Year: 2004
Director: Michael Moore
Country: US
Language: English
Let me get this out of the way, I cannot give an objective opinion about Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 because I honestly cannot stand the man as a film-maker. Don't get me wrong, I do agree with most of the man's politics. I do think he has a certain amount of bravery for producing these films when there is a lot at risk. He does make films about important topics...I just don't think he has many intelligent points. Like in Bowling for Columbine he spends the entire film saying "guns are bad" but doesn't get to any sociological (or even psychological) reasoning and he doesn't propose any real solutions aside from "get the guns out!" Genius, that man is.
Fahrenheit 9/11 is Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The highest grossing documentary ever made (hold on, I'll get a barf bag) upon release it managed to receive financial and critical success. It received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Palm D'or that year over greater films like Wong Kar Wai's 2046. Many people cite this film as groundbreaking...but was it? Afterall Green Day had spoken up against Bush with their album American Idiot, the Dixie Chicks said they were ashamed of Bush in 2003 and many people were already analyzing the necessity of the Iraq war. Moore was a bit late on this gravy train.
A lot of what is said in Fahrenheit 9/11, that the poor are being disenfranchised and being used as military cannon fodder, that the war against terrorism is unjust had been said decades earlier by smarter men than Moore (read: Noam Chomsky). It's low brow, low class propaganda (but propaganda on our side!) that is equally as fear mongering as the far right's fox news. I agree whole heartedly that Bush was/is a corrupt and foolish leader, but I can't stand Moore's love for bullet points. He has many small arguments that he doesn't probe too deep into. It's merely a flesh wound rather than a full amputation of the system.
Still there are moments of the film that I like. For instance when Moore hits the steps of the Capitol to ask Congressman if they will sign up their children for war it marks an uncomfortable yet funny part of the film that shows where people's intentions truly lie. He calls out these people to their face, rather than making them look foolish through manipulative editing practices (albeit it's hard not to catch Bush looking dumb).
[I'd just like to point out that the most iconic scene of the film, wherein Bush learns about 9/11 and continues reading the book to the elementary school classroom, isn't really a fair depiction of a bumbling president. What would you have done in that situation? There's no real right answer.]
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