Friday, July 02, 2004
Right On Review
I've seen "Fahrenheit 9/11" and read the many reviews, the handwringing, the denunciations. But still the movie is popular. Why? This is the most accurate review I've seen so far.
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Moore's Public Service
The only point I had against the movie - I felt that Moore was exploiting the Army kids he portrays as shallow and sadistic. Not that Moore's technique isn't pure exploitation to begin with: he exploited the victims of the Columbine shooting nearly as much as he does the Flint mother in 9/11. But at least he is supportive of their moral situation. And I certainly have no sympathy for political pundits who become his victims, such as Charlton Heston or the members of Congress. But these kids are serving our country, shallow or not, and sure, they can become the pawns of attrocities. But as I've said before, the ones responsible are the Evildoers at the Pentagon. Moore doesn't make that connection; instead, he goes out of his way to vilify our young servicemen and women, in the same way that Rumsfeld and Bush are doing. Do these kids, naive as they are, really have to be the scapegoats for the Left as well as the Right? All we needed was some context of how they found themselves in this situation, and who put them there, and who ordered them, and how they were trained to respond this way in OUR OWN culture. There certainly are enough facts - but Moore left this out. That did offend my sensibilities in an otherwise hilarious and entertaining movie.
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Moore's Public Service
The only point I had against the movie - I felt that Moore was exploiting the Army kids he portrays as shallow and sadistic. Not that Moore's technique isn't pure exploitation to begin with: he exploited the victims of the Columbine shooting nearly as much as he does the Flint mother in 9/11. But at least he is supportive of their moral situation. And I certainly have no sympathy for political pundits who become his victims, such as Charlton Heston or the members of Congress. But these kids are serving our country, shallow or not, and sure, they can become the pawns of attrocities. But as I've said before, the ones responsible are the Evildoers at the Pentagon. Moore doesn't make that connection; instead, he goes out of his way to vilify our young servicemen and women, in the same way that Rumsfeld and Bush are doing. Do these kids, naive as they are, really have to be the scapegoats for the Left as well as the Right? All we needed was some context of how they found themselves in this situation, and who put them there, and who ordered them, and how they were trained to respond this way in OUR OWN culture. There certainly are enough facts - but Moore left this out. That did offend my sensibilities in an otherwise hilarious and entertaining movie.
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