Thoughts on Fahrenheit 9/11 *spoilers*

[estranged4life]

who saw this movie and who are very political in your views (In my younger years I used to somewhat to the left like most in my family, But as I grew older my life experiences moved me towards a neutral middle political view.), I just can't bring myself to see it because I made up my mind about the current administration without Mr.Moore's on film schenanigans.

Btw, I am interested to read the 13 pages in Slick Willie's book about the Murrah bombing and how he reacted as the President to try to bring comfort to those Oklahomans who were affected by this act of terrorism. Has anyone read this part of his book yet?

Brian j.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by Keith

I saw the film in D.C. (it is showing in 5 theaters at Loews Georgetown) and the crowd was engaged, and we applauded at the end!

It should vanish from that theater anytime now. The Carlyle Group just bought the Loew's theater chain.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

It should vanish from that theater anytime now. The Carlyle Group just bought the Loew's theater chain.

True, but CNN had inteviews from Lowes chain owners that indicated the managers were opening the theaters at 6:30 a.m. or some such hour to accommodate more showings to meet the demand. So , , , , , ,

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

True, but CNN had inteviews from Lowes chain owners that indicated the managers were opening the theaters at 6:30 a.m. or some such hour to accommodate more showings to meet the demand. So , , , , , ,

I don't think the takeover has happened yet. I do know that they did purchase it, though. They are partners with two other comapnies that did so.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

I don't think the takeover has happened yet. I do know that they did purchase it, though. They are partners with two other comapnies that did so.

I read that too. It is scary to think those people are going to be in control of the movie threaters - it smacks on mind control gas being put into the AC vents to me

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I read that too. It is scary to think those people are going to be in control of the movie threaters - it smacks on mind control gas being put into the AC vents to me

It smacks of Goebbels.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

It smacks of Goebbels.

Or the blob coming out of the vents!

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Or the blob coming out of the vents!

How did Rush get in the air vents?!

[dissention]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

I really hope this film is released on DVD before November.

If it is, I'm going to make sure it's displayed at the front desk of the library.

In one of the order catalogs for video stores (I think it's called Video ETA?), it's advertised as haivng a street date of the last week of September.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

How did Rush get in the air vents?!

Looking for an oxycotin he dropped

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Looking for an oxycotin he dropped

He wife got away with it all. She's selling them in the back of Rite Aid for $5 a pop to help with her lawyer fees.

[hayley]

I heard on GMA the other day that the plans were for a September DVD release, like Diss said. Moore wants it on DVD so more people can see it before the election.

[CarneVaca]

I saw the movie at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, the first showing in my town at a three-screen, non-profit independent theater. That morning showing was added at the eleventh hour but it was too late to fill the theater. So it was about half full. I understand later showings were packed. Mrs. Carne tried to get in with a friend to the 7:30 p.m. showing on Saturday, but no luck.

Anyhoo, my impressions:

Nothing really new here. The genius of the movie is the way Moore pieces the scenes together to back up his argument that the reason we went into Iraq was primarily about profiteering.

After the opening credits, when the screen went black and we heard the planes crashing into the towers and the chaos that followed, there weren't many dry eyes in the theater. This is one of the most chiling scenes I have ever seen in a theater.

There were some gasps at the revelations of the alliance between the Bushes and prominent Saudis, including the part about George Sr. watching the news on TV on 9/11 with one of his Saudi pals, a half-brother of Osama.

I was also struck by the US soldiers in Iraq who were so gung ho about going to war and explaining why they had rock music fed through their helmet phones. It's as if they were preparing for a football game of an athletic meet. Then some of them come back on and they talk about the gruesome scenes they witnessed as they rolled into Baghdad, how they weren't expecting that the destruction they caused would affect them as much as it did.

The Marine who said he wouldn't go back to Iraq, and even would go to jail if he had to, has my undying respect.

Others have mentioned the woman who lost her son and how that completely turned her views around. Her pain is so very palpable in this movie. And as she fell apart on screen I was wondering how it is that so many people don't make the mental leap of what it means to join the military. In rich, mostly peaceful America, we were lulled into believing that joining the military is a career choice, something you do if you have no other prospects (I will spare you my dissertation of the perversity of advertising the military as such). With Iraq, I suspect more people are going to start viewing joining the military as something other than a career choice.

This is an important movie for people to watch. Folks who dismiss it and say they won't go see it because of Moore's reputation need to open their minds a little.

[CarneVaca]

Originally Posted by Keith

I also now understand why many in the news media have been blasting this film.. it implicates them for NOT doing their job.

Also, keep in mind that Saudis have been financing Euro Disney for a while. Do you think that may have entered Eisner's mind as he was refusing to distribute the film? Eisner will be gone soon, I suspect. He is pretty much a joke of a CEO at this point.

I also thought it was interesting that the current administration was dealing with the Taliban in early 2001.. trying to get the pipeline from the Caspian Sea through Afghanistan.. the bombing of the Cole just happened, and our government is dealing with the Taliban (inviting them to Texas) in early 2001, and we knew they were harboring Bin Laden. What the hell is that all about?

True. But let's be cautious about this. Much of the negotiation between Unocal and the Taliban had taken place during the preceding administration. Running that pipeline through Afghanistan was an old idea.

[CarneVaca]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

I posted an article about 1.9 million votes in the 2000 election not being counted-about half of which were votes from African Americans. I got one snarky response to it-no offense Carne- and in my mind I kind of equate that to that scene in the movie. It was exactly what I was thinking as I was watching it. No one said anything. :confused

No offense taken. And while "snarky" may appropriately characterize the tone of my reply in that thread, I hope you didn't miss the point. As I recall, you are one of the people who have continued to insist on the fantasy that Nader lost the election for Gore in 2000. It's fantasy because

1) Al Gore was a ****ty candidate (no need to go into that now).

2) Way too many people had their votes thrown out. As a former reporter, I covered a fair number of elections and one thing I know is that there is always a small percentage of votes that gets spoiled. But in 2000, it was clear to me that too many votes were being thrown out that came from certain contingencies of voters. Without the resources to look into it myself, what that suggested to me was that there was something systematic going on. The report you posted about the 1 million out of 1.9 million spoiled votes having come from blacks surprised me not in the least. All things being equal, the percentage of spoiled black votes would have been less than 20 percent, as opposed to more than half.

But all things are not equal. And the report you posted, though it does not conclusively prove what I've suspected all along, is confirmation of my suspicions.

Ralph Nader didn't give the election to George Bush. It was a combination of a very, very dislikable Democratic candidate with the shennanigans that went on in voting precincts, especially in Florida, that gave the election to the loser. But, you see, true to form, the Democrats didn't even have the guts to do anything about it.