Michael Moore's latest film, Fahrenheit 11/9, is a clever name reversal of his 2004 documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" which took on the assaults on civil liberties resulting from the war on terrorism, and skewed the connections of the Bush family to Texas oil and the influence of Saudi billionaires, a very timely subject today. Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, It is the largest grossing documentary of all time, having earned $222 million dollars in world-wide box-office sales. The fact that it was strident in its tone did not affect its box-office success which grew in numbers the more the film was attacked by politicians and critics.
While Fahrenheit 9/11 was sprawling and scattershot, it was also a powerful cinematic experience filled with genuine human emotions as well as being highly entertaining. Much of Moore's latest film touches the same chords. It has some powerful moments that hit home but is largely unfocused and filled with distortions that are asserted only to bolster his agenda. After a montage depicting the shock many felt by Donald Trump's unpredictable 2016 victory, the film attempts to provide an answer to Moore's stated question, "How the F did we get here?" None of the answers, however, have much connection to the President but make for good theater.
While Moore's presentation of these issues is inspiring, unfortunately it is also disingenuous. The West Virginia teacher's strike that resulted from continuing anger over low salaries (ranked 48th in the United States) and the high cost of health care involved over 20,000 teachers and other public school staff, affecting approximately 250,000 students. Schools were shut down in all 55 West Virginia counties and the strike lasted nine weekdays amid numerous rallies and demonstrations. Through it all, the union could not have been more supportive, working at the grass roots level for two months to help organize the walkout including a daylong meeting with every single rep from all three unions from each of the 55 counties.
Moore, however, implies that the unions sold out the teachers by ordering them back to work, overlooking the fact that the teachers refused to go back to work only because they wanted more clarity on the issue of health insurance premiums and did not trust state Republicans to follow through on the raises that were promised. Not every teacher agreed that was the right course of action, buy they all stuck together out of solidarity. Other issues receive the superficial treatment as well. Moore implies that the ground was laid for Trump's election by the flaws of the Democratic Party establishment and singles out Barack Obama's willingness to compromise as President, ignoring the fact that the congress was in control by the opposition party and that, to get anything done, there was no alternative to compromise.
He blames the DNC and the superdelegates for Bernie Sanders loss to Hilary Clinton in 2016, even though Clinton had amassed enough votes through primary victories that she did not need the votes of any superdelegates to put her over the top. Moore points out that Bernie Sanders won all 55 counties in West Virginia during the primary but only received 18 out of 29 delegates. He does not mention, however, that Clinton won 31% of the overall vote. The film's segment on the water crisis in Flint resulting from the cost-cutting measure of switching the source from a clean source of water to the contaminated Flint River is powerfully done but marred by Moore's penchant for showmanship as he attempts to make a citizen's arrest of the Governor and sprays Flint water on Governor Rick Snyder's home.
Trying to blame President Obama and the Democrats for being insensitive to the crisis is not one of Moore's finest hours. Shown as sipping Flint water as an example of indifference, Moore ignores the fact that the President was simply reassuring the residents that Flint water was no longer a medical emergency and was safe to drink as long as it was filtered. Also ignored was the fact that Obama and various Democrats tried to get Congress to allocate funding for Flint - but the Republicans would have none of it. A measure passed by Congress and signed into law by Obama in December, however, did provide $170 million to address drinking water safety issues with part of the money set aside for new pipes for Flint.
The only thing that would have satisfied Moore was, in his own words addressed to President Obama, "Unless you're bringing the U.S. Army with you to save 100,000 of your fellow Americans, and unless you're going to arrest the governor of Michigan who has now killed more Americans than ISIS, you might as well stay home." Fahrenheit 11/9 is promoted as being a "Trump takedown," though there is not very much about Trump in the film except for some suggestive photos with daughter Ivanka and some pointed comparisons to Adolf Hitler.
In an interview in Rolling Stone magazine Moore said about President Trump, "No matter what you throw at him, it hasn't worked. No matter what is revealed, he remains standing. Facts, reality, brains cannot defeat him. Even when he commits a self-inflicted wound, he gets up the next morning and keeps going and tweeting," and added, "That all ends with this movie." If that were the case, I would personally nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, but unfortunately the film most likely will have little effect outside of those already committed to the cause.
While Fahrenheit 9/11 was sprawling and scattershot, it was also a powerful cinematic experience filled with genuine human emotions as well as being highly entertaining. Much of Moore's latest film touches the same chords. It has some powerful moments that hit home but is largely unfocused and filled with distortions that are asserted only to bolster his agenda. After a montage depicting the shock many felt by Donald Trump's unpredictable 2016 victory, the film attempts to provide an answer to Moore's stated question, "How the F did we get here?" None of the answers, however, have much connection to the President but make for good theater.
While Moore's presentation of these issues is inspiring, unfortunately it is also disingenuous. The West Virginia teacher's strike that resulted from continuing anger over low salaries (ranked 48th in the United States) and the high cost of health care involved over 20,000 teachers and other public school staff, affecting approximately 250,000 students. Schools were shut down in all 55 West Virginia counties and the strike lasted nine weekdays amid numerous rallies and demonstrations. Through it all, the union could not have been more supportive, working at the grass roots level for two months to help organize the walkout including a daylong meeting with every single rep from all three unions from each of the 55 counties.
Moore, however, implies that the unions sold out the teachers by ordering them back to work, overlooking the fact that the teachers refused to go back to work only because they wanted more clarity on the issue of health insurance premiums and did not trust state Republicans to follow through on the raises that were promised. Not every teacher agreed that was the right course of action, buy they all stuck together out of solidarity. Other issues receive the superficial treatment as well. Moore implies that the ground was laid for Trump's election by the flaws of the Democratic Party establishment and singles out Barack Obama's willingness to compromise as President, ignoring the fact that the congress was in control by the opposition party and that, to get anything done, there was no alternative to compromise.
He blames the DNC and the superdelegates for Bernie Sanders loss to Hilary Clinton in 2016, even though Clinton had amassed enough votes through primary victories that she did not need the votes of any superdelegates to put her over the top. Moore points out that Bernie Sanders won all 55 counties in West Virginia during the primary but only received 18 out of 29 delegates. He does not mention, however, that Clinton won 31% of the overall vote. The film's segment on the water crisis in Flint resulting from the cost-cutting measure of switching the source from a clean source of water to the contaminated Flint River is powerfully done but marred by Moore's penchant for showmanship as he attempts to make a citizen's arrest of the Governor and sprays Flint water on Governor Rick Snyder's home.
Trying to blame President Obama and the Democrats for being insensitive to the crisis is not one of Moore's finest hours. Shown as sipping Flint water as an example of indifference, Moore ignores the fact that the President was simply reassuring the residents that Flint water was no longer a medical emergency and was safe to drink as long as it was filtered. Also ignored was the fact that Obama and various Democrats tried to get Congress to allocate funding for Flint - but the Republicans would have none of it. A measure passed by Congress and signed into law by Obama in December, however, did provide $170 million to address drinking water safety issues with part of the money set aside for new pipes for Flint.
The only thing that would have satisfied Moore was, in his own words addressed to President Obama, "Unless you're bringing the U.S. Army with you to save 100,000 of your fellow Americans, and unless you're going to arrest the governor of Michigan who has now killed more Americans than ISIS, you might as well stay home." Fahrenheit 11/9 is promoted as being a "Trump takedown," though there is not very much about Trump in the film except for some suggestive photos with daughter Ivanka and some pointed comparisons to Adolf Hitler.
In an interview in Rolling Stone magazine Moore said about President Trump, "No matter what you throw at him, it hasn't worked. No matter what is revealed, he remains standing. Facts, reality, brains cannot defeat him. Even when he commits a self-inflicted wound, he gets up the next morning and keeps going and tweeting," and added, "That all ends with this movie." If that were the case, I would personally nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, but unfortunately the film most likely will have little effect outside of those already committed to the cause.