Thursday, August 19, 2004

Fahrenheit 9/11

Michael Moore’s new film has just recently been released at the theatres here, and, of course, Milla and I went to see it.
What can I say other than: WATCH IT! NOW!

Don’t expect a completely neutral documentary… but then again, there is no such thing as unbiased reporting. At least Moore doesn't pretend to be unbiased, like some of the news channels - which I find more honest. So there. In any case, it is a great balance to that incestuous administration-ass-kissing blind-flagwaving nonsense the American media has to offer. Michael Moore may not give answers, and who can really? But he asks questions… legitimate questions, questions that never got answered, and provides little eye-openers towards the fucked up attitude of the little Bush Clan and Co…. in short, it makes you think.

The film has some biting sarcastic humor, but the minute you laugh about the ridiculousness of the things displayed, you stop laughing because it really really isn’t funny when you think about it.
I don’t want to give too much away. But I highly highly recommend it.

I guess I would have only one criticism about it, which is the way the clips of Bush quotes are assembled.
Moore picks fun of Bush pretty badly, having collected all the bad, silly, pathetic moments into a collage, which may look unfair – but then again, the kind of stuff he showed was something the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world (hence with the biggest responsibilities, both to his people and to the rest of the world) just can’t afford to do.
Be it going on an extensive vacation in a time of crisis, politically (which is, in Bush terms, economically) making out with the House of Saud, continuing to read an effin children’s book when the country is under attack, looking like he doesn’t have a fuckin clue about his job.
But those are things the American mainstream media never shows and questions, or even mentions, so it is about bloody time someone did.

Some people may say that the way Moore portrayed the bombing of Iraq is emotionally loaded (sad music etc)… but basically, he doesn’t do anything different than the mainstream media with 911. And it is an emotionally loaded subject. When innocent children are torn to bits, it is an emotionally loaded situation. One shouldn’t be neutral. And I find Moore’s approach more focused on humanitarian issues than the 911 disaster, which was just exploited for justifying another act of terror, the Iraq war.

The way he displayed the soldiers was balanced: he showed both the type that makes a video game of the invasion, listening to music while they “shoot at everything that moves” (quote from a soldier) and the type that question and criticise the mission they were sent on.

Watch it and make up your own mind.

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