  I went to see urlLink Fahrenheit 9/11 with a bit of skepticism. I'm not the world's biggest Michael Moore fan. I think he's a little full of himself and a bit too Leftish for my tastes. The reviews I had read were favorable, but tended to note that the movie was more entertainment than documentary, and most coverage seemed to focus on the conspiracy with the Saudi's and Bush is a Buffoon aspects of the movie. I'm currently not a Bush supporter, mostly due to his ill-conceived war with Iraq. (I won't go into why I think the war was ill conceived, the movie and more articulate pundits have already highlighted why it was a really bad idea. ) At the same time, I'd never consider myself a member of the far left (in fact, I voted Republican in every major election thus far, a trend that will change this year) and while I think the war was ill-conceived, in my opinion ignorance was a bigger contributor than greed (although I won't deny greed matters).
Seeing a movie like Fahrenheit 9/11 in Ithaca is an experience. I originally planned to see it on Tuesday, but we were greeted with a ridiculously long line. The small independent theater that is showing the film only has two shows a day and sells tickets only 30 minutes in advance. We showed up 30 minutes in advance, when we should have showed up about an hour in advance of the 30 minutes in advance to by the tickets. This only made a movie that I sort of wanted to see a movie I really HAD to see, since now there was a challenge (& I DO love challenges!!
) I got in line at 5:55 to wait for tickets to go on sale at 6:45. Already a considerable line had formed. As I stood in line men came by registering people to vote, someone passed out flyers for a peace vigil, a woman showed up with her Congo drum and chants, and another group set up their table full of "Bush Must Go" merchandise.
Granted, in Ithaca these people probably would have been hanging out on the Commons anyways, but not necessarily targeting themselves to a movie-going crowd. Context aside, the movie was really good. I don't know how much credit I want to give Michael Moore himself. I read one urlLink review that notes that the best parts of the film are when Moore is "willing to forget his personal animosities. " I tend to agree. The footage from Iraq is gruesome, the footage of an American mother whose son was killed in service - a mother who is proud her children are in the military and claims her family and those like hers are "the backbone of America" - reading the last letter her son sent her from Iraq is moving, footage of U.S. soldiers in V.A. hospitals stating how pointless the war is and how they will never vote republican again is a powerful statement.
These scenes are I think what makes the movie worthwhile, and sends the strongest statement against the war in Iraq. Although I went into the movie with skepticism, expecting to see an obviously one-sided political charged film, I left feeling a combination of sadness, guilt, and embarrassment for my country and myself as a citizen. Even admitting the film is one-sided, I don't see how one could sit through it and not have the slightest tinge that perhaps it WOULD be a good idea to get Bush out of office. So yes, I encourage everyone to go see this movie, especially those who are pro-Bush and the war. Even if it doesn't change your mind, it should at least make you think. In my opinion, thinking is always a good thing. urlLink postCount('108870180065104430'); 
