The movie everyone's talking about! In theaters near you! Yep, I saw it last night. It was definitely an overwhelming experience, seeing everything juxtaposed and connected (and if they keep letting John Ashcroft write and sing songs like "Let the Eagle Soar", the terrorists will truly have won.)
This movie was necessary. It's not an impartial documentary; it's a powerful essay with visual documentation attached.
Much of it does indeed use ridicule to skewer Bush administration and the home security industry. But consider what it's responding to: years of propaganda by that administration, including but not limited to the "Mission Accomplished" banner, carefully staged "public" appearances, carefully vetted interviews, etc. and on and on and on. How else to fight that than by undercutting it and showing it from a different angle?
The scene everyone keeps talking about (besides the disgusting bit with Wolfowitz and the comb... ew...) is the one of Bush in the classroom on the morning of September 11. I had always assumed that he was reading to the kids himself, but no — he was just sitting there listening to the teacher and following along. And he keeps doing it for almost seven minutes after he gets the bad news. Now, the Bushies keep huffing "Well, what was he supposed to do — alarm the kids?" as if that was the only option. What the hell? Why couldn't he have simply said, "Excuse me, children, I need to step outside and speak to someone, but you guys are doing great! Keep on reading!" No big deal, is it? I don't think there was anything he could have done with those extra seven minutes, and I don't think his sitting there did any great harm (except to his image), but it speaks volumes about the kind of person he isn't. It's great to get to compare this scene to all the carefully choreographed pap his team puts out (and you do get to see some of that too, including shots of my favorite Republican scottish terrier, Barney.)
Andrew Sullivan says: "I will say this: I will generally go see anything. I even sat through "The Passion of the Christ." But I cannot bring myself to go to this piece of vile, hateful propaganda. I walked out of "Roger and Me" years ago, before Michael Moore was Michael Moore. I know who he is. I refuse to sit in a theater and subject myself to lies and hate."
I wouldn't call it hate. I'd call it "outrage." And why not? Even Andrew Sullivan can't deny that this administration has done some truly outrageous things in the last three-plus years, and they've put a nice sunny face on it. I'm not sure how else you fight back their powerful imagery and appeals to our fears except with more powerful imagery and appeals to our sense of justice.
The movie starts with the 2000 election, and the accusations of the disenfranchisement of black voters. Later in the movie, we see recruiters targeting young men in Flint, and we meet a mother who told her kids to join the military because she didn't have enough money to send them to college. (The results are Not Good.)
At the end of the movie, Moore says something about how the ones who have the least are often the ones who join up to defend our country, and that it is an amazing gift.
Of course, this is all somehow still being spun by the Bushies as "Michael Moore hates America and our soldiers!" but whatever... guys... couldn't you at least, like, see the movie? I know, I know, I didn't see The Passion of the Christ, but I can't handle horror movies. I sure has hell didn't try to get it banned, though, unlike some of you lot!
Edited to add: Oh, and by the way? If you are going to complain about how Michael Moore is a hatemonger... you would do better to not go on about how fat he is. It kind of, like, undermines your point, whatever it is.
