Fahrenheit 9/11 - Fact or Fiction - Movie Review Example

 Fahrenheit 9/11 - Fact or Fiction The after effectives of the tragedy of that took place on September 11, 2001 are still very vivid in our minds. It is also a tragedy that is constantly being manipulated by those in the political arena and in the media. The film Fahrenheit 9/11 by filmmaker Michael Moore has made a great impact and divided the American community into two camps, those that think that film is accurate in its claims and those that think it is propaganda to undermine the Bush administration. We will take a critical look at the documentary and try to see if it is indeed fact or fiction, why it was so effective and the reason for its great success. We will begin by looking at the film and the writer, Michael Moore. Michael Moore was born on April 24th, 1954 in Flint, Michigan1. His birth place was the genesis of his life as a documentary filmmaker. Moore grew up in Davison, a suburb of Flint, where he went to and graduated from Davison high school in 1972. From his early years, Moore displayed a streak of the rebel or what some might call defender of the down trodden. Upon graduation Moore "ran for and won a seat” on the Davison school board on the issue of firing the principle and vice principle. By the end of his term both had resigned from their positions2. We catch here a glimpse of the future populist and the extents he will go through to bring to order the issues he believes in. Another notable point of interest to be observed in the beginnings of this future Academy Award winner is the fact that he was an Eagle Scout, the highest honor to be achieved by a member of the boy Scouts of America organization. For his Eagle scout project, the young Michael made a documentary about safety hazards and issues around his community3. He we see the birth of the filmmaker and the influences that lead to his future projects concerning the communities we live in. Moore’s choices for his films all relate to his own life in some way or other. As we saw from his early Boy Scout days, community issues were a big part of the work he did and continues to do. According to Wikepidia free encyclopedia information at Answers.com, Moore started an opinion paper called the Flint Voice after dropping out of college. He later changed it to the Michigan Voice. He soon moved on to doing another opinion paper called Mother Jones from which he was fired. He sued over the issue of his firing because he disapproved of an article he thought of as unfair to the Sandinistas of Nicaragua. He won and the money he got went towards his first major documentary, Roger and Me. In Roger and Me, Moore took on corporate America. Moore was seen as a champion of the underdog, a theme that seems to underscore many of his documentaries. The film like his other documentaries looks at the realities of society as seen by Moore. His narrative, interviews of subjects and his own beliefs create films that captivate the audience whether they agree or disagree with his views. Michael Moore has taken the American ideal of freedom of speech and translated it to film with his own brand of story-telling. He chooses subjects that are at the heart of the community and which he seems to pick for the debate they will inspire, thus keeping him at the forefront of media attention. In his Academy Award winning documentary, Bowling for Columbine, he took on the National Rifle Association as part of the problem for the tragedy that occurred at Columbine High School in Colorado. In his most controversial documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, which won a Plame d’Or award at the Cannes film festival, Moore bashes heads with the U.S. government. This is the most prestigious award given at the Cannes Festival and had not been given out to a documentary film since 19564. The film Fahrenheit 9/11, which has critics on a broad spectrum of debate to its’ veracity has captured a world wide audience. The documentary looks at the events that lead to 9/11 and the Bush administrations’ handling of intelligence, and their reasoning behind going to war in Iraq. Moore examines links that he backs up with documentation about ties that supposedly existed between the Bush family and Osama Bin Laden. He interviews and attempts to interview senators and congressman regarding the war, asking if they would send their own children to war. The answers or non-answers, edited with images of men and women in the army convey the images and realities of war more effectively than any news report aired. The films’ effectiveness and popularity not only with audiences and critics is in its’ ability to capture their attention and hold that attention through creative narrative and filmmaking. Moore uses an arsenal of methods, from sound bytes cleverly presented against a black screen to recreate the horror of 9/11 to cleverly edited images of war and its’ effects on families back home. He mixes it all with his own personal narrative which connects the audience on a one to one basis. The most effective part of the film is in its’ true bearing of the soul of the American people. We are shown soldiers making fun of a tied up man and at the same time shown soldiers who are tired and disillusioned and want to go home. The suffering of families who have lost children to war and those who are protesting the war are brought to light and left for the audience to extract what they will. His film is cleverly imprinted with his own brand of justice as he tries to embarrass answers out of government members. These are all tactics, much like military strategy, which he employs to entertain and inform his audience. The narrative in the film has been under fire by many critics as ‘propaganda’ and that Moore has his own personal axe to grind. They portray him as a greedy man with no patriotism who is not supportive of those fighting for their country. Finally, my own personal opinion is based on my views of the American community as portrayed in the international arena. Coming from an outside point of view, I found the film engrossing and convincing. It is not hard to believe many of the things that he portrays as true, especially based on the past actions of the American government. I have to admit I first saw the movie out of curiosity and to find out what all the fuss was about. As I began to watch, I was drawn into the narrative like bystander at a car wreck, not really wanting to gawk but nevertheless drawn into the drama unfolding. He brought back 9/11 events through his flair of narrative, interviews and clever editing of sound effects from the bombings to get across his point and to capture my attention. I was riveted to the images and to the facts as he laid them out. The image of President Bush as he continues to read to children after hearing about the bombings makes one wonder about the character of the man behind the mask of President. It was hard to believe and yet not so unbelievable considering all the drama that went into the Bush Presidency and his administration. The disregard of the worlds’ opinion, by this administration in particular, regarding going to war without absolute proof, showed a lack of respect for any opinion other than the American one. This also showed arrogance and evidence that the administration would do whatever it wanted to start a war with Iraq regardless of the consequences. Moore, I felt really was looking out for the people and though I may not agree with all his points of view and I’m not sure if all his information is accurate, I am in agreement that there is always some truth behind the gossip. In this case there is enough evidence or documentation to question the people who led their country to war whether they are linked to Osama bin Laden or not. I liked his use of imagery and the way he spoke and involved the audience. I felt more like a reporter tagging along for the story rather than an outsider. I felt he made the film an investigative piece, gathering information and putting it together to find out what really took place. I thought this was clever. I believe that the film used a combination of narrative, one on one confrontations/interview, editing and graphic images to bring across the tragedy and made its point that the events leading to 9/11 could have been prevented. Fahrenheit 9/11 was a film that opened my eyes to the fact that there are many ‘truths’ and that you have to listen to all of them before coming to any conclusions. Before this documentary we had one ‘truth’, that of the Bush administration and now we have another. All that this filmmaker has to say may not be accurate and maybe biased based on his own opinions but he should not be disregarded until the facts as he has presented can be verified. In many ways, Moore, has confirmed what many of us believed to be true about the Iraq war and that there was no reason for this war. In conclusion we come back to the question at the beginning: is Fahrenheit 9/11 fact or fiction? Many critics coming from politically inclined backgrounds will be harsher about the content of the film and therefore more critical. Likewise audiences from a pro government stance may also be critical and disdainful about the documentary, whereas those not so enamored of the government will be more open to the ideas presented in Moore’s’ film. The juxtapositioning of the views is what make this film a success and leaves each audience member to decide if they find it to be fact or fiction, with a rare few who are able to see the two sides of the coin and look past the smoke to the real truth. Fahrenheit 9/11 is then in reality both fact and fiction. WORKS CITED Michael Moore, Filmmaker / Writer. Wikepedia – Michael Moore found at Answers.com. 11 Nov. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/michael-moore. Read More