Fahrenheit 9/11: A Controversial Documentary
Taking a Look at the Daring Documentary by Michael Moore
Michael Moore tends to create much controversy with his opinionated documentary films. Fahrenheit 9/11 is no different. Although this documentary is only his second largest documentary to date, the first being Bowling for Columbine, this documentary takes a stab at an issue that lies close to the heart for many Americans – the attack on September 11th, 2001 and the George W. Bush Presidency.
Simply Informing the American Citizens
Moore has an interesting method when communicating to his audience. He follows the documentary conventions by presenting the arguments to benefit his film, but it appears that he uses the arguments, which carry no sense of credibility as the sources of information are barely mentioned. While Moore follows the traditional documentary conventions by presenting only the relevant facts to support his case, he not only attacks Bush as a person, but also manages to place all the blame on him, making Bush to primary target for blame for one of America's biggest tragedies to date.
It is clear from the beginning that his goal of the documentary is to essentially blame Bush for the 9/11 attacks. Moore does this by painting a different picture of the former president than is presented in the media, as he presents him as a lazy, golf-loving, and unintelligent individual. He focuses very little on the political and social achievements Bush accomplished while in office. There are simply no professional sides shown of Bush in the documentary. To achieve this character sketch of Bush, Moore presents some facts and avoids others, that are just as relevant - the counter argument. An example of this is when Moore claims that Bush had personal friends working on the inside to ensure he won Presidency in 2001. However, although his claim seems to fit perfectly in the film knowing the goal of the documentary, there are no valid sources presented in the film to back up Moore’s claims and hence, it was remains a mystery if it is indeed true.
Another example that questions Moore's credibility, is when Moore portrays Bush as a failure when he is told of the 9/11 attacks. Moore essentially asks his audience to question whether or not Bush had expected these attacks. His reasoning for this lies in the facial expression of Bush when he is told of the attacks and how he remained in the classroom of a pre-school, reading children’s book out loud. There are no shreds of evidence that remotely suggests that either of these examples are true.
Moore’s portrayal of the Bush – Saudi friendships also drive much of this documentary, because they are suitable for his argument as they alone could be suggestive of Bush playing with the so-called 'enemy'. However, there are no suggestions as to Moore's sources and if they are indeed credible.
The overall goal of this documentary for Moore is to force the audience, and most definitely the American public, to question the purpose of entering into the war. It is obvious that he does not believe the main reason was to fight terrorism. Moore suggests that the war on terror is about something completely different and the only way for Bush to gain the public’s support in this war is through scare-campaigns and constant terror threats.
Holds True to the Conventions, but Fails to be Credible
To gain the audience’s respect and support, Moore not only focuses on documents and clips from popular TV stations and news reports, but also interviews people from small towns and rural communities. He does this to make it more relatable to the individuals watching, who might not relate to the information presented by Moore. His personal goal, however, is to demonstrate how these fear campaigns inserted by the government works in the smaller communities, interviewing people who are truly afraid of another terrorist attack.
Moore's facts are edited in such a way that they suggest his truth is the only truth and fails to provide credible sources to validate his claims.
Almost everything said about George W. Bush and his presidency throughout this documentary is meant to paint him as a villain. Moore essentially sets up the documentary as a pre-determined battle – the American people vs. President Bush. And with all of the power in the political hands, the American public has no chance to survive the fear campaigns, the scare of terror attacks or winning for that matter – at least according to Michael Moore.
- Studio: Fellowship Adventure Group
- Rating: R
- Running Time: 122 Minutes
Fahrenheit 9/11
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