FAHRENHEIT 9/11

[Brandon]

Well, I just got back from a midnight showing, and the place was absolutely packed. There were some pretty big reactions from the audience -- 99% of whom I can only assume were anti-Bush to begin with (I think the 3 Republicans in attendance got up and left).

My own opinion? It's tremendously entertaining, engrossing, thought-provoking, and downright hilarious in spots. I think everyone should see it, if for nothing else than to be challenged and presented with some crucial information that is frequently overlooked in the mainstream press. (People who actually follow politics closely probably won't find out anything new, though. BUSH AND THE SAUDIS ARE TIGHT? YA DON'T SAY!)

However, I recognize the movie for what it is: propaganda. It's not an intelligent, open-minded look at our current state of government and foreign relations -- it's an angry polemic. Its central thesis (which I agree with) is that George W. Bush and his administration are very, very dangerous and incompetent and should be removed from power immediately. Moore goes to every length to prove it.

The problem is that the film gets away from itself until it reaches a point where Bush-hatred seems to be the only solid principle. It seems that Moore will take any position so long as it puts him on the opposite side of Bush. He bemoans the small number of troops in Afghanistan at one moment, then calls the whole war an unneccesary fraud the next. I left the theater feeling like I defintely got my money's worth, charged up to vote for Kerry come November, but a little confused. The movie definitely did a good job with its critique, but I had no sense of where its moral center was -- on what it based its critique.

Yeah, it's sloppy. Yeah, it's one-sided. See it anyway. Even if you hate Moore, you're going to be entertained. Bush and company as the Bonanza cast is just too funny to miss.