FAHRENHEIT 911 - THE HOT TICKET

by RHEA L COMBS
Fuck Bush. Motherfuck Bush. That’s how I felt after coming home from watching Fahrenheit 9/11, the new documentary by Michael Moore. I had been looking forward to seeing the film for quite some time and fortunately got a ticket opening night.

Knowing the controversy behind the film, its director, and because this is the first documentary to ever win the coveted Palme d’Or award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France, I was anxious to see the movie. Looking around at the roughly 350 people in the sold out theater, I was among a bunch of baby boomers and activists of yesteryear. It was a great feeling. Before the film I overheard folks reminiscing about seeing Jimi Hendrix perform, their frustrations with the current government, and the importance of voting. One silver fox recalled taking her college graduation pictures donning an afro and with no underwear — much to the chagrin of her parents, of course — in solidarity with the women’s rights movement. For this woman, and I imagine for many others coming to watch this film, being active in the government’s political process is what they know.
For them, supporting Fahrenheit 9/11 was a continuation of their efforts to promote peace and protest the vained war in Iraq. Unfortunately, people in my age range (18-34) were present to a much lesser degree, which seems to also reflect the voting trends. The youth, generally speaking, are apathetic and apolitical. Meanwhile the elders recall Vietnam, rally for peace, and root for a better tomorrow. Unfortunately that might not be enough to get Bush’s ass out of the Oval office.

The crowd was full of golf shirt-khaki pants-Rockport wearing activists. I was hoping there would be some right-wingers there, too, but between the hisses and heckles whenever Bush’s face appeared on screen, I didn’t get the sense many Bushites were present. I was just hoping the film wouldn’t be solely preaching to the converted. Be that as it may, in some small way I felt like a part of a movement exercising its democratic rights. And perhaps I am too paranoid, but for a split second I thought, “what if some psycho decided to bomb this building in protest of those coming to see the movie.” You see, one never can tell what Bush and his cronies are up to. You might think I am being a bit extreme, but watch Fahrenheit 9/11 - nothing is too far fetched.

The film logically and succinctly demonstrates the Bush administration’s incestuous relationship with the Bin Ladin family and Saudi Arabia. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a scathing report of the Bush administration and their nefarious business practices. While there have been numerous critiques of the film and its methodology, primarily from right-wing politicians, the film’s facts seem to come from public records. The breakdown of the Bush election hoax is particularly disturbing. And thank god for Michael Moore’s inflections of humor throughout the movie. Like a friend told me, without it people would be jumping off cliffs like lemmings!

The most riveting, and I think powerful, is Moore’s use of a common theme: his hometown of Flint, MI. Flint is the coronary artery for all his films, beginning with his sobering, “Roger and Me,” which is about the impact of General Motors on a small industry town; he returns to this locale in “Bowling for Columbine.” In Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore effectively shows the direct connection with an impoverished town in Middle America and military recruiting. One is able to see who the real victims are: the dispossessed and disenfranchised. The average man and woman are taking hits for the elite. The Axis of Evil (Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumi) have clogged America’s arteries. And the heartbeat of America is in need of a quadruple bypass. Images of bombed out homes and dilapidated buildings, children receiving sub-par education, and families with their hands out waiting for food like refugees scavenging for grains was gut wrenching. These were not images of Baghdad, quite the contrary, they were scenes from the good ole U.S. of A. The terrorist is not some bearded man chilling in a cave all pimped out with his harem of Taliban roaming the streets ready to put in work for Big Daddy. No, the biggest pimp is G.W. Bush, and we’re being tricked.

I was among a handful of Blacks in the theater. That didn’t surprise me, necessarily, but I was somewhat disappointed. Where were we? Were we too busy praising God over at the Georgia Dome for T.D. Jakes’ Mega Fest? Or were we protesting the real issue that KFC ran out of four-piece chicken dinners? (YES, the first night of Mega Fest KFC ran out of chicken wings, apparently they were not prepared for the increased demand brought on by the onslaught of the Christian flock). Whatever the case, we need to concentrate our collective efforts on understanding that the U.S. presence in Iraq is severely misplaced.

I was very disappointed though at the glaring absence of a black woman’s oppositional voice in the film. Black women have a long standing tradition of activism: Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hammer, Angela Davis - these are just a few of the notables. But there was little presence of Black women in the film at all. With a few comic relief appearances that included Condi Rice, and a few shots early in the movie of women in the Congressional Black Caucus, Black women were generally overlooked. This is troubling considering how Shoshanana Johnson, the first Black woman POW, was held two weeks longer than famed Jessica Lynch and received a fraction of the hoopla in the media.

I am even surprised Moore didn’t mention or use the Lynch ‘Wag the Dog’ travesty as canon fodder for his lambaste against Bush. Although there was some commentary, I wanted to hear more from the Iraqi people, particularly the youth who I imagine are far more politically astute than our lot, or
more of its citizens. Maybe even specific statistics on the screen exacting the number of fatalities, on all sides, would have been a poignant reminder of the severity of this nebulous ‘war on terror.’ Or how this country has a long-standing history of conjuring up wars and choosing who it wants to help. And some of the pro-America comments seemed a bit excessive, but I understand the logic. Moore was trying to squelch the staid argument that being anti-war is anti-American. With this film Moore exercised one of the greatest attributes of American democracy: freedom of speech. And understanding the film couldn’t do it all, what was done was well worth the price of the ticket. Fahrenheit 9/11 is one hot rage against the machine.

Holla @ your gurhl,
–
Rhea L. Combs
http://www.rheality.com
info@rheality.com