- White House - nightfall
Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is an expose done as only Mr. Moore could do it. With actual film footage interspersed with old music, clips of old Dragnet shows, and views of Bush on vacation, Moore weaves a tragic tail interspersed with satire and humor. It begins with George W. Bush reading to a group of school children, despite having been told the country is under attack. It then backs up to scenes of a questionable election, of people holding signs reading "Hail to the Thief" and Bush's limousine being pelted with eggs during his inauguration. The fact that Jeb Bush, the presidential candidates' brother, was governor of Florida during the election, that George W. had ties to the people in charge of the election, and that Fox News called the election for Bush prior to any acknowledged clarity of the election results, all makes for a suspect election. Meanwhile, statistics reveal Bush went on vacation 42% of the time prior to 9/11, an historical record.
On August 6, 2001, it was reported that Osama Bin Laden planned to attack the United States, yet Bush did nothing to prevent the attacks. Indeed, after the attacks, when the country was shut down with no airplane flights, somehow eight planes filled with Saudis and Bin Ladens were allowed to leave the country, without investigation and without consequence. Ties with Saudi money go way back with the Bush family; there is even some evidence that George W. Bush had investment money which allowed him into the oil game that came, via a friend name Bath, from the Saudis. The Saudis are estimated to have had some $860 billion invested in the United States, or about 6.5% of the US GNP. The Saudis are large investors in the Carlisle Group, which made $237 million in one day after the attacks. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers responsible for the attacks on 9/11 were Saudis.
George W. Bush and Family Ties to the Bin Ladens
Bush also tried to stop a congressional probe into the 9/11 attacks. When an independent investigation into 9/11 transpired, he censored it. The money trail links the Taliban, Unocal, Halliburton, Cheney, Ken Lay, Enron and the Afghan pipeline. One of Moore's vehicles, which helps break up the intense tragic aspect of the film, is his ability to intersperse the ridiculous into the film, such as a clip of Afghanistan made to look like a map of Bonanza, with Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld as the Cartwright brothers. Or Moore, baseball cap and all, trying to convince senators to send their children to Iraq to help with the war effort. But the backdrop is one of horror, young soldiers discussing killing to music, or scenes of Iraqis burning an American soldier and disrespecting his body. The deaths of innocent Iraqi citizens, the scenes of injured U.S. soldiers back in the states, getting prosthetics for their missing limbs, the recruiters going after the poor kids to recruit them; all of these are part of the dark side of a very strange part of American history. And while the deaths and injuries were ongoing, the Bush administration was busy cutting the pay and benefits to the troops, and Bush was busy making jokes about his base, the Haves and the Have Mores.
A Documentary of 9/11 that is Filled with Intensity and Tragedy
Since the film, it has become apparent that the war resulted from an era of lies and corruption. Some of the soldiers felt betrayed by the Bush Administration. Meanwhile profits were escalating for Halliburton, former company of Cheney's, as well as for many doing business in the War. This was the most privatized and profitable war for a handful of people while the bulk of Americans and world citizens paid the price. The film has a lot of emotional impact and gives one pause - what in our system of government allowed this to take place? This is not the fault of one man; we are supposed to have a system of checks and balances. While Moore's finger is pointing directly at Bush, it would behoove us all to look at the system that created this tragedy and do our best to rectify it. This film may anger you, it may cause you to weep, it is sure to cause you to laugh at times, but it definitely should move you. A solid film, passionately done, with a lot of drama and patriotism. One of Moore's best films.
- 122 minutes
- Lions Gate Films
- Dog Eat Dog Production
- Movie Site
Barbara DeGrande - Barbara DeGrande is a writer, film critic, and blogger, with years of experience as a program developer. She has a Bachelor of Arts in ...
