‘Hearts and Minds’ and ‘Fahrenheit
9/11’
Commentary by Dick Dorworth
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me
twice, shame on me."
Only a fool can’t get that straight, a
point to remember when watching the conclusion of Michael Moore’s brilliant,
disturbing documentary film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." It is also a point to keep in
mind when voting on Nov. 2. The film is brilliant because Moore is an
extraordinary and brilliant (and quirky and funny) film maker. It is disturbing
because of what it reveals to us about the characters and motivations of the
leaders of our country, the war in Iraq, the deception of the American people at
the hands of those leaders in order to get into that war, the American media’s
mush-headed embracement of that deception, the long-standing and deep personal
and business relationships between the bin Laden and Bush families, a smattering
of the physical-emotional-mental horrors of the war in Iraq (none suffered by
the leaders of our country or their families), and of the power that accrues to
dynasties of obscene wealth and of the inevitable corruption that accrues to
power.
It is the cynicism accompanying corruption
that is disturbing in "Fahrenheit 9/11." It is the sight of flag covered coffins
returning from Iraq and the knowledge that the leaders of our nation don’t allow
those coffins to be photographed that is disturbing. (Good documentary work by
Moore to get those photographs.) It is seeing the stumps of American amputees
home from the war in Iraq, soldiers who gave their lives and limbs for oil,
soldiers who have been (and are) put in harm’s way for reasons that at best are
not in the best interests of America, and, at worst, can be seen as venal.
This is a film that makes a difference and
might change the world for the simple reason that it is a box office success.
Millions of people all over the world are seeing it, as, in my opinion, they
should (If they are over 17 or accompanied by a responsible adult, to satisfy
the film’s "R" rating guidelines.) If the media had been doing its job of
investigative journalism for the past three years, this film would neither work
nor be so popular because its message would be common knowledge.
It is not the best documentary ever made,
though it is the best anti-Bush documentary so far. I’ve spoken with supporters
of the Bush administration who excoriate the film as "mindless propaganda,"
though none I spoke with have actually seen it.
The ability to critique the unseen is,
apparently, symptomatic of those able to see WMDs where there are none, who
substitute "shock and awe" for planning, those unable to appreciate why
conquerors are not greeted as liberators and are puzzled when bombing does not
lead to democracy, whose concept of social programs are less taxes for the
wealthy and less pay for the military fighting their wars for them, and for whom
flag draped coffins are invisible and best left that way.
"Fahrenheit" is a documentary/commentary
on the corruption that accrues to power. That it is done with humor, anti-Bush
bias, and laced with inimitable Moore over the top slapstick only adds to the
seriousness and significance of its message.
Thirty years ago another brilliant,
disturbing documentary film about another war (Vietnam) was made by Peter Davis.
It was titled "Hearts and Minds." (The Vietnam era’s version of "Shock and Awe"
was "Grab them by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow," both battle
cries of those in denial or cave-dark ignorance of human nature.) "Hearts and
Minds" was, in my mind, a better documentary than Moore’s work, though not
nearly so entertaining. It won the Oscar for best documentary in 1974, but it
was shown in few theaters in the U.S. Then, as now, people who most strongly
support and benefit from war do not like the consequences, motivations,
deceptions and everyday practices and horrors of war to be put on display. The
first time I saw it, the entire audience walked out of the theater at the end as
silent as a funeral procession; no one looked at each other; there was nothing
to say. The film showed quite clearly that we had been fooled, and that we were
complicit in that fooling. Shame on them. Shame on us.
Moore’s is a slapstick study of the
corruption that accrues to power. Davis’ is a study of the nature of power. Many
say the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq have no correlations or parallels for
America; but I would argue these two fine films show distinct correlations—the
Bay of Tonkin, WMDs (shame on Johnson, shame on Bush); invasion of sovereign
countries that pose no danger to the U.S.; mounting war casualties and
increasing resistance to American presence among people who do not want them
there; deception and confusion and poor leadership at the highest levels;
soldiers who went to war to serve their country and came back convinced their
country had not served them; leaders who fooled the citizens into supporting
unnecessary wars; and, of course, the carnage of war.
It’s documented: Check them out.
American leaders fooled the citizenry into
supporting the war in Vietnam in the 1960s and ’70s. Shame on them.
American leaders fooled the citizenry into
supporting another unnecessary war in Iraq in 2003. Shame on us.