Fahrenheit 9/11, a 2004 documentary written by filmmaker and political commentator, Michael Moore, examines the presidency of George W. Bush and the War on Terror. The film expresses a straightforward POV against the Bush administration and uses certain imagery and film techniques to substantiate it.
Watching the film is like practically throwing yourself into a barrage of satire. It is structured in a way so that Moore is surreptitiously making a mockery of Bush, showing footage after footage of his ugliest moments juxtaposed with hilarious music; Moore is challenging the public to think twice about their elected president.
The introduction to the film features a celebratory clip of the Florida election—the election that decided the victor, in which either Al Gore or George Bush would become president and potentially avert or lead the nation into its impending crisis. Moore’s narration to the clip appears delusional, referencing Ben Affleck and the Taxi Driver guy to exemplify the dream-like situation. This is precisely the attitude in which he is addressing Bush’s election. The whole presidency was a mistake on Fox News’ behalf and many are skeptical of the fairness of the results.
Allusions to celebrities, as seen in the introduction, are used quite frequently to diminish the public’s opinion of Bush. Popular pop icon, Britney Spears was interviewed, and Moore had specifically chosen to use the clip to indicate that Bush supporters are very much like the “dumb” carefree celebrity. The incessant cow-like gum chewing only helped to destroy both Britney’s and Bush’s images. This clip in particular was a clever choice; Moore made an attack against Bush without actually targeting him or his political decisions.
The effectiveness of the film in defacing Bush was made possible by Moore’s blunt honesty and good sense of humor [not to mention his music choices]. The information presented in the film was easier to digest, especially the emotion filled tragedies, because of satire and the comical arrangement of clips—Moore had invoked something in the public eyes, and had shown them a lame duck president. It is only normal that the fault would be directly toward the president who had gone on vacation.
In terms of narrative choices, Moore had opted to portray his opinions alongside the ugly sides of the war, which ensued as a result of Bush’s carelessness and self-centered approach toward the war. The film invoked logos, ethos, pathos in which everything Moore spoke about was fact and all the issues he brought up were issues of the general public’s concern. Moore managed to persuade many and perhaps influence a few people into anti-Bush sentiments by unveiling the aftermath of the war, such as the tombstones, the loss family members, and the injured children.
I have said it before and I will say it again, I am not deeply involved in politics, and I do not think I ever will be. I feel unusually apathetic and distanced to most political issues and I have little initiative in trying to understand them. Before watching this film I felt indifferent towards Bush, although I had heard plenty of things about him and read a few articles in the Times, I for one, had no solid reason to hate him. After watching Fahrenheit 9/11, I had unintentionally grown more and more angry and burdened by Bush’s incompetence. I know better than to let one film influence my opinions about our president but sometimes one film is all it takes to make you hate someone, especially if it’s a damn good one.
[Fahrenheit 9/11 is the highest grossing documentary of all time]
