Fahrenheit 9/11 is a big, cinematic sour cream pie in the face of George W. Bush, his crew; a group that hijacked patriotism in the same way that the Taliban hijacked Islam, as well as the social sector he represents. Yeah, it's manipulative, and sometimes blatant. The sequence showing a kid flying his kite just before the bombs started falling made me wince a little. But Moore would probably say he's merely fighting fire with fire, pie with pie. The kite kid may have been having fun but the ground on which he ran was just a thin crust over an abyss of summary amputations, hydrochloric acid immersions, midnight disappearances, and very hard time in Abu Ghraib. This was Saddam's Iraq, remember; the nearest thing we had on Earth to the Klingon Empire. It's also periodically hilarious (Witness the incredulous Congressman when Moore asks him to consider sending his own kids into the service and to Iraq.) For viewers on the left, Fahrenheit 9/11 will certainly re-fan any waning flames of activism. It will make those on the right gnash teeth and cry foul. But for those not sure what to think it may supply a quite weather-resistant something to think about.
Despite its upside yo' head approach, Fahrenheit 9/11 actually let George Bush off more easily than it might have; certainly his cast of supporting characters: the comb-licking Paul Wolfowitz, the chilling and hypocritical Dick Cheney (5 Vietnam-related draft deferments yet an avowed war hawk), the simply strange Condoleezza Rice, and our own Othello, Colin Powell, to mention a few. There is more that the film could have said, as well as a few things that could have been said better; possibly an even closer look at the murky relationships that underpin the Bush family, especially its CIA connections. Let's not forget that one of the Agency's known modus operandi is the manipulation of elections, although historically in foreign countries historically. Remember also that the CIA's mission is only tangentially to protect us here. Its real prime directive is optimizing conditions for American interests abroad, especially business interests. At least some reference to the repercussions of a post-Saddam power vacuum would have been good in this film's context, perhaps addressing the deluge of Iranian and Saudi cash in support of Iraqi Shiite and Sunni factions respectively. It only hints at the absolutely stunning lack of foresight on the part of the Bush Administration that has us and our stalwart service people up to our waists in the mire, regardless of how righteous the initial motives for invasion may have seemed. Too much was probably made by Moore of the Bin Laden family's hasty post-9/11 exit from the country, as these people were almost certainly innocent of any wrongdoing. Sure, they were tight with the Bushes, but that's not yet a crime. Too little was said about the administration's thinly-veiled, near-unprecedented arrogance toward the, albeit, lily-livered legislative branch of the government, on which our current unilateralism is founded. But, all considered, the film's main point has been made, or at least implied.
For many Hindus, everything is Karma; a word that translates most simply as Action, or possibly both action and its result. Nonaction is also a form of karma, because it too can generate results. That the Bush Administration is even possible reflects the karma of the sort of stall-inducing aerodynamic drag that results when a culture becomes, perhaps, too civilized; too complex, too disembodied, too abstracted by its own weight and momentum; a construct into which enormous quantities of energy must be channeled merely to hold it all together. Fahrenheit 9/11 is the Bush Administration's karma, the result of underestimating the intelligence of the majority of Americans and over-estimating its own charisma, as well as that of the presidential office. We're reminded that the real power in America tends to run at periscope depth, but under the cool Bush sparkle it has broken the surface, like a modern nuclear sub; conning tower out, most of the hull still submerged.
If the events surrounding the 2000 presidential election returns from Florida had transpired in France, much of the country's population would probably have been in the streets. In fact, they still might be there today. The French tend to be quite realistic about some things, such as sex, politics, and, of course, international relations; one of the main reasons Paris was not shelled into rubble by Hitler. But they do know how to be really p***ed off when that is called for; something we're still learning. The fact that, in a culture as politically demure as ours, Bush's inaugural motorcade was egged implies that America has not yet completely lost its cojones. The parallel fact that many media pundits denounced Fahrenheit 9/11 before it was ever screened should be reason enough for almost anyone to see it, aside from the fact that nothing like this film has ever been made for major release. It is something of a milestone. There's an old saying that has numerous variants: 'When among the wolves, howl.' In that light, Michael Moore, the current alpha coyote of the Left of Center pack, definitely be howlin'. That a film like this can be made and seen is a testament to how cool, and hot, America still is. Word is that an anti-Michael Moore film is slated for release. I'm sure Moore would say, 'Bring it on.'
Despite its upside yo' head approach, Fahrenheit 9/11 actually let George Bush off more easily than it might have; certainly his cast of supporting characters: the comb-licking Paul Wolfowitz, the chilling and hypocritical Dick Cheney (5 Vietnam-related draft deferments yet an avowed war hawk), the simply strange Condoleezza Rice, and our own Othello, Colin Powell, to mention a few. There is more that the film could have said, as well as a few things that could have been said better; possibly an even closer look at the murky relationships that underpin the Bush family, especially its CIA connections. Let's not forget that one of the Agency's known modus operandi is the manipulation of elections, although historically in foreign countries historically. Remember also that the CIA's mission is only tangentially to protect us here. Its real prime directive is optimizing conditions for American interests abroad, especially business interests. At least some reference to the repercussions of a post-Saddam power vacuum would have been good in this film's context, perhaps addressing the deluge of Iranian and Saudi cash in support of Iraqi Shiite and Sunni factions respectively. It only hints at the absolutely stunning lack of foresight on the part of the Bush Administration that has us and our stalwart service people up to our waists in the mire, regardless of how righteous the initial motives for invasion may have seemed. Too much was probably made by Moore of the Bin Laden family's hasty post-9/11 exit from the country, as these people were almost certainly innocent of any wrongdoing. Sure, they were tight with the Bushes, but that's not yet a crime. Too little was said about the administration's thinly-veiled, near-unprecedented arrogance toward the, albeit, lily-livered legislative branch of the government, on which our current unilateralism is founded. But, all considered, the film's main point has been made, or at least implied.
For many Hindus, everything is Karma; a word that translates most simply as Action, or possibly both action and its result. Nonaction is also a form of karma, because it too can generate results. That the Bush Administration is even possible reflects the karma of the sort of stall-inducing aerodynamic drag that results when a culture becomes, perhaps, too civilized; too complex, too disembodied, too abstracted by its own weight and momentum; a construct into which enormous quantities of energy must be channeled merely to hold it all together. Fahrenheit 9/11 is the Bush Administration's karma, the result of underestimating the intelligence of the majority of Americans and over-estimating its own charisma, as well as that of the presidential office. We're reminded that the real power in America tends to run at periscope depth, but under the cool Bush sparkle it has broken the surface, like a modern nuclear sub; conning tower out, most of the hull still submerged.
If the events surrounding the 2000 presidential election returns from Florida had transpired in France, much of the country's population would probably have been in the streets. In fact, they still might be there today. The French tend to be quite realistic about some things, such as sex, politics, and, of course, international relations; one of the main reasons Paris was not shelled into rubble by Hitler. But they do know how to be really p***ed off when that is called for; something we're still learning. The fact that, in a culture as politically demure as ours, Bush's inaugural motorcade was egged implies that America has not yet completely lost its cojones. The parallel fact that many media pundits denounced Fahrenheit 9/11 before it was ever screened should be reason enough for almost anyone to see it, aside from the fact that nothing like this film has ever been made for major release. It is something of a milestone. There's an old saying that has numerous variants: 'When among the wolves, howl.' In that light, Michael Moore, the current alpha coyote of the Left of Center pack, definitely be howlin'. That a film like this can be made and seen is a testament to how cool, and hot, America still is. Word is that an anti-Michael Moore film is slated for release. I'm sure Moore would say, 'Bring it on.'