"Fahrenheit 9/11" is just as amazing as I thought it would be.
It goes like this. The Bush Administration seized power by a fraudulent vote in Florida and exploited the September 11 terrorist attacks to pump up fear, tamp down dissent, enrich its cronies and, ultimately, to launch an ill-advised war against Iraq - on the dubious grounds that Saddam Hussein was somehow in league with Al Qaeda.
Michael Moore's telling of this narrative is enthralling and always entertaining. He begins by showing Al Gore's victory celebration on Election Night 2000 and wondering "Were the past four years just a bad dream?" We then see details of how Florida was rigged for Bush and his inauguration on a rainy day with huge protests in the streets and eggs being thrown at the motorcade. Prior to 9/11, Bush is shown as laid back and ineffective. His vacation for the entire month of August, 2001 is emphasized by the song on the soundtrack : "Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, time to get away." (The song remained stuck in my head for the entire film) Then 9/11 is handled well by showing a black screen with the sounds of the airplanes crashing. Video is shown of Bush learning of the second plane hitting the tower and then sitting in a Florida classroom for a full seven minutes, with a vacant stare on his face and reading "My Pet Goat." We then learn how the administration made sure that all members of the Bin Laden family were safely flown out of the country without being detained for questioning. We also learn about the Bush family's ties with Saudi Arabia and the Bin Laden family in their oil business. Moore raises the point : "If you earned $400,000 in salary from taxpayers as President, and millions from Saudi Arabian oil interests, who would you be the most loyal to?"
Moore then explores the Patriot Act (most members of Congress didn't have time to read it before voting for it), the color coded terrorist threat warnings (used to induce fear), the insufficient job of defending the homefront (a national parks staffer complains that their budget is nonexistant), and the military's emphasis on recruiting among the poorest classes where the military is their best shot of going to college.
Finally Moore gets to Iraq where precious resources needed to hunt Bin Laden in Afghanistan were diverted. It is demonstrated that the administration pushed for war with Iraq from the beginning, even though the case could be made that Saudi Arabia was more responsible for 9/11. We see first-hand the devastation suffered by innocent Iraqi civilians. We also see the death and injuries of many of our own troops. The kicker is his interviews with the mother of a U.S. soldier. In the beginning, she supports the war and the administration. But after her son is killed and she receives his last letter where he writes that Bush sent him there for no reason, she changes her mind and asks what the point of this war was, going as far as traveling to Washington D.C. to stand outside of the White House gates and demand answers. It's heartbreaking and riveting. Even if Bush feels that he doesn't owe anything to Michael Moore, he does owe a damn good explanation to each of the families who lost their loved ones in a war that was fought under false pretenses.
To sum up, everyone must see this movie. I went with my friend Kerry and some of her friends and, to us, it felt like Moore was preaching to the converted. What we need to do is to bring Republicans and undecided voters to see this movie, especially those who live in the swing states. Kerry raised a good point in that some people might be turned off by the partisan manner in which Moore mocks Bush. But even if they don't buy some of Moore's points, there are others that will give them serious pause about Bush and his cronies.
On a side note about the theater I saw the movie at. It was the Loews on 34th Street and 8th Avenue. It was the first time I'd been to a theater where they had reserved seating up front, with food menus for the concession stands and ushers who take orders and bring food to your seat! At the movies! Unreal.
