A brilliant, insightful, intelligent and MUCH needed dissection of Michael Moore’s latest flick.
Here is just a small piece of it:
With Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, however, an entirely new note has been struck. Here we glimpse a possible fusion between the turgid routines of Move On.org and the filmic standards, if not exactly the filmic skills, of Sergei Eisenstein or Leni Riefenstahl.
To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. 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.
Read the whole thing — it’s well worth the entire read — twice.
Oh, and before I get some wandering Democrat in here to tell me that I’m being unfair to poor Michael Moore as part of the vast right wing conspiracy who wishes to silence him? The article was penned by a well-respected liberal columnist who is tired of the way the extreme left is representing the Democrats as projecting an …‘image and self-image as something rather too solemn, mirthless, herbivorous, dull, monochrome, righteous, and boring…’
Christopher Hitchens is a columnist for Vanity Fair — who woulda thunk it?
After a year of retirement, I had the opportunity to...
12:40 pm on June 26th, 2004
You are in such denial it’s almost funny. Have you even bothered to research the facts yourself? 9/11 was just part of a secret agenda to help usher in a new era in the world, a new world order. Look at everything that has happened since. I suggest you do a little research before you snap at the “leftist conspirators”. You are pathetic.
2:37 pm on June 26th, 2004
suck my dick.
2:39 pm on June 26th, 2004
you fucking republican piece of shit. why not look past your own ignorance and realize the problems our country is facing.. or is that not what mommy and daddy talk about when they take you out to the country club? fucking get a clue. you are a waste of life.
6:21 pm on June 26th, 2004
I dont know who you are, but you are awesome. And you should go see this movie that also shows how much of a liar Michael Moore is. comes out this August. Michael Moore Hates America
And check out this group, ProtestWarriors, (fighting the left, doing it right)
Protest Warrior
6:39 pm on June 26th, 2004
Thanks, sp34r.
You can see how dignified and rational my visitors from the left are. I might even engage them in decent discussion on the issues if I thought they could handle it - - but judging by their comments here….they’d get lost.
I’ve seen the Michael Moore Hates America website and can’t wait for the movie. Thanks for the tip
12:50 pm on June 27th, 2004
Hey - us lefties aren’t all like that! I just ignore “hit and run” commenters - especially anonymous ones - as they probably aren’t going to be back to read your response anyway.
As for Mr Moore (again) - I still don’t think he hates America - just a particular idea of America that certain (mainly right wing) people have. (And what exactly is your definition of “America” anyway?)
12:54 pm on June 27th, 2004
… not that I’m really left wing anyway (to much of an individual - and libertarian-in-the-true-sense - to fit into such a catagory)
1:04 pm on June 27th, 2004
It’s not all right wing, Tim. If you’ll note - the writer of the article in my post is a well-respected liberal Democrat columnist, who usually does not write against members of the left. In Moore’s case - he points out the inconsistencies and lies within F911. Moore is on opportunist who isn’t above lying and twisting, misrepresenting the facts to promote his extreme anti-American agenda. That’s my opinon - - you, on the other hand, hold a different opinion. Moore has his own - of which I disagree with.
Great thing about America is that we live in the land of the free - and are able to freely voice those opinions without the threat of prosecution. Moore can voice his - - I can voice mine..then life goes on.
Although…there are some who scream that they are being silenced while, simultaneously, voicing their opinions freely. Odd that.
4:33 pm on June 28th, 2004
Every good opinion deserves a rebuttal:
click here
2:10 am on June 29th, 2004
Re: Chris Parry’s “Defending Truth: Slate’s Chris Hitchens does a hatchet job on Michael Moore”
Love the rebuttal. I read Hitchen’s article before I saw the movie and basically EVERYTHING Chris Parry’s rebuttal says is exactly what I was thinking as I was watching F-911.
Did Hitchen’s even see the movie? maybe was he drunk during it? How could he have missed so much of the obvious? Is he just that obtuse? Anyway thanks for the link!
8:52 pm on June 29th, 2004
I missed the part of the movie where Micheal Moore said he hates America?! It was very clear to me that he has some issues with the Bush Administration. The movie, in my opinion, depicted how the Bush Administration abused the greatest strengths America has for personal reward. One question I have is when did war become so sacred that we can’t speak out on how we feel? That’s as American as apple pie. Speakin about pie, what is Iraq gonna do, throw a mud pie at us? Also, whatever happened to Bin Ladin? Is he really on a kidney dialysis machine or what? By the way, change of sovereignty? Isn’t that just a way to get your ass out of being the winner or loser? The winner has to pay to rebuild and the loser is a war criminal. Hmmm, both options suck. I think this is the part in the story where all hell breaks lose in Iraq, the leader of the new government gets capped and the CIA hires some ganbusters dictator to run the show. Same movie, different cinema. One last comment, were the words coming out of Bushs’ mouth in “Fahrenheit 911″ real or were they voice overlay?
12:10 am on June 30th, 2004
‘Ninja’
I’m not sure if it’s in the movie, or not. I don’t think I stated that it was.
Do you feel like you can’t speak out on how you feel? Is someone out there silencing your voice? It’s sounds to me like you’re freely voicing your feelings. Michael Moore is voicing his feelings. I’m voicing mine. I’m curious as to who is telling you that you ‘can’t'?
Uh…neither. Eventually, the Iraqi government needs to govern, don’t they? If you think it’s as simple as handing over control to Iraq and then leaving them with the bill and stepping out - - then I have no doubts why you’d buy into Moore’s movie.
Why would I know - I didn’t watch the film. I would imagine that whatever words that you’re speaking of did come out of Bush’s mouth - - I would also imagine that true to form, Michael Moore took them out of context, as per his usual.
Hey - you have your opinion and I have mine….opinions are like assholes - everybody has one.
10:03 pm on July 1st, 2004
Moores a fat liar, hes claimed Bin Laden was innocent til proven guilty in 2002, and continues to blame American soldiers for the wars….that fatso is a waste!!
5:39 pm on July 3rd, 2004
You mean UNFAIRenheit 9/11? Did you miss the pun?
4:11 pm on July 5th, 2004
That “rebuttal” by the Hollywood Bitch Slap website was pretty lame. Lots of anger and heat, very little light. Simply repeats Moore’s allegations, without directly addressing Hitchens’ points.
For instance: he rehashes the false claim that members of the Bin Laden clan were flown out of the U.S. before planes were allowed to fly again.
“[T]hree days later, while the rest of us were stranded at airports and bus stations, the Bin Ladens (including the Carlyle director) were picked up by private jets authorized by the White House and whisked off (without questioning) to Paris ‘for their own protection’.”
Even Moore himself has admitted that they didn’t leave until after Sept. 13 — when the ban on flights was lifted. (Btw, do you remember the ban on bus travel following 9/11? Neither do I.)
He also repeats the canard above that the Bin Ladens leaving the country departed “without questioning.” But unlike HBC, I’m not asking you to take my word for it.
From the 9/11 Commission report:
“No commercial planes, including chartered flights, were permitted to fly into, out of, or within the United States until September 13, 2001. After the airspace reopened, six chartered flights with 142 people, mostly Saudi Arabian nationals, departed from the United States between September 14 and 24. One flight, the so-called Bin Ladin flight, departed the United States on September 20 with 26 passengers, most of them relatives of Usama Bin Ladin. We have found no credible evidence that any chartered flights of Saudi Arabian nationals departed the United States before the reopening of national airspace.
“The Saudi flights were screened by law enforcement officials, primarily the FBI, to ensure that people on these flights did not pose a threat to national security, and that nobody of interest to the FBI with regard to the 9/11 investigation was allowed to leave the country. Thirty of the 142 people on these flights were interviewed by the FBI, including 22 of the 26 people (23 passengers and 3 private security guards) on the Bin Ladin flight. Many were asked detailed questions. None of the passengers stated that they had any recent contact with Usama Bin Ladin or knew anything about terrorist activity.
“The FBI checked a variety of databases for information on the Bin Ladin flight passengers and searched the aircraft. It is unclear whether the TIPOFF terrorist watchlist was checked. At our request, the Terrorist Screening Center has rechecked the names of individuals on the flight manifests of these six Saudi flights against the current TIPOFF watchlist. There are no matches.
“The FBI has concluded that nobody was allowed to depart on these six flights who the FBI wanted to interview in connection with the 9/11 attacks, or who the FBI later concluded had any involvement in those attacks. To date, we have uncovered no evidence to contradict this conclusion.”
Query to HBS and Michael Moore: Which statement in the above do you dispute? Or would you rather just keep lying to your audience?
The above deceptions on the part of HBC and MM are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. For a more comprehensive list of the deceptions in “Unfahrenheit,” go to:
http://www.davekopel.com/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-in-Fahrenheit-911.htm
12:21 pm on July 7th, 2004
Who’s this bimbo? Everyone has a webpage these days - at least remove the pics of yourself. Oh yeah, nice Chaney/Bush add; please don’t vote.
12:28 pm on July 7th, 2004
You must be jealous as well as insecure since you go with being an anonymouse - - feeling little and scared?
Tip: get a reference book
12:28 pm on July 7th, 2004
So, then - - ‘anonymouse’ - - you’re all for discouraging people from exercising their right to vote just because you don’t agree with their politics?
I encourage everyone to vote - - even if it’s not for my candidate of choice. Everyone has the freedom and should use it!
And hey - - thanks for the stupid comment.
10:57 am on July 8th, 2004
heh. you stupid liberal democrats.
I quote “you fucking republican piece of shit. why not look past your own ignorance and realize the problems our country is facing.. or is that not what mommy and daddy talk about when they take you out to the country club? fucking get a clue. you are a waste of life.
comment by Anonymous — 6/26/2004 @ 2:39 pm”
you manifest lies that you unwittingly try to pass of as fact. Calling this woman a republican piece of crap. reeeeeeally mature. YOU sure know the facts, don’tcha? And to think, you’d beguile her, suggesting that her parents raised her blindly to be an tunnel-visioned republican. I’m sure your parents are much, much worse, raising such an ill-mannered wannabe child. you think you can criticize her as being a rich snobbish girl who lives a sheltered life. well, you are sadly mistaken, as you believe in your self-righteousness. Don’t whine and tell me “I can criticize the rich because I’m poor and I’ve suffered from bush’s lack of economic skill! I only live in a 2-story house, and my family only has 3 cars!” you inconcievably ignorant trash.
11:01 am on July 8th, 2004
Again, the first post I quote-
“You are in such denial it’s almost funny. Have you even bothered to research the facts yourself? 9/11 was just part of a secret agenda to help usher in a new era in the world, a new world order. Look at everything that has happened since. I suggest you do a little research before you snap at the “leftist conspirators”. You are pathetic.
comment by Truth seeker — 6/26/2004 @ 12:40 pm”
You, sir, are a big dumb baby. not everything you research on google is fact. Now go tell your mom that you accidently found that page with all the pornography. you big dumb baby.
4:12 am on July 14th, 2004
Michael Moore’s film is full of mistruths and lies. It’s so funny how so many are brainwashed and full of hatred. He botched the film up and added lines that were untrue. I have heard that he was actually part of the killing of Berg in Iraq. I wonder if that should be believed. He was the last to interview him on tape before his beheading?? I heard that the abductors were american, so maybe it was Moore’s way of making Bush look bad. He could be behind this and none of us would know. It’s funny how people come to judgement without even knowing thing. How do we know Bush is stupid? Have you ever sat and talked to him? And if he is so stupid, how did he become President and we’re just nobody’s who sit around posting on web sites. Think of your own faults before you blame others, and stop following the biased media. By the way, did you know that Kerry and Bush feel the same on many issues (including gay marriage), except Kerry is for higher taxes and bush is for lower taxes. Of course the media would never tell you that!
4:14 am on July 14th, 2004
oops! sorry for the typos! By the way, this is a really great web site!!!
12:06 am on July 15th, 2004
Hey, you rock. Don’t let the gay-ass extreme leftists get you down, because they’re just a bunch of flip-flopping pussies anyway, just like Micheal Moore (who fired almost double the percent of workers as the ’stupid white men’ he seems to hate so much did). GO BUSH AND GO YOU!
4:31 pm on September 4th, 2004
You’ve got a great website. Thanks for adding light to Michael Moore’s distortion. I saw the film in SFO. My daughter said, “We’re going to see ‘a movie’. There, we found ourselves in a rabid crowd of left-wing fanatics. It must be the same experience in a training camp for OsamaBinLaden’s terrorist freaks, where they whack at an effigy of George W Bush.
Here’s another great website for debunking Moore’s fabrication:
http://www.davekopel.com/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-in-Fahrenheit-911.htm
Cheers/ G