Wednesday, July 21, 2004

‘Hearts and Minds’ and ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’

Commentary by Dick Dorworth

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"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.

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