It's a Strange, Skewed Perspective

Until Fahrenheit 9/11 comes out, we'll have to make do with making fun of the reviews. Well that's rather close-minded of me, isn't it?

Peter Bradshaw reviewed the film for the Guardian. Throughout the review, Bradshaw pretty much cheers Michael Moore on, as one would expect, accepting Moore's many assumptions without question. For instance Bradshaw agrees that bin Laden family members were able to leave the US shortly after 9/11 because of the Bush family's oil connection to the bin Laden family and other Saudis. (I am certainly not one to smile upon Saudi Arabia, but being a relative of Osama is not a crime, and considering the barrel KSA has the West over, pun intended, I doubt it would have been any different with a Gore administration.)

Be that as it may, what makes this review quite shallow is that in the one area in which Peter Bradshaw has direct and irrefutable knowledge- the heavy British participation in the Iraq war- he acknowledges that Moore's got it wrong.

Moore's big omission is Tony Blair and the UK. He has a clever pastiche of the opening title-sequence of the old TV western Bonanza, with Bush and Blair mocked up to look like cowboys. But in a section about the ramshackle "coalition of the willing" which was supposed to lend international legitimacy to the invasion, there is no mention of the part played by this country. This can only be because of Moore's insistence on America's international isolation and arrogance. It's a strange, skewed perspective.

Indeed. But Bradshaw doesn't take the next, logical step by asking that if Moore omits information in this area to make his point, perhaps he's doing it in other areas as well. Areas in which Bradshaw has less knowledge or is more inclined to agree with Moore, perhaps. But I imagine Bradshaw was having too much fun to ask questions.

Apparently a certain suspension of disbelief may be required of the viewer to fully apreciate all of its points. It's a propaganda film, after all, and propaganda generally requires a tight focus. It's important to stay on message and to not let contrary facts get in the way. Maybe the Academy could add another award to better suit this kind of movie. The Leni Riefenstahl Lifetime Achievement Award? (Alright- too harsh.)