YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM YET
(Although it's not like it has a "plot" that can be spoiled).


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FAHRENHEIT 9/11

(my rating: 6.5 out of 10)

Mike Moore's new film , despite its many flaws, is all together a well assembled piece of work.
The distinctive humor of the director from Flint is as sharp as in any of his other flicks. His skill in ridiculing his victims (and make/let them ridicule themselves) is one of the points of strength of this 2 hour film.
The movie is funny and not boring; it also does not overwhelm the viewer with notions and information, making it appealing even to those who generally shy away from political documentaries.
Unfortunately 99% of the facts exposed had already appeared not only on countless mainstream books and newspaper articles but even on documentaries such as "Breaking The Silence" By (Australian?) journalist John Pilger, "The Bush Family Fortune" by Greg Palast & BBC, "In Shifting Sands" by former UN inspector Scott Ritter, and many other titles; including nearly any Indymedia film/presentation on the Bush admninistration and the "War on Terror". If you have already seen those documentaries you'll find 9/11 Fahrenheit has little to teach you.
Many aspects of the corruption-loop of corporate-capitalism, corporate media and representative democracy are more than just hinted at. At the same time there is little effort to present it as one enormous flaw in the democratic system, instead the focus is kept on the bad behavior of a few specific individuals and companies.

Bottom Line :
The movie is more than decent and it's worth going to see it.
Although personally, I was hoping for more than just a "Bush-Bashing festival" with a wink at the Democrats.
I personally believe it can be very misleading to the less informed viewer who will not perceive the corruption of our ruling class as a systemic problem, but rather as something we can affect through the very instruments this corrupt ruling class puts at our disposal.
Sacrificing some less useful footage in exchange for a clearer and wider picture could have transformed the film into something closer to a top-notch work of political analysis (such as M. Achbar's "Manufacturing Consent : Noam Chomsky and the Media").



HIGHS

-A good collage of (previously surfaced) essential information.

-Great footage of George Bush and gang buddies humiliating themselves

-The film is mainly structured for that large sector of the public
which has slacked on the homework (which is good)

-The public exposure of the contempt and complacency of Congress was admirable.
I am happy that tens of millions of people will find out that all those bills that get passed all the time, get barely looked at by their representatives.

-The public and grotesque display of racism by the institutions at the time when tens of African-American representatives could not get ONE SINGLE SENATOR to sign their motions against Dubya's presidential victory, was refreshing.

-The depiction of the armed forces mentality as well as its mind-controlling techniques and effects on young teenagers they recruit is very penetrating.


LOWS

-Most of the film content had already appeared in documentary-format as far back as 2 years ago.
Sadly enough, It took the involvment Disney Corporation to communicate a slightly more realistic picture of reality to the large masses.
(Now, isn't that frightening?)

-A definite pro-Democrat spin. Personally, I would consider the presidential victory of Al Gore quite far from "A dream".
I thought the focus put on not re-electing GW Bush is excessive and even scapegoat-ish.
The bi-partisan support (and even nature) of many of the Bush Administration policies is conveniently not addressed.

-The film generally lacks historical background; not only when analysing Iraq and Afghanistan, but even on the individuals who make up the current administration.
It does not fully expose the criminal past of monsters such as Donald Rumsfeld, John Negroponte (even though he was not ambassador to Iraq when the film was finished, he was still US ambassador to the UN until then) and Paul Wolfowitz.

-The complicity of the corporate media in government affairs is also mostly overlooked (other than sporadic attacks on FOX news).

-Iraqi and Afghan voices are almost absent (made exception for some footage of middle-eastern civilians being abused by US troopers or weeping in the aftermath of bombardments).

-Obviously the movie was finished before the Abu-Grahib "scandal". Still there is no mention of the many abuses carried out against Afghan POWs and "enemy combatants" (on Afghan soil). I recommend a flick called "The Convoy of Death" if you are interested in that). Not even Guantanamo Bay is mentioned (If my memory is not faulting me).

-There was no mention that March 20th 2003 (the beginning of operation "Iraqi Freedom") was the day of largest worldwide anti-war demonstrations in history. (if you want to see something about that watch "We Interrupt This Empire" By San Francisco Indymedia)

-Arguable choice of showing the "shock and awe" footage, but blacking out the screen when the airplanes hit the World Trade Center. Aren't they equally horrific?

-An invitation or suggestion to the public to carry out opposition (let alone gain actual control over our own destiny) BEYOND the electoral booth, is absent.


Black Feather