Details, Explanation and Meaning About Fahrenheit 9/11

Fahrenheit 9/11 Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

Fahrenheit 9/11 is a documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore, which had a general release in the United States and Canada on June 25, 2004. The film has since been released (or is about to be released) in 42 more countries (see link below).

The film generated a lot of controversy. It presents a critical look at the administration of George W. Bush and the War on Terrorism. The Los Angeles Times described the film as "an alternate history of the last four years on the U.S. political scene." [1]

The film has been denounced by some critics as misleading propaganda, and praised by others as a valuable perspective on the Bush administration's response to 9/11. Moore himself has called it an "op-ed piece" while vehemently defending its factual accuracy.[2]class="external">[1.

The film debuted at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival in the documentary film category and was awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the festival's highest award, by an international jury (four Americans, four Europeans, and one Asian).

As of October 2004, the film has grossed nearly $120 million in U.S. box office, an unprecedented amount for a political documentary; Sony reported first-day DVD sales of two million copies, again a new record for the film genre. [1]

Table of contents
1 Content
2 At the Cannes Film Festival
3 Opening weekend and subsequent box office
4 Other countries
5 Quotes
6 DVD release
7 Oscar contention
8 See also
9 External links

Content

The film deals with the causes and aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and with the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. In the film, Moore also describes the links between the Bush family and associated persons, such as prominent Saudi Arabian families (including that of Osama bin Laden). The links form a relationship spanning three decades, worth $1.4 billion to the Bush family and its friends and associates. [1]

While these business links are not disputed, they are not widely known, and Moore has previously alleged that the Bush administration turned a blind eye to Saudi links to terrorist groups (most of the September 11 hijackers were Saudis). In this vein, he also examines the government-sponsored evacuation of relatives of Osama bin Laden after the attacks. One of his primary sources for these claims is the book House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger, which Moore also advertises on his website.

The film contains numerous clips of graphic footage of military and civilian casualties from the Iraq war, including dead and mutilated bodies, as well as footage of American soldiers deployed to Iraq who use music as a Soundtrack To War. Another portion of the film shows US solders with amputations or nerve damage. One brief clip shows a public beheading filmed in Jidda, Saudi Arabia. By contrast, Moore refrained from using the familiar footage of the September 11 attacks, but instead had a blank screen with only the sounds of the incident, then cutting to the reaction of onlookers of the attacks.

In April 2004, Moore posted a note on his web site regarding the progress of the film. In it, he stated that he was obtaining footage directly from Iraq:

I currently have two cameramen/reporters doing work for me in Iraq for my movie (unbeknownst to the Army). They are talking to soldiers and gathering the true sentiment about what is really going on. They Fed Ex the footage back to me each week. [1]

The film begins with George W. Bush's ascension to power and alleges a 42 percent vacation rate before September 11, 2001. The figure comes from a Washington Post article that concludes Bush spent "a whopping 54 days at his Texas ranch, 38 days at the presidential retreat at Camp David and four more at his parents' place in Kennebunkport, Maine." Critics dispute this figure as misleading, remarking that it includes visits by foreign dignitaries as vacation time. [1]

The next scene is of Bush sitting in a Florida classroom, reading The Pet Goat, for seven minutes after being told there was a second airplane crash at the World Trade Center.

Moore shows a Vietnam war-era document of George W. Bush's Air National Guard service record — first the censored copy produced by the White House, then an uncensored copy that Moore had obtained a few years earlier. The difference between the versions is that the White House blacked out the name of James R. Bath, a Guard friend of Bush's who went on to work as a financial agent for the Saudis and helped channel Saudi money to one of Bush's businesses. (The point has been raised that this may have been due to HIPAA restrictions on the release of medical data. Because Bath, like Bush, did not fulfill his obligation to take the examination, however, the document contained no examination results.) Moore contends that Bush's dry-hole oil well attempts were partially funded by the Saudis and, in fact, by bin Laden family money.

Moore obtained footage of the preparation for the televised announcement of the Iraq war, where Bush mugs for the camera, seconds before uttering "My fellow Americans,...".

A strong war supporter, Lila Lipscomb, from Moore's home town Flint, Michigan with a daughter in the First Gulf War, and a son in Iraq, appears anguished and questions the war's purpose upon the death of her son on April 2, 2003, in Karbala. Lipscomb later travels to Washington, DC where she confronts a woman near the White House who says that "this is all staged." Lipscomb asks her if her son's death was staged also.

As in Moore's other movies, he uses puckish humor to enliven his argument. Upon learning that most members of Congress had not read the USA Patriot Act before passing it, Moore drives around the Capitol in an ice cream truck, reading the statute over the loudspeaker. He also comments that only one Congressman has children serving in Iraq. He accosts Congressmen on the sidewalk to give them United States armed forces pamphlets and urges them to have their children enlist.

In the beginning of the movie, Moore focuses on the 2000 election with footage of a hypothetical Gore victory and in the process states his opinion that the public was fooled. The film ends with a clip of George W. Bush stumbling through the saying: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, it's probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. You fool me you can't get fooled again." He was presumably trying to say, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." What he came up with combined part of that maxim with the title of The Who song "Won't Get Fooled Again." In the context of the film, Moore is tying the clip back to the beginning of the film to imply Moore's hope that the American public will not be "fooled again."

The movie is dedicated to Moore's friend who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, and to those servicemen and women from Flint, Michigan, who have been killed in Iraq.

At the Cannes Film Festival

In April 2004 the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 57th Cannes Film Festival. After its first showing in Cannes in May of 2004, the film received a 20-minute standing ovation, which Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux declared "the longest standing ovation in the history of the festival." (According to French news the standing ovation was over 23 minutes long).

On May 22, 2004, the film was awarded the Palme d'Or. It was the first documentary to win that award since Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle's The Silent World in 1956. Just like his much publicized Oscar acceptance speech, Moore's speech in Cannes included some opinionated statements:

I can't begin to express my appreciation and my gratitude to the jury, the Festival, to Gilles Jacob, Thierry Frémaux, Bob and Harvey at Miramax, to all of the crew who worked on the film. [...] I have a sneaking suspicion that what you have done here and the response from everyone at the festival, you will assure that the American people will see this film. I can't thank you enough for that. You've put a huge light on this and many people want the truth and many want to put it in the closet, just walk away. There was a great republican president who once said, if you just give the people the truth, the Republicans, the Americans will be saved. [...] I dedicate this Palme d'Or to my daughter, to the children of Americans and to Iraq and to all those in the world who suffer from our actions.

Some conservatives in the United States, such as Jon Alvarez of Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood (PABAAH), commented [1] that such an award could be expected from "the French" (see Anti-Americanism, Anti-French sentiment in the United States); Moore responded: "There was only one French citizen on the jury. Four out of nine were American. [...] This is not a French award, it was given by an international jury dominated by Americans."

He also responded to claims that the award was political: "Quentin [Tarantino] whispered in my ear, 'we want you to know that it was not the politics of your film that won you this award. We are not here to give a political award. Some of us have no politics. We awarded the art of cinema, that is what won you this award and we wanted you to know that as a fellow filmmaker.'"

Quotes from the jury's press conference

The following comments were made at the Palme d'Or jury press conference. [1]

On the politics of the film:

  • Quentin Tarantino: "Judging a film by its politics is a bad thing. If it wasn't some of the best filmmaking, then I would not have chosen it. [...] You can't strangle this movie with the title 'documentary'. Michael Moore is fucking with the format to bring us a movie-documentary-critical essay."

  • Tilda Swinton: "One of the reasons it is radical in its politics is because of its relation to the media. It starts and ends with a question. It is sophisticated cinema. It wouldn't have served its political end if it wasn't a good piece of filmmaking. He has matured as a filmmaker since Bowling for Columbine. [...] It is not a film about Bush, nor Iraq but rather the system. In the words of Godard, "'we spend so much time looking for the key to the problem; we need to begin looking for the lock.'"

  • Benoît Poelvoorde: "We had long and passionate debates. We put the politics aside so as to talk film. We are not here to give a morality lesson. Personally, I think that the Festival is very politically correct; on the other hand, it is hard to not be. [...] At the same time, Fahrenheit 9/11 is a political tract. His unique viewpoint is not a problem for me since we have the possibility to inform ourselves elsewhere and also listen to other opinions."

On awarding the prize to a documentary:

  • Kathleen Turner: "We felt it was more than a documentary. We believe this film creates its own category and that's why it stands apart."

  • Tilda Swinton: "The things Michael Moore says cannot be said on the media of TV. What he has to say has to be seen at the cinema. Who would have thought that cinema could get stretched this far."

  • Jerry Schatzberg: "I had to get over the mix of genres, to open my mind to animations, documentaries alongside fiction. [...] Michael Moore has given us a film that makes you think in different ways."

  • Edwidge Danticat: '"What struck me most was that I was laughing one minute, sobbing the next. I was taken to emotional heights. It let the voices speak for themselves, voices that are otherwise silent."

Opening weekend and subsequent box office

On its opening weekend of June 25–June 27, this film generated a box office revenue of $23.9 million in the U.S. and Canada, the top grossing film of that weekend, despite having been screened in only 868 theaters (many of the weekend's other top movies played on over 2,500 screens). In that weekend it earned more than any other feature-length documentary (including Moore's previous film, Bowling for Columbine) did in its entire U.S. theatrical run. The film was released in France on July 7, 2004 and in the UK on July 9, 2004.

During the weekend of July 24, 2004, the film passed the $100 million mark in box office receipts, again an unprecedented amount for a feature length political documentary.

Moore credited in part the efforts of conservative groups to convince theaters to not run the film, conjecturing that these efforts backfired by creating publicity. There were also efforts by liberal groups such as MoveOn.org to encourage attendance in order to defy their political opponents' contrary efforts.

Partly because of this success, it was widely debated what effect this film would have on George W. Bush's chances of re-election. Despite Moore's energetic campaign in favor of Democratic challenger John Kerry, Bush was re-elected to a second term on November 2, 2004. Nonetheless, Bush's critics hoped that the success of the film was an indication of wide public support for more open debate on the Bush administration's policies.

Other countries

The film was a major success in most European countries.

The film has been banned in Kuwait. In Lebanon, some student members of the group Hezbollah have asked if there was any way they could support the film. Gianluca Chacra, the managing director of Front Row Entertainment, the Middle East distributor for Fahrenheit 9/11, has stated, “We can't go against these organizations, as they could strongly boycott the film in Lebanon and Syria. Having the support of such an entity in Lebanon is quite significant for that market and not at all controversial. I think it's quite natural."

In Cuba bootlegged versions of the movie were shown at 120 theaters, later followed by a prime-time television showing by the leading state-run network. It had been widely reported that this might affect its Oscar eligibility. However, soon after that story had been published, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; issued a statement denying this, saying, "If it was pirated or stolen or unauthorized we would not blame the producer or distributor for that,"(E! Online, 8/3/2004). In addition, Wild Bunch, the film's overseas distributor for Cuba, issued a statement denying a television deal had been struck with Cuban Television.

Quotes

From the film

From Moore

  • On the rising popularity of documentaries: "Audiences love a good story, whether through fiction or nonfiction. I don't start out making a documentary but rather a good movie. Nonfiction is taking itself out of the ghetto and documentary filmmakers are finding new and inventive ways to tell their story. I'm pleased and I hope it continues."

  • On giving credit where credit is due: "The film begins with them putting their makeup on. I consider them as actors. In fact, I forgot to thank my actors, thank you George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz..."

  • On the film's objectivity: "It is an op-ed piece. It's my opinion about the last four years of the Bush Administration and that is what I call it. I am not trying to pretend that this is some sort of fair and balanced work of journalism."[1]

  • On the film's factual accuracy:

Every single fact I state in "Fahrenheit 9/11" is the absolute and irrefutable truth. This movie is perhaps the most thoroughly researched and vetted documentary of our time. No fewer than a dozen people, including three teams of lawyers and the venerable one-time fact-checkers from The New Yorker went through this movie with a fine-tooth comb so that we can make this guarantee to you. Do not let anyone say this or that isn't true. If they say that, they are lying. Let them know that the OPINIONS in the film are mine, and anyone certainly has a right to disagree with them. And the questions I pose in the movie, based on these irrefutable facts, are also mine. And I have a right to ask them. And I will continue to ask them until they are answered. [1]

From fans

  • Madonna: "I don't think I've ever cried so hard at a movie in my life. And I'm sure I still have a lot to learn from it. Not only is it inspiring and educating, but it's proof that people can make a difference, that we can make a difference."

  • Bill Clinton: "I think every American ought to see it."

From critics

  • Vaclav Klaus, the president of the Czech Republic: "Those of us who have lived through the film propaganda of the Communist era are a bit overly sensitive to the tricks of the director."

  • Ty Burr, The Boston Globe: "Should be seen because it takes off the gloves and wades into the fray, because it synthesizes the anti-Bush argument like no other work before it, and because it forces you to decide for yourself exactly where passion starts to warp point of view."

  • Mary Corliss, Time magazine: "A brisk and entertaining indictment of the Bush Administration’s Middle East policies before and after September 11, 2001."

  • Roger Ebert: "Fahrenheit 9/11 is a compelling, persuasive film, at odds with the White House effort to present Bush as a strong leader. He comes across as a shallow, inarticulate man, simplistic in speech and inauthentic in manner. If the film is not quite as electrifying as Moore's Bowling for Columbine, that may be because Moore has toned down his usual exuberance and was sobered by attacks on the factual accuracy of elements of Columbine; playing with larger stakes, he is more cautious here, and we get an op-ed piece, not a stand-up routine. But he remains one of the most valuable figures on the political landscape, a populist rabble-rouser, humorous and effective; the outrage and incredulity in his film are an exhilarating response to Bush's determined repetition of the same stubborn sound bites."

  • Christopher Hitchens, Slate: "Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of 'dissenting"' bravery." [1]

  • Anne Hornaday, The Washington Post: "The best thing about 9/11 is that viewers can disagree with the filmmaker's own assessment that the war was fought for money and power but still emerge with some healthy questions of their own."

  • Rush Limbaugh: "It takes about as long as the movie to refute it because everything in it is a lie." (Note: at the time he made this statement, Limbaugh had not seen the documentary.)

  • George Monbiot, The Guardian: "When starving people find food, they don't worry too much about the ingredients. Michael Moore's film is crude and sometimes patronising. He puts words into people's mouths. He finishes their sentences for them. At times he is funny and moving, at others clumsy and incoherent. But I was shaken by it, and I applauded at the end. For Fahrenheit 9/11 asks the questions that should have been asked every day for the past four years."

  • A.O. Scott, The New York Times: "It is worth seeing, debating and thinking about, regardless of your political allegiances."

  • Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "Moore makes a persuasive and unrelenting case that there is another way to look at things beyond the version we've been given."

  • James Verniere, The Boston Herald: "At a time when the film industry is turning out sugarcoated, content-free junk, Moore has given American viewers a renewed taste for raw meat."

  • Ian Youngs, BBC: "The movie's conclusions -- true or otherwise -- and highly emotional interviews with bereaved parents and injured soldiers will have a big impact on audiences around the world."

  • Stephen Dalton, The Times (London): "Fahrenheit 911 is unquestionably a bold and gripping work, but a lesser film than Bowling for Columbine."

DVD release

Fahrenheit 9/11 was released to DVD and VHS on October 5, 2004, an unusually short turnaround time after theatrical release. Moore stated that he wanted to release the movie for home viewing prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, in order to maximize its political impact.

In the first days of the release, the documentary broke records for the best sold documentary ever. About 2 milion copies were sold on the first day. [1]

A companion book, The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader, was released at the same time. It contains Moore's sources for his allegations, audience e-mails about the film, film reviews, articles and political cartoons pertaining to the film.

As a response to the film, two competing or "alternative" documentaries were released on DVD on the same day as Fahrenheit 9/11. Entitled and FahrenHYPE 9/11, these documentaries offered an alternative to Moore's perspective. One defended the President and emphasized his religious convictions, while the second was intended as an exposé of Moore himself.

Citizens United has produced a film similar to Fahrenhype, Celsius 41.11. The film's title can be converted to roughly 106 degrees fahrenheit, "the temperature at which the brain begins to die."

Oscar contention

On September 6, 2004, Moore announced that, because he was seeking a television airing of Fahrenheit 9/11 prior to the November presidential election, the film would not be submitted for consideration for a Best Documentary Oscar (a television broadcast within nine months of the release would disqualify the film in the documentary category under Oscar rules). Moore instead planned to submit and promote his film for the Best Picture Oscar, but noted: "For me the real Oscar would be Bush's defeat on Nov. 2." Moore already holds a Best Documentary Oscar for his film Bowling for Columbine and noted that in the current situation, the above priorities take precedence to winning a second Oscar and as such, he would prefer his compatriot documentarians have a fair chance to win the Oscar themselves.

The 2-hour film was planned to be shown as part of the 3-hour "The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special" on iN DEMAND, but iN DEMAND backed out in mid-October for "legitimate business and legal concerns." In a statement Michael Moore said he believes iN DEMAND decided not to air the film because of pressure from "top Republican people". Moore later on arranged for simulanteous broadcasts on November 1st at 8:00 PM (EST) on Dish Network, TVN and the Cinema Now website.

Michael Moore has stated that he disagrees with copyright laws and doesn't mind if his movie is freely distributed over the Internet as long no money changes hands. [1]

See also

External links

References


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