Fahrenheit 9/11
On July 10th I saw Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11.
Now before I start talking about the film, let's note that in my opinion:
(a) Bush is a poor President,
(b) the War on Terror is misadministered and is fundamentally misguided and,
(c) the Invasions of Iraq is an epic misadventure.
This will save many readers valuable time as those who disagree can now stop reading.
This declaration on my part highlights the issue that will limit the success of Moore's picture. With Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore will be overwhelmingly preaching to the converted. Moore is a very public figure whose political point of view is now fairly well known. His introduction to the general public was a chastising of the President when he accepted his AA - simultaneously introducing and polarizing (and likely marginalizing?) his image in the eyes of America. Since that time, Moore's political activities have been increasingly better publicized and the scope of his material has broadened. An apparent side effect of his personal fame being that he has now, perhaps irreversibly, tried his personal political views to his work as a film-maker. This is unfortunate, as I believe it will limit each film's ability to create a public dialogue based on its own merits, and will instead be seen as party politicking. Consequently I would expect that only those who are sympathetic to his POV will be slapping down their dollars and matching into and out of the theatre. For the majority of F9/11 viewers, the movie is going to be about confirming the reasons for their current distrust of the Bush Regime.
Before talking to the specifics of the film, it is very important to mention that of all the Moore films this has the least amount of Moore. In F9/11, the editing room allows the contradictions, the errors and at the times the apparent lies of the Bush Administration to be run back to back to back. The film connects the dots and chronologically presents the Bush timeline. The end effect of which (or at least the attempt of which) being that the Bush Team hoists themselves on their own petard(s?).
So let's talk to the film [but not spoil it]. F9/11 is a film about engaging the undecided voter and making him want to vote in the coming election. There are many threads onto which a person can latch onto in the film and they are all put forward with a some amount of credible evidence (supplied by the parties themselves). These threads include:
(1) the Bush Family have strong financial ties to the House of Saud, and the oil sector in general
(2) GWB is not a capable executive
(3) the White House (and Congress) have needlessly put American lives into harm's way for private interest
The film relies to some degree on the audience to decide that the current State of Nation is a giant mess. The Invasion of Iraq being an exception as the footage of the troops on the ground leaves little room for ambiguity - it's a nightmare, pure and simple. It is hard to reconcile the declared objectives of the campaign with what is shown to be occurring - a big piece being that the White House is looking after the corporate interest rather than the interests of its troops and citizens. The "Greatest American Hero" sequence is inspired.
I have been told that there is a plan underway to show F9/11 on television around the time of the election. This may be an effective means to mobilize voters and it may engage an audience who were unable or unwilling to watch the film in the theatre. It will be interesting to see how it is received.
Now before I start talking about the film, let's note that in my opinion:
(a) Bush is a poor President,
(b) the War on Terror is misadministered and is fundamentally misguided and,
(c) the Invasions of Iraq is an epic misadventure.
This will save many readers valuable time as those who disagree can now stop reading.
This declaration on my part highlights the issue that will limit the success of Moore's picture. With Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore will be overwhelmingly preaching to the converted. Moore is a very public figure whose political point of view is now fairly well known. His introduction to the general public was a chastising of the President when he accepted his AA - simultaneously introducing and polarizing (and likely marginalizing?) his image in the eyes of America. Since that time, Moore's political activities have been increasingly better publicized and the scope of his material has broadened. An apparent side effect of his personal fame being that he has now, perhaps irreversibly, tried his personal political views to his work as a film-maker. This is unfortunate, as I believe it will limit each film's ability to create a public dialogue based on its own merits, and will instead be seen as party politicking. Consequently I would expect that only those who are sympathetic to his POV will be slapping down their dollars and matching into and out of the theatre. For the majority of F9/11 viewers, the movie is going to be about confirming the reasons for their current distrust of the Bush Regime.
Before talking to the specifics of the film, it is very important to mention that of all the Moore films this has the least amount of Moore. In F9/11, the editing room allows the contradictions, the errors and at the times the apparent lies of the Bush Administration to be run back to back to back. The film connects the dots and chronologically presents the Bush timeline. The end effect of which (or at least the attempt of which) being that the Bush Team hoists themselves on their own petard(s?).
So let's talk to the film [but not spoil it]. F9/11 is a film about engaging the undecided voter and making him want to vote in the coming election. There are many threads onto which a person can latch onto in the film and they are all put forward with a some amount of credible evidence (supplied by the parties themselves). These threads include:
(1) the Bush Family have strong financial ties to the House of Saud, and the oil sector in general
(2) GWB is not a capable executive
(3) the White House (and Congress) have needlessly put American lives into harm's way for private interest
The film relies to some degree on the audience to decide that the current State of Nation is a giant mess. The Invasion of Iraq being an exception as the footage of the troops on the ground leaves little room for ambiguity - it's a nightmare, pure and simple. It is hard to reconcile the declared objectives of the campaign with what is shown to be occurring - a big piece being that the White House is looking after the corporate interest rather than the interests of its troops and citizens. The "Greatest American Hero" sequence is inspired.
I have been told that there is a plan underway to show F9/11 on television around the time of the election. This may be an effective means to mobilize voters and it may engage an audience who were unable or unwilling to watch the film in the theatre. It will be interesting to see how it is received.
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