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Fahrenheit 9/11 is the most
intrepid and courageous film ever made, and Michael Moore has proven again
to be the most daring filmmaker ever. Perhaps some of you have never heard
of Michael Moore before, and unless you are a documentary film or political
buff, you probably haven’t. Moore has always had a political voice, even in
print. (He ran a small magazine, The Michigan Voice, in the early
1980’s.) His first film, Roger & Me, took the nation by surprise in
1989 as he documented the General Motors plant closings and layoffs and
their effect on his home town of Flint, MI. Critically acclaimed, Roger &
Me is still one of the highest grossing documentaries ever, a cult
classic, and still a poignant commentary on corporations, the economy, and
society.
From there, Michael Moore wrote a few
books, had a few TV series, and made some more films. Where you might
recognize Moore from is the 2003 Academy Awards where his last film,
Bowling for Columbine, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature; and
where Mike took the opportunity of the Oscar mic to openly criticize
President Bush for his “fictitious” presidency and his “fictitious” war in
Iraq. No matter what your politics are, statements like this on national
television raise eyebrows. Those 45 seconds turned out to be the preview of
his latest documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11.
Fahrenheit has been in the new
recently as well. Earlier this year it won best picture at the esteemed
Cannes Film Festival. Ironically, this picture made headlines because
Disney, parent company to Miramax, the production company who made the film,
made public statements that Fahrenheit 9/11 would never be released
or distributed. While rumors and controversy went
wild over the possible reasons why, eyebrows of the nation were raised as
commentators talked about the potential negative impact Fahrenheit
could have on President Bush’s chances of re-election. Well even seemingly
bad publicity is good publicity because Fahrenheit 9/11 found its
distributor, the Fellowship Adventure Group, and is in theaters today, June 25th,
2004.
So what is all they hype about? Is there
really a fire responsible for all this smoke? You bet.
Fahrenheit 9/11 begins with a look
back to the 2000 Presidential Election, an election where the current
President lost the popular vote, but still won anyway. An election where the
public never heard the cries of disenfranchised voters and never questioned
the Supreme Court’s ruling over election results. The picture painted is a
country of apathy and ignorance, how could it not be to sit and watch this
happen? The film shows a President equaled in apathy as an ineffective
leader, more concerned about vacation than business. Until 9/11.
Moore chose not to garnish his film with
giant images of the Twin Towers being hit by airliner bombs, only a black
screen and audio left the audience to remember the horrible tragedy that had
occurred less than three years ago. When images return the screen, the
audience witnesses their President, who was just informed the first plane
hit the WTC, decide to begin his photo opportunity of reading a story
book to school children. The shocked President later has an aide alert him
the second plane hit the WTC, but there Bush sits for a full seven minutes.
Moore’s narration reinforces the magnitude of this ineffective leadership,
posing questions like, maybe he should have addressed the reports of
impending attacks by Osama bin Laden instead of being on vacation.
The movie then begins linking the
financial interests of the Bush family to financial interests of the bin
Laden family. Through Moore’s eyes, this relationship builds a case for the
reason members of the bin Laden family were seemingly evacuated on September
13th, when the FAA had not cleared all air traffic to
resume. Flights were scarce, and many afraid of flying, but the bin Laden
family members and other Saudi nationals were first to leave the country. A
continuing mass of evidence is then shown further linking the Bush family to
Middle East interests in an effort to question their loyalty.
Moore glazes over the ‘war’ in
Afghanistan the same way the President did by driving home the point that
after two months of giving lead time for Osama to hide, more police officers
were working in Manhattan than were deployed in all of Afghanistan. Other
footage testifies of the desire of the current administration to lay blame
unilaterally at Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s doorstep. Enter the ‘War for
Iraq.’
If the audience has not become emotional
over the politics in the film at this point, this is where Fahrenheit
turns up the heat. Images and interviews of soldiers treating Iraqis without
respect and blowing up towns while listening to the Bloodhound Gang sing
“Let the motherfucker burn. Burn motherfucker” (from Fire Water, Burn)
should incite American audiences against what is being done in their country’s
name. Impact further comes from those soldiers who are realizing real war is
not like videogames and movies, and are starting to wonder why they are over
there.
The most heart wrenching story comes form
Lila Lipscomb, a resident of Flint, MI, whose son died in Iraq. Lila, a true
American, proud to have had family serve in the military, cannot understand
what her son died for, and neither can her son as she reads his final letter
home. Lila, like many other Americans and soldiers, wants to know the reason
behind this war. Michael Moore thinks the reason is oil and money, and after
watching Fahrenheit 9/11 it’s a little hard to disagree.
The most striking message I left the
Fahrenheit with, is how much fear is pumped into America through orange
alerts and news casts. The same message was in Mike’s last film Bowling
for Columbine. The point is, this is a country where we are afraid of
our neighbor and will turn them in at a moments notice if we suspect
anything wrong or unpatriotic, but many people trust their government
implicitly without question.
The most impressive thing about
the movie was the audience. Not only did they applaud for nearly a minute
and a half as credits began to roll. Not only did they cheer through out the
movie. Not only was the picture sold out at 1:30pm. But it was the most
diversified audience I have ever seen. Senior citizens and seniors in high
school. People with and without families. White, black, Hispanic…you name
it! Everybody came out in force to see this movie. The lines waiting for the
next showing prove people want to see this movie, and will.
In closing, to the people who would
sooner trust a President who refers to a wealthy crowd, “the haves and the
have mores,” as his base, than their neighbor……I ask you to please
sit through this two hour film and if your eyebrows raise, ask questions and
find out for yourself what the truth is. Then do something.
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