Fahrenheit 9/11: Review By derekmay

Ok, let’s get the basics out of the way. Is this a doc*mentary? Yes. And no. A doc*mentary is defined as “ dealing with real events and people in a factual way.” Does Michael Moore deal with real events and people? Most certainly yes. Does he do it in a factual way? If you mean does he offer facts and doc*mented proof? Then again the answer is - yes. If you mean does he do it in an unbiased, objective sense? Then the answer is - not in the slightest.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Moore hasn’t made a secret of his distaste (read as hatred) of George W. Bush and his government. So why would anyone in their right mind expect him to be totally objective in a film exploring the history of Bush’s term and rise to it? This is a film about presenting evidence. Moore is no different than Johnny Cochran arguing his case in a colorful, entertaining and undeniably subjective way. Only in this case, it’s a pretty compelling argument that the glove does indeed fit. Like the say in CSI, the evidence never lies, though the interpretation might be skewed. But that doesn’t necessarily make him wrong.

Without bringing my own personal opinions too much into play here, Michael Moore does, in fact, accomplish what he set out to do. Just as “Bowling for Columbine” was intended to be a wake up call to America’s raging gun control problem, “Fahrenheit 9/11” is a slap to the back of the head, forcing us to ask how we got to this point, who is leading us there, and why have we allowed it for long? Despite your political beliefs, he does present evidence to support his contention that it’s our current president, George W. Bush, who’s guilty on all counts.

Without giving too much away, Moore presents video footage demonstrating how the 2000 election results were, according to his findings, manipulated in favor of Bush, effectively robbing Gore of the victory. He also offers footage of the 9/11 attacks (though to his credit he never shows the actual planes crashing or victims dying) and Bush’s less than immediate reaction to the crisis. He moves on to speculate that the reason for such lackluster reaction is due to the fact that he and his family have not only been tied to the Saudi Arabian royal family for decades, but also the Bin Laden family. The evidence is strong and compelling, and offered with an unapologetic bias towards Bush. Some will say, and they may be right, that evidence can been skewed to support any contention. True. But while Moore may be pushing us to side with him, the evidence he presents doesn’t take much pushing.

The most persuasive piece of the film comes from his commentary on the wars both in Afghanistan and Iraq. While the implications he makes that both were the result of a long-standing grudge by George W. to avenge his father are reaching and arguably the most opinionated conclusions of the film, the first-hand accounts of the soldiers fighting over there are not. Moore does offer both perspectives; from the trigger-happy NCO who pumps himself up for battle by listening to “Drowning Pool” to the soldiers asking why they had to see their friends die, their limbs blown apart and their families grieve. The men and women serving are portrayed as innocent pawns in Bush’s game. However, Moore’s opinion aside, the heartfelt stories of familys losing their children, mothers crying for their sons and soldiers questioning the sanity of their leaders is undeniably powerful.

Is this a doc*mentary? I would say only by the most liberal of definitions. Does it matter? No. It doesn’t because by now everyone knows Michael Moore. They know his views, they know his politics and they know his biases. This is a film that presents all of those in a way that he hopes will, if nothing else, create a dialogue that is sorely lacking. Politics aside, this is a powerful work of film that sets out to do a job and, in my opinion, accomplishes it with factual evidence, biting commentary, effective editing and unabashed subjectivity. Regardless of personal beliefs, this is a film that should be seen. What you think after that is your right. For good or for bad, Michael Moore has created something to get us talking. Isn’t that what a good film is supposed to do?