Fahrenheit

ick's picture

Well, I was waiting around to see if someone would post something about Fahrenheit 9/11. Nobody did so I guess I'll bite.

Julie and I made a once in a blue moon trip to the movie theater to see this film the Friday after the movie had opened. I picked an upscale suburban area to see the film in the hopes that I would hear a loud chorus of hisses and boos throughout the movie from an objective conservative audience but I was sadly disappointed. The crowd consisted mainly of the liberal or at least liberal-curious type and nearly everyone laughed at Michael Moore's hilarious juxtapositional editing. He maintains the same themes that appear in all of his films (U.S. vs. Canada, America's obsession with weapons, greed, racial divides, beaurocracy of politics, etc.) however this film is much more accusatory. I'd encourage anyone (conservative, liberal, or independent) to view this film just for the simple fact that it provides tons of revelatory factual information and video clips about Bush and the Bush administration that the general public would not otherwise have any idea about. For example, what percentage of the U.S. population actually know of the Bush family's ties with the Bin Laden family? or that the U.S. arranged special flights to get members of Bin Laden's family out of the country? or that Bush was quoted as saying that the upper-class big businessmen were his "back"? I sure didn't. How many people witnessed the subtle indirection from Afghanistan to Iraq performed by Bush & Co.? Even worse, how many people (including important national and world leaders) bought into it? I would guess that if as much attention and media coverage were paid to these important political issues as, say, certain other wedge issues or fear mongering bombarded down by Bush & the media (marriage sanctity, security alert levels, post-9/11 scare tactics), that the general population would have a much different view of the current administration. I realize a large portion of this country (including my parents) simply discredit Moore as an eccentric one-sided liberal documentarian hack and in some ways, I could see how that viewpoint could be valid. However, this is his movie, full of his ideas (albeit supported by lawyer-backed facts), presented in the way he wants to present it. He makes no reservations about this so just leave it at that. Go see this movie, drop your bilateral prejudices at the door and soak it in with an open mind. Most importantly just use the brilliant tool bestowed upon you and THINK. I'm not saying Michael Moore's view is 100% right but it's high time people were at least presented with both sides of the story. With the works of this film, I feel Moore does a respectable job of getting this other side out there.