I finally saw Fahrenheit 9/11 a few days ago. On the whole, I think the film was pretty good, but I did have a few issues. For example I was annoyed by all the voice overs in the beginning where Mr. Moore says things like "What was Bush thinking when xyz?" and then fills in with some hypothetical answers. Cheap shots: the film is already exposing plenty to think about without Mr. Moore chiming in. And I was left wondering "Why are these soldiers raiding this house on Christmas?" as we only get to follow them along for the raid and the film never tries to explain why they're conducting it. Those annoyances aside, however, I felt the film was something everybody should watch, just to think about some things. I had forgotten, for example, that Mr. Bush was on vacation so much of his time in office prior to 9/11 (42% it turns out -- where can I get that kind of vacation package!) and I had no idea about the strong connections the Bush family has with the royal Saudi family.
There is an interesting article on Salon where some US soldiers who watched the film and shared some of my criticism, along with having plenty of their own. I don't agree with their opinions that the images of wounded soldiers went too far, however. Are we supposed to pretend these things are not happening, or at least allow ourselves to be more comfortable by censoring ourselves?
Many people seem to get all worked up about the film because they feel like it's not a "documentary" because it's not measured or unbiased. Perhaps that's part of the definition of a documentary, but at the same time, the film is "documenting" current events, i.e. it isn't fiction. It certainly is biased, but I don't think the film ever tried to claim otherwise. Maybe we can think of it as an op-ed piece.
In the end, the film raises many issues to think carefully about. Hype and hysteria aside, I do think this is Mr. Moore's most significant film to date, and hope more filmmakers are empowered to create similar works. We (Americans) shouldn't be afraid to talk about uncomfortable topics, especially issues that affect the world.
TrackBack URL for this entry: https://msqr.us/blah/mt-tb.cgi/2
I was so proud to be Canadian while I was while watching this film, with tears in my eyes. Bush is a power hungry war monger who is appears to actually have "allowed" if not enabled the attack on America. It would appear he has made large financial gains by this war .... not to mention strengthening his close "friendships" with the Bin Laden family. The very fact that they invested in several of his own failed business ventures prior to his becoming the President is without a doubt proof that he is totally corrupt.
It sickens me to think about all of the inoccent people (both Soldiers, 911 vicitms and their families as well as the afganistans) who were "murdered" for the sake of Bush gaining power and control over the inferior. He is trying to make his mark on the world by creating his own "vietnam war" ... if he were anyone but the president, he'd be sitting on death row waiting for his injection.
He needs to go ... he's going to get us all killed.
I will be watching the movie again once I've had time to process everything. Hopefully everyone in America will see the film before November ... Michael Moore should be proud of of the education he has given us all ... but if I were him I'd get a 24 hour ex fbi/cia bodyguard ... he's gonna need it.
Lori, while I don't agree with your point of view, I can definitely see how you came to it. Since 9/11, we've been bombarded with absolute and extreme opposite points of view, from WMD's to anti-Bush rhetoric. Most people are fed such a narrow view of the truth that they're forced to form an opinion that's based upon the stronger argument. I prefer to step back and attempt to view the full picture, even though that is turning out to be extremely difficult with all that's out there...
Personally, I'm not convinced that Mr. Moore is truely sincere, and isn't just using another inflamatory news item in his quest to get rich (which I think is a GREAT idea, by the way). Because The Media so often only paints a small portion of a true picture, I'll wait till this movie comes out on cable, and then, I'm still not sure I'd bother...
From what I hear about F9/11, it's Moore personal attack on George Bush. He won't look back before the Bush Administration to the reasons behind 9/11. And IF he does, he probably conveniently glosses over and Democratic Administration completely, while trying to blame Bush Sr. because of his middle-eastern ties.
There is a whole non-partison picture out there to look at before making a decision on this situation. I'm not defending Bush, by no means. I just want to see the whole picture, not some raving film maker who only tells a small percentage of an inflammatory story, just to sell more movie tickets.
Make a movie that shows me the facts, from cause, to effect, and result. The Middle-East has wanted to eradicate us infidels since (and because of) the Crusades, for Christ's sake. Show that! Show the continuing policies of the Western World towards the Middle East, through all US Presidents and UN regime changes. Show the culture of these people, portraying their way of thinking, and how our policies are affecting their outlook of us, from their eyes.
Show how the US, during the Cold War against Russia, trained whole armies in the Middle East, for the sole reason of stopping the advancement of the Red Curtain.
Show how Ford, Carter, and Reagan then supplied these countries to the point where they became dependant upon the US for their continued economy and the subsequent lack of cultural advancement. Show how this same US support dissapeared after the fall of Russia as a super power, dumping the Middle East almost all the way back into the Dark Ages.
Show how each country was broken up into small warring factions throughout the late 80's and 90's. Show how warlords gained and lost dominance through acts of terrorism, and show how the Western World's dependance on oil made those warlords into oil barons, as well. Show how terrorism became a way of getting things done, as it worked for the individual warlords, time and time again. Point out that the US trained these people in these tactics in the 60's, 70's, and 80's.
Show how Saddam overcame this petty fighting and rose into power by backstabbing his boss (quite literally, actually). Show the effect this had on the rest of the Middle East. Show how the US had a hand in helping Saddam's rise to power.
Show how Saddam got power hungry, and was trying to take over all of the Middle East. Remember that Hitler wasn't trying to take over the World. He only wanted Europe... Well, Saddam wasn't trying to take over the World, either... He only wanted the original countries that covered the Middle East, from Pakistan to parts of Africa (Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Algeria, Morrocco) and Europe (Spain, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, and parts of Russia).
Show the First Gulf War, the UN's attempt at putting the Beast back in its cage. Show how the UN left Iraq out to dry, afterwards, while Saddam continued having his armies commit genocide. Show how the entire Middle East blamed the US for the lack of action on behalf of the UN after the First Gulf War.
Show how the US projection of strength intimidated most of our enemies. Military presence means power, and we were only attacked where we were viewed as being weak. Point out that we've been getting attacked, on and off, for two decades.
Show how Clinton mostly ignored the Middle East. Show when we started closing our bases and drawing back into the US, and how many of our enemies saw that as a sign of weakness, and as an opening for an eventual attack against America, on American soil.
Show how many of the 9/11 perpretrators actually entered the US during the Clinton Administration, preparing for an eventual attack. Show the budget cuts and policy changes to immigration that allowed these people to live off the grid, illegally, for extended periods of time, while a more liberal America gave these people more and more rights, without the subsequent responsibilities of paying taxes, social security, etc...
Show how these people lived while they were here, how they recruited others in their quest to bring down the Giant.
NOW, show 9/11, and America's subsequent reaction.
Now get pissed off and look for someone to throw stones at...
Now, blame it all on Bush.
Then, realize that I'm really not defending Bush... Nor am proud or happy with the direction my country has been travelling, lately. I'm just trying to point out that he's not the only person to blame. He's just the convenient person to blame.
With that said, I feel the next 4-8 years of our country will see more of the same. I greatly doubt that Bush will get re-elected (and I really don't want him to be, either), but I've heard precious little about Kerry and Edwards to be able to see if I'd back them, either... I feel that they are not truely viable candidates, but they're going to win, primarily because they're running a very strong, negative political campaign. Additionally, I hear how they say they support certain issues, and then I read how their actions say they support the exact opposite, and how they both have bounced back and forth across issues, depending on who has been backing them...
We're in for another run of Special Interest running the country, it'll just be different special interests.
Gotta run! I spent more time on this than I should have...
Love you all.
Bryan
I agree with Bryan that the film is narrow in scope, but it does break down some barriers of discussion for this topic by provoking response. To me what's more important are some of the other topics you touch on, like protecting America solely via an overwhelming military force. Is that the only way? Over time, how will people view an America that keeps its status in the world by maintaining sheer military domination? Will America become paranoid under the constant fear of attack and the constant vigilance required to attempt to thwart those attacks?
Personally I think the present administration has gone too far down the path of overwhelming global military supremacy. I don't feel particularly protected by our current enhanced level of security; I feel like a good deal of the world is reaching new levels of contempt for America because of this style of diplomacy and that seems only to fuel the cycle of violence and retaliation that we face.
I also agree you, Bryan, that Mr. Bush is more of a fall guy for these issues that are much larger than any single person or administration. But I can say I don't agree with the way he, or his administration, is handling the situation. Their style of "you're with us or you're against us" politics only polarizes people even more, and distilling detailed topics into short briefs have resulted in uninformed "decisive" decision making that go against exactly the point you make of trying to step back and take in the whole picture.
Back to the film, perhaps an answer to your desire for an all-encompassing documentary would be to petition Ken Burns to make one as he seems to have a penchant for that sort of documentary style. Then when the 20 disk DVD set comes out, I'll be quick to get it :)
Out of curiosity, what do you and others think of Mr. Moore's other films?
No! Anything but Ken Burns!!
New Zealand commentary: New Zealand News - Coming of the anti-Bush
http://www.jibjab.com
Hehe
Well I thought I would add my 2 cents (or 1 1/2 cents at the current exchange rate) :)
I thought the film/documentary was really good....it really proves what an idiot Bush is (the last scene had me laughing forever, nice quote dumbass).
From my unique perspective - US citizen, living in Canada for the past 15 years - I have to agree with both Bryan and Matt's comments on the movie. It's obvious that Michael Moore hates Bush and that Bush isn't the brightest guy in the world....but he can't be the only one to take all the blame for Sept. 11. How he handled the situation was definately wrong....just where are those WMDs that Iraq was supposed to have? And why did it take so long to go into Afghanistan and go after Osama. There should have been special elite groups (Delta/SEALs/Rangers/etc.) sent in to hunt the mofo down.
Just the cost of war alone is staggering - from the lives of those men & women fighting overseas to the actual financial burden. I really think the states has a bad reputation of looking for wars to fight - to keep those government contracts lining the wealthy few's pockets. Why do we try to help/solve other countries problems when back home there are high levels of unemployment/crime/drugs, health-care problems, education funding shortages (which is where it all starts with the future of this country), and so on.....
Now don't get me wrong, the states must have a strong military presence and we shouldn't hesitate to go after terrorists for JUST reasons...but how can we look after others when we can't even take care of ourselves?!?!?!
It's nice to know that if we travelled overseas that we could proudly wear/display the Canadian flag. It's a shame that I can't say the same for the American flag. I am proud to be an American but our reputation has taken a beating in the last decade or two, something must be done to restore the pride of the red, white and blue.
I don't pretend to know much about politics these days, but after the 2000 election and this film, I do read a little bit more of the paper each day now. Did ya know Clinton was in T.O. for a book signing today! Anyways, the world is changing - I just don't know if it's for the better....
On another note regarding F9/11 - what the hell happened with all those people from Florida who had those petitions with missing signatures from senators (I'm a little fuzzy on the details from the film, but I did see Bon Jovi in the background of the shot with Gore in front of the Florida Victory sign!). Why the hell didn't this get resolved instead of swept under the rug? And why is the voting system set up so that even though Gore got the most popular votes, but he lost because of the old-school way in which states are given so many 'I don't know what the hell there called votes'.....I really don't know all the proper terms since I never got to vote in the states. I think they're called electoral votes?
Good news - the DVD will be out in October, just in time for the election!
With all this talk of this documentary I must mention another documentary I recently saw....that's right folks.....Some Kind Of Monster.....METALLICA baby!!! It truly was awesome and insightful. Who knew that a psychiatrist to the stars makes $40,000 a month (the guy Metallica hired made almost a million I believe).
Now don't laugh....nobody other band in the world has the balls to show what happened during those two years in the making of the St.Anger album. It was very brave on their part and truly shows how great of a band they are. Matt - on a personal note, they got started in the Bay area, call San Francisco their home, started to record St. Anger at a home-built studio in the Presidio, moved out and built their own studio called HQ somewhere near San Rafael...
That's all for now folks!