fahrenheit 9/11

I'm surprised no one has started anything on it. It's hard to seperate a discussion on the movie from a discussion on politics, but seeing as how I didn't post this in NOTD, I'll try.

I really like Micheal Moore's stuff, and in a general sense, we agree on most fronts. However, I enjoyed this movie the least of all his I've seen (I believe I've seen them all). His arguments are sound, but as opposed to being against any specific topic as his previous stories, it came off as more of a personal vendetta against the Bushes, and therefore was too "scattered" in my opinion.

Thoughts?

 

Moore

 

I think that whether you like him or not..he helps bring out a lot of the fucked up things the government does...not like we didn't know the government does fucked up things....It did seem like a personal atack on the Busehs though.

 

i think what many are overlooking as deeming this "an attack on the bushes" is that this movie is a testament to our abrasive tendency to leach onto all things american without looking at ourselves in the mirror. fear, power, money and ignorance are a recipe for disaster- and thats what we are facing in this country politically and socially. the most touching part of the movie was the 2nd half, where the exploitation of young poor men was shown; these are the men that allow us to be free, and yet here we are gung-ho about war before we really have debated the necessity of said war. The attack on bush was right down my alley, although a bit over the top.

 

I guess I'll go see it. BFC was a great movie. And Mac and Me.

 

Not his best, but still powerful.

I agree that is was "scattered." It also lacked the personal identification that his past films have had. Were we supposed to identify with Lila? With the soldier who refused to go back to Iraq? With the "Burn, ************, Burn" tanker?

I think part of the problem was the reliance on news & archival footage. Too little of the film was shot by Moore and Crew to establish a true narrative. In some ways, it felt like the editing process was "Cool soundbite let's use it." "Where?" "Don't worry, we'll make it fit."

 

I have not seen it and will therefore not comment on its content but I do think it is a little alarming to see the movie industry being used as a what amounts to a political ad. Moore has an admitted agenda of removing Bush from office. Are we going to see more and more movies that forsake entertainment value and seek a political agenda? This hardly seems like a good thing regardless of where you stand.

 

It seems like a perfectly legitimate use of a media form, Thelt. Our culture has come to view movies as nothing more than mindless entertainment and we expect so little from them. Your view of what constitutes film may be a bit myopic.

Movies with a political agenda have always been with us, and I hope, that they always will. Movies such as "Birth of A Nation," "To Kill A Mockingbird", "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "The Day The Earth Stood Still," "Dr. Strangelove," to some I'm sure is on your must watch list like "Rambo" and "Red Dawn" all have a political message.

The Documentary form has been a medium for more upfront and open political messages. Just look at the current crop of documentary films such as "The Corporation," "Fog of War," or ones from the past such as "The Uprising of '34." All had strong political content. You just aren't used to seeing it become a part of the popular culture as is happening with Moore's work.

 

Sure lots of movies have political overtones but Moore's work is overt. If this is going to become common place should campaign finance laws not be ammended to cover such things? Should the buget for this movie be subtracted from what Kerry is allowed to spend on his campaign? Should the other side be allowed "equal time" by having a movie made by a conservative?

To me this opens a bag of worms that no one really knows how to deal with yet.

 

The bag has been open for years Thelt. Just because it's moved out of talk radio and the conservative echo chamber and into the theaters where it's now in liberal echo chambers doesn't make it any different.

The only thing that is different is that it's bugging you now because it's not your echo chamber.