which, if you saw Roger & Me, is a small enclave of depression, ravaged by decisions in the auto industry), mixing footage of recruiters going after young adults in the mall or WalMart parking lots with footage of an interview he had with a self-described conservative-Democrat who is the mother in a large military family, trying to rectify her son's death with what she has now come to believe (in part carried by her son's message) was a pointless war that did not have to be waged.
Overall, you should shatter your stereotype of Moore and go see this movie. It is his best, and least gimicky movie to date. Even if you are a conservative or a Republican, and you have a pre-conceived notion of how bad it will be, go see it, if only to see the footage in the movie - scenes of devestation that you will never see on the news, and the human cost of all that you advocate.
Recent Comments