Northwind's review and impressions of F911 (minor spoilage)

[Northwind]

From the Strange Blog

My best friend, my girlfriend, and myself went to see Michael Moore's new documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 yesterday afternoon. Surprisingly, the movie was playing in at least 12 theaters in the DFW area. Before its release I had wondered if theaters in Texas would refuse to carry it. However, desire to reap the profits from it seems to have trumped ideological censorship.

That is a very fortunate thing, because this is a very important film. Everyone should go see it. Not so it makes money, but so its message gets out. Going in, I did not expect to learn too much. I have been pretty active politically for the past couple of years. Every morning I start the day with coffee in one hand and mouse in the other, browsing through about 12 different news web sites, from the mainstream American press to BBC and worldwide independent sources. And in fact, most of the things Moore discusses in F911 were already known to me, in a general sense at least. A few things were new to me. And they were chilling. There was a brief chronicle of events of the theft of the Florida election in 2000, which included the certification of the results by a joint session of Congress, in which all members of the CBC (Congressional Black Caucus) had signed a document objecting to the certification. This procedure is entirely constitutional. Any member of Congress may make such an objection. To be effective (delay certification), however, the resolution must be signed by at least one Senator as well as the participating members of the House of Representatives. Not one Senator had the courage to stand with his or her colleagues and challenge the obvious partisan and legally questionable election results. This entire episode was new to me. It was never carried by the right-wing mainstream press, so most Americans do not even know it happened. That was the first taste one got in the film of how badly the press has done its job since 2000. After that, it got really scary.

The movie opens with some talk of George Bush taking office amid protests in D.C. Thousands of people gathered and pelted his limo with eggs as he rode to his inauguration. That has never happened at an inaugural event. Ever. I never saw any coverage of that back in 2001. It was news to me. After that, Moore discusses Bush's work ethic, or lack thereof, discussing the fact that Bush hid from the public during 2001, taking vacations to escape thoughts of his 45% approval ratings.

Then the screen goes dark, and you hear a loud swooshing, air rushing sound, followed by the sounds of explosions. People screaming, yelling exclamations. Then another. Cut to the faces of people, New Yorkers, looking upwards, hands over mouths in horror, sitting in the street crying. Moore does not show the Twin Towers burning. Instead he showed the people. The impact is something I cannot adequately describe. Just writing about it now a day later I am fighting back tears. My girlfriend, who is from New York originally, volunteered in the ground zero zone in the days following 9/11. Watching all of this was very hard for her. She had been there, slogging through piles of dust and ash, and yes, finding pieces of bodies in the debris. I looked to her as the scenes rolled across the screen. She was crying. So was I. I held her hand and we prepared for the rest. This was just the opener, but it just got rougher.

Using a combination of footage of news programs, previously televised interviews and new interviews done specifically for the film, Moore shows how the Bush administration used 9/11 to boost its standing with the public, and how they betrayed the public without hesitation. Moore talks to FBI agents, people in the intelligence community, members of congress, and a host of people who have extensively researched the Bush family and the road to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. With all of this, he paints a very disturbing picture of a perfunctory effort in Afghanistan (did you know we only put 11,000 troops on the ground to catch bin Laden?) He chronicles the Bush family connections with the oil industry, with particular detail paid to their oil industry ties to the Saudi Royal family and, believe it or not, the bin Laden family (did you know that Bush had a string of business failures, all of which had funding from Saudi Royals?). Moore then shows us how the Bush administration kept a consistent level of fear in the American populace, all the while implicitly (and inaccurately) linking Iraq with 9/11, how they used this climate of fear to generate support for an unjustified and unnecessary war. From interviews with troops on the ground in Iraq to a grieving mother in Flint michigan who's son was killed in Iraq in April, Moore shows us the impact of Iraq on our own soldiers, living, crippled (one scene with a young man who'd had his hands shot off is especially moving) and killed in action, as well as the impact on people back home who lost loved ones, for what we all now know is a lie.

Some people, right wingers and others in deep denial, will attempt, and have already attempted, to call Moore's new film biased or flatly untrue. Truth, however, is not biased, it is simply truth. And Moore delivers it. I have heard lots of right-wing operatives calling Moore a liar, but I have yet to see one of them actually be able to call Moore on a factual error or falsehood in this film. This film is the truth that should have been told 2 years ago, but everyone was afraid to tell.

Everyone should see this

[Frances]

1. I think this film puts the Bushites

on the defensive and they aren't used to that

[Longhorn]

2. Excellent account!

I wish it could be required viewing for every American. Some folks may not change their minds but at least they had a chance to examine the facts. Thanks!

[Northwind]

3. Any Bush supporter who sees it

And does not change their mind about Bush will simply be proving their inability to face reality.