Fahrenheit 9/11 ---- Nulaa's Point of View

The documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, opened in Singapore yesterday. Me and my dearest made a last minute decision to watch it when we incidentally saw the posters while eating our dinner (fast food ... what else *sobs*) To make things clear, I am not Pro or Anti Bush.

This is a fine anti-war documentary feature that pulls no punches and gives no mercy as Michael Moore, the detailed director, attacks the George W. Bush administration head-first. The documentary boasts of an unbelievable amount of research (some went as far as 1972), archive footage and some funny shots. This director is not shy at all. The movie does its best to explain and educate all viewers, even those who do not want to hear or see.

The movie starts with presenting us of the possibility of Bush getting Presidential Office in 2000 due to vote fraud. When it came down to Florida, one TV station reported Al Gore had won the votes there, ie- he becomes President. However, Fox TV, Moore alleged that Bush's first cousin was working there at that time, annouced that Bush was the one who had won the most votes there. So being small fries (no offence :P), all the other TV stations apologised for the "mistake" and jumped on the bandwagon. It goes on to show Bush's limo rained with eggs thrown by those not in favour of him. Bush's unsuccessful business career (during his youth) gets a glimpse. His closest advisers (Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfell and many others) are shown at their very worst through seemingly never-ending news items. Moore also shows us, during the documentary, of Bush's reaction (or lack of it) when he was informed of the 2 planes that have crashed into the WTC. Bush just sat there (he was visiting a kindergarten at that time) in front of the children, with a mullet look on his face, and read a children's book for a full 8-10 mins! I mean if I am a President, I would immediately spring into action. Moore tries to further justify (in a humorous way) why Bush reacted that way. The film then gets emotional as Moore finds and documented a middle-class family in his hometown who has suffered the loss of their soldier son. *this is where i cried =( *

Qns that are posed throughout the documentary/movie - Why attack Iraq (when it didn't habour Osama, it didn't terrorise Americans and it didn't start any kinds of attack)? What about Osama bin Laden's relatives that fled the U.S. shortly after the New York terrorist attacks? And how did they even get a flight when air transportation was supposedly shut down? What about Middle Eastern/U.S. affairs with the oil of the world (I began to understand the existence of intricate links and relationships)? Why the people who are given the responsibilty to pass the Bills, did not even bother to read the Bills that are passed (One even went as far as saying, there is too much Bills and if there were to read all of it, it will take a lot of time.. i mean .. HElo .. aren't you suppose to make sure all are in place before u pass anything ?!?!?! ).

These questions are not easily answered as Moore paints a portrait of a confusing web network where nothing is quite as simple or clear as it seems. It's a powerful, powerful film- where the audience rollercoasters from laughter to tears to outright anger. Even if I don't agree with Moore's politics and the way he manipulates the information that he have (through crafty editing), I try to keep my eyes open and consider the facts objectively. It's really quite disturbing. So, Fahrenheit 9/11 anyone?!?