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Fahrenheit 911
1:23 p.m. on 2004-07-05

I went to see a preview showing of Michael Moore�s new movie, Fahrenheit 911, with Louise last night. Won the tickets through the Independent, although I�d have gone to see it anyway. I might go see it again.

If you know the first thing about me, you�d know that I was already one of the converted before I saw this movie. I thought Bush was an idiot before he stole the election in Florida, and thus the vote. I never supported the war in Iraq, never believed the claims to the existence of the WoMDs or the links between Saddam and Osama Bin Laden. Images from 911 still have the power to make me cry, but I don�t believe that those 3000 deaths were the reason we invaded a country.

So yeah. Preaching to the converted. I�m a bit of a fan of Michael Moore�s work anyway, if not the man himself. I�ve read three of his books, watched a bit of TV Nation when it was one, and have watched and rewatched Bowling for Columbine many times over.

His new movie is the centre of a storm of controversy over in the States, and here in the UK, where, thanks to the position of Blair�s tongue (firmly licking Bush� if you�ll pardon the pun) we were dragged into a war nobody wanted. Republicans dismiss it as propaganda, typical John Kerry hero-worship, a deliberate attempt to sway the opinions of voters in the run up to the election. I think they�re wrong. Moore does his bit, in the movie, to attack the response of the Democrats to the underhanded dealings of the Bush administration. I don�t think it shows the Democrats in a good light � merely as the lesser of two evils. Democrats worry that it may do more harm than good, alienating huge sections of middle class society who usually vote Democrat in its approach to the armed service�s recruitment style, and its attack on the �Blue Chip� companies profiting from the war. I doubt it. Any Democrat watching this movie already believes in the illegality of the war, and I don�t think they will be put off by the vitriolic insults Moore pokes at the image of Bush. The American media attack it, simply because it sells papers � Republicans wanting to shake an angry finger, and Democrats wanting to nod their heads in agreement.

As for me? I�m a liberal (small �l�) English girl with a vague knowledge of politics, who reads the Independent a couple of times a week, but can�t keep the names straight in her head. And I think the most powerful criticism that should be levelled against the movie is simply this � it�s a movie. Not a documentary.

A good documentary should present evidence, and allow the audience to make up its own mind. Allowances can be made for the journalists becoming personally involved in the story, of taking a side themselves, but they should take the form of both the defence and the prosecution, presenting facts and witness statements, before ending on a question: �What do YOU, the audience, think?�

Moore doesn�t do this. From the very first frame of the movie, he has an intent. And whilst, despite all the bickering in the American press, the back-and-forth tennis match played out between MichaelMoore.com and his critics, I do believe that almost all of what Moore chooses to present is the truth. I just don�t believe it�s the whole truth.

Louise made a good point. When recounting how Bush spoke of his �Coalition of the Willing,� Moore took the opportunity to highlight some of the members of this Coalition. And I knew what he was getting at � I know that of the Coalition, only a few made a significant contribution to the war effort, and you can�t count Iceland or Morocco as really backing the States (even with their promises of support and, um, monkeys. Don�t ask). But as Louise pointed out, hello? Britain, remember us? I saw Tony Blair pop up in the occasional bit of Fahrenheit 911 (to the boos of the audience), but we were barely mentioned, and neither were the Australians, the Koreans, or the Japanese.

I know, it�s only one example of Moore presenting �the truth, but not quite the whole truth.� But it�s a good one.

Watching the movie, there was always this underlying suspicion that I was being manipulated by Moore to feel a certain way. And, of course, I was. But this only served to undermine his purpose, it cheapened what truly powerful footage he had got.

Because there�s some scary shit in that movie, I tell you.

His handling of 911 itself. A blacked out screen for several minutes, with just the audio of people�s reactions. His amazing footage of �behind the scenes� in Iraq. Firstly, the �before� pictures (not normally shown, especially on US television) of kids playing in Iraq, of life going on normally. No one likes to admit that Iraq was not a hellish land of savagery, that we were not leading them into this beautiful land of �freedom.� Then the �after� pictures. Not just the wounds, although I�ve never seen anything like the film Moore showed us � bodies dumped on trucks, corpses left by the side of the road or crushed under buildings, gathering flies. Close ups of wounded children with gaping holes in their arms or heads.

And the US troops. Wounded US soldiers. Dead soldiers. The shock, fear, confusion in the faces of these men and women, some as young as seventeen. Old enough to shoot a stranger but not to drink in their home state.

Snippets of interview footage with soldiers. The incredible grief of two women, one Iraqi, one American.

I�ve never known a film to produce such a set of mixed emotions. Shock, sure. This desire to turn away from the screen, to cover my eyes and black the whole thing out. It�s easy to do with the tv � just flip over to Neighbours and blank out with a bit of �Harold-Lou bicker-slash-between-lines-sexual-tension�. It�s not so easy to do when you�re in a cinema, sat with the huge screen in front of you, and people either side.

Grief. I cried over both the American and the Iraqi woman. I�ve never really lost anyone in my life, no one close. But as the American described her physical feelings, the sense of something gripping her and knocking her down, the Iraqi woman wailed and cried out to God to avenge her family.

And� frustration. I think that�s the word. Frustrated that despite knowing that Moore had deliberately picked these instances to show the audience, to �prove� his points, to shock us and crush any pro-war lingerings we might have had, I couldn�t control my reaction.

Propaganda is probably a good word to describe Fahrenheit 911. Ironically, at one point, Moore chose to show us a recruitment video used by the US to encourage young men and women to sign up. The soldiers are portrayed as super heroes, putting on their magic suit to go fight evil, before returning to their normal jobs as better, more noble people. It was awful tosh. But whilst watching it, I couldn�t help worry that wasn�t Fahrenheit 911 guilty of the same thing?

War is bad. I get it. I got it before, but perhaps not to the same extent. And perhaps that�s where Moore�s talent lies. He doesn�t succeed in changing a mind, but in strengthening it�s resolve. He preaches to the converted, and encourages them to act upon their hitherto unspoken feelings of frustration and disenfranchisement.

I�m going to watch it again. It�s probably a good movie to see twice. The first time round, I vented all the exact emotions Moore wanted to provoke. The second time around? Maybe I�ll be able to watch from a distance, judge Moore�s technique and his motives.

Or maybe not. I suspect the grief of both the Iraqi and American women will stay with me for a long time to come, no matter how many times I see the movie.

Listening to: Macross Plus OST

Quote: �There's an old saying in Tennessee. I know it's in Texas, probably Tennessee, that says: "Fool me once... shame on... shame on� shame on you. [thinks] Ya fool me...um� ya can't get fooled again." � George Bush

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