by John M. Curtis
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Copyright June 29, 2004
All Rights Reserved.

ichael Moore's “Fahrenheit 9/11” breaks new ground as election-year propaganda, exploiting the box office to do what the op-ed page can't do—reach as mass audience. Even the popular propaganda found in network and cable news can't compete with a compelling film where powerful images rule, sending persuasive messages to a mass audience. Moore's creation paints an unsavory impression of President George W. Bush, beginning first with what Moore sees as fraud in Florida's 2000 presidential voting, leading to an illegitimate war in Iraq. Borrowing from Ray Bradbury's “Fahrenheit 451,” Moore's title conjures sinister images of a White House gone mad, trashing reality, rewriting the news and current events, and exploiting the airwaves to advance a hidden agenda more focused on no-bid contracts and looting the federal treasury than fighting a war on terror.

      While there's nothing wrong with Moore giving his opinion, including omissions, distortions and fabrications, there is something wrong with the unidentified use of commercial film for political purposes. Anyone watching Fahrenheit 9/11 can't help but see Bush, his policies and staff, as a menace that must be stopped. Moore begins his indictment with the Supreme Court arbitrarily suspending Florida's hand recounts and picking the 43rd president. There are few details about the infamous “butterfly” ballot or, for that matter, alleged disenfranchisement of Florida's African American voters. Revisiting Florida automatically induces a visceral reaction in moviegoers trying to ascertain critical facts before and after Sept. 11. Moore draws sinister motives about members of the Bin Laden family flying out of the country, when all commercial aviation was grounded after 9/11.

      Moore makes much ado about the Bush family ties to the Bin Laden family—the wealthiest construction enterprise in Saudi Arabia, responsible for building both oil refineries and condos. Aside from their renegade terrorist son Osama, the Bin Laden's control massive real estate holdings inside and outside the U.S. Anyone connected to the oil servicing industry—including the Bush family—would have business relationships with the Bin Ladens. Yet Moore paints any link as proof of a nefarious relationship. Whatever business connections exist between the Bin Laden and Bush families doesn't automatically indict Bush-41 or Bush-43. Moore believes the goal of the war on terror was to topple Saddam and grant lucrative no-bid contracts to Bush family friends. France, Russia and Germany's main beef centered on getting aced out of lucrative reconstruction contracts.

      Unlike Moore's “Bowling for Columbine,” “Fahrenheit 9/11” doesn't really explore in-depth issues like gun control or school violence, preferring to focus on discrediting the Bush White House. Throughout the film, Moore displays Bush's incompetence, especially immediately after Sept. 11. He shows Bush looking befuddled and indecisive reading “My Pet Goat” after the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Moore concentrates on Bush looking vacant, unable to respond without cues from advisors, raising serious concerns about presidential leadership. There's also considerable emphasis on the nation's color-coded terror alert system. Moore sees the system not as a legitimate warning device but as a way to manipulate the public into surrendering more civil liberties to the Patriot Act. Instead of presenting both sides, Moore expresses his bias and personal animosity.

      Giving only one side of the picture detracts from Moore's otherwise powerful arguments, impeaching the White House for placing greed over legitimate security concerns. He goes to great lengths to prove there was no legitimate reason for going to war in Iraq. Without finding weapons of mass destruction, Moore dismantles Bush's excuses for war. He doesn't buy White House arguments about liberating Iraq, placing the real reason for war on conspicuous financial motives. To illustrate Bush's elitism, he shows him playing golf, seemingly detached from the harsh realities of war, including a mother's grief over her son's combat death and new footage about prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. Moore shows Defense Secretary Donald M. Rumsfeld calling himself a “survivor,” yet showing little regard about mounting U.S. injuries and casualties.

      “Fahrenheit 9/11” makes a forceful parallel between the unlawful U.S. occupation of Iraq and the illegitimate control of the White House, as defined by the 2000 presidential election. Moore's rabidly liberal leanings come as no surprise but detract from his credibility. Most died-in-the-wool Democrats will delight in Moore's attacks while true-blue Republicans will find fault and nitpick about factual errors and inconsistencies. Given Moore's prodigious box office, there's no doubt that some fence-sitters will get swayed by his 152-minute creation. Raking in $22 million on only 800 screens nationwide over the first weekend suggests, at the very least, that Moore's latest work touched a raw nerve. Moore's probably right that the conservative outrage and frenzy only added to his marketing success. For those able to look beyond the smoke, they're likely to connect some of the dots.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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