To use the inventive vernacular of our current president, "Fahrenheit 9/11" angrified me. Not just
because of the lies that led to an unjust war, or the corporate ties that seem to surround so many
major financial decisions -- but because it all didn't have to happen this way. Michael Moore says it
best at the outset of his film: Was this all some kind of horrible dream?
After the bungled 2000 (s)election, in which dozens of blacks in Florida were prohibited from
voting and a handful of Republican leaders called the shots, the results still needed to be certified
through Congress. In perhaps one of the most shocking, why-haven't-we-seen-it-until-now
moments of his sobering documentary, Moore shows us C-SPAN footage of lame duck Al Gore
presiding over the certification. In order for the results to be challenged, just one Representative
and one Senator need to sign a petition. About 10 (all minority) Representatives come up to the
podium only to be sent back to the gallery in futile disgust. Not one Senator would sign the form.
100 elected officials, many of them Democrats, several from the Blue States -- and not one would
step forward. It's hard to believe that from my home state of California -- the most liberal of the
liberal, the first state in the union to elect two females to the Senate -- that neither Barbara Boxer
nor Dianne Fienstein (she who made her name as mayor of San Francisco, a city so blue it's
practically purple) would challenge the fraudulent election results in Florida. I'm about thisclose to
sending my Senators a copy of JFK's Profiles in Courage.
This is just one of the many horrifying events that Moore tackles with the subtlety of a smart bomb
in "Fahrenheit 9/11," a supremely partisan wake-up call that manages to entertain, arouse, infuriate,
sadden, and educate while covering many sides of our ongoing political battles. There's no doubt
that the director is largely preaching to the choir -- and about half of the country would probably
add manipulate and pander to my list of verbs -- but there's no disputing the connections and facts
that Moore unearths in his taut piece of what is essentially investigative journalism.
Perhaps what is most gratifying about the film is the distinction it makes between being anti-war but
pro-American. It's a pretty easy concept to grasp, but one that often escapes attention by the major
media outlets. Whether your news radar is set to the conservative Fox News Channel or supposed
liberal dailies like the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle, our freedom of speech is too
great to deny. Disliking the President but supporting the troops can certainly be viewed as separate
sentiments, unique notions, and completely patriotic. A wise Frenchman, upon whose ideas much
of the Constitution of the United States was based, once remarked that "I disapprove of what you
say, but will defend to the death your right to say it." It has become all too common to declare
voices of protest as treacherous, anti-American, or dangerous to society. Moore flies in the face of
such ludicrousness with his vicious attacks on crooked politics and big business.
During the heart-wrenching second half of "Fahrenheit 9/11," however, the director achieves his
pinnacle of emotional resonance. Three brief vignettes perfectly encapsulate the horror of war
from distinct points of view: An Iraqi woman wails upon seeing her house get blown apart (and
then begs Allah to kill Americans in retaliation), a group of combat-weary soliders burst into a
civilian home on Christmas Eve to shudderingly upsetting results, and, most effectively, a Michigan
mother laments the loss of her son in Iraq despite prior support for the war effort. It is with this
woman, Lila Lipscomb, that Moore best makes his case against Bush. She represents all of the
sadness, disillusionment, and pain that his presidency has cast upon this country.
Contrary to popular perception, the documentary genre does not insinuate objective storytelling.
Every piece of recorded film harbors some aspect of subjective meaning, and Moore, quite
successfully, argues his case clearly, emotionally, and persuasively. (There's also a clear difference
between lying and using proven facts to make an argument.) One's incoming political ideology
probably won't change after seeing "Fahrenheit 9/11," but the pool of debate has now been stirred
so vigorously that change feels right around the corner.
Director: Michael Moore
Screened: June 25
Grade: A
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