Troubling Business Contacts
"Fahrenheit 911" reveals much troubling information about business contacts between the Bush families and Saudi-Arabia, including the Bin Laden family. According to Moore, Bush Sr. actually spent the morning of September 11 with business partners of the powerful Carlyle Group and watched the attacks on TV together with Bin Ladens. Given that the Saudis invested billions in the Bush oil business, is it possible, Moore asks, that they are more concerned with what's good for Saudi-Arabia rather than ordinary Americans? Arab businessmen, including many Bin Laden family members, were flown out of the country shortly after the attacks--while every other flight was still grounded. What are the implications?
With fascinating footage, a cleverly selected soundtrack, and mischievous wit, the film goes on to ask tough questions about the war in Afghanistan, the controversial Patriot Act, the epidemic of fear, civil rights violations following the attacks, and finally, the war on Iraq.
A Mother Wants to Know: "What for?"
The final chapter is the film's strongest: Moore interviews American soldiers, Iraqi civilians, Marine recruiters, congressmen who laugh at the idea of sending their own children to war, and a proud patriot mother from Flint, Michigan, who begins to ask "what for?" after her son is killed in Karbala. Her question is answered by defense contractors who are visibly thrilled by the prospect of more bloodshed. Halliburton's war profiteering is juxtaposed with crippled vets who turned on the administration after they lost their limbs and Bush cut their benefits. Moore's inescapable conclusion: is it possible that the Iraq war has been launched on fraudulent premises, not in order to make America safer and defend it from clear and present danger, but for the personal enrichment of those in power?
Moore's presentation is tremendously effective: his tone alternates between somber consideration for the dead and wounded on all sides and scathingly funny commentary, using Bush's blunders and assumed off-camera remarks to great effect. Those who aren't enamored of Moore's style will be glad to hear that there is much less of him than in "Bowling for Columbine." The facts speak for themselves, and except for a few scenes, he is rarely seen.
Equal parts entertaining and infuriating, "Fahrenheit 9/11" is already more than just a movie. It is a political event, and it is not too far-fetched to imagine that it will have an impact on the election in November. Instead of serving as the target of censorship, the film should be screened, seen, and debated as widely as possible--it's what citizens in healthy democracies do. To dismiss "Fahrenheit 9/11" as "Anti-American propaganda" is doing the movie, the issues, the troops, and the country a grave disservice.
Equal parts entertaining and infuriating, "Fahrenheit 9/11" is already more than just a movie. It is a political event, and it is not too far-fetched to imagine that it will have an impact on the election in November. Instead of serving as the target of censorship, the film should be screened, seen, and debated as widely as possible--it's what citizens in healthy democracies do. To dismiss "Fahrenheit 9/11" as "Anti-American propaganda" is doing the movie, the issues, the troops, and the country a grave disservice.
