"Fahrenheit 11/9" **** (out of ****)
The temperature is rising in "Fahrenheit 11/9" (2018).
How the f*ck did this happen? That is the question filmmaker Michael Moore ask in his latest documentary.
It is more than a somewhat comical line. Trump supporters will say, that's just something all liberals have said since that disastrous night, when 63 million Americans, decided it was a good idea to send a former reality television host (he couldn't even keep that job) to the White House. No, Michael Moore uses that line to springboard into an essay on the current state of American politics and what led us to this moment. Where and when did things go wrong? Why did the American public lose faith in the political system?
That is what "Fahrenheit 11/9" is about. It is NOT a two hour Trump bashing documentary. It does not go into Trump's various business ties with Russia and examine the investigation of the 2016 election. It does not analyze which Russian or group of Russians shaped and molded Trump's worldview. I mention this because much has been made of the dismal box-office results of the movie. It made a little more than 3 million dollars opening weekend. After a week long run, several theatres will no longer show the movie, to make room for Hollywood blockbusters featuring men in tights (superhero movies). I believe that is why people stayed away. We are "Trumped out" (yes, I've invented a verb). What could Michael Moore tell us about Herr Chancellor Trump that we don't already know? Cable news repeatedly run stories about him. It is too difficult to make a movie about this administration when so much is happening so fast. How can you stay relevant? You can't.
The title, "Fahrenheit 11/9", of course is meant to recall one of Moore's previous documentaries, "Fahreheit 9/11" (2004) about another corrupt and dangerous administration. Apparently the right wing media thought this movie was going to be just as big of a threat (though that movie didn't stop George W. Bush from winning a second term, it was a box-office hit). They came out in full force, ready to attack the movie. The Wall Street Journal reviewed Michael Moore instead of the movie, and none too favorably. The "review" called Moore a "con man". The Chicago Tribune ran a negative review from one of their hack "critics". Even positive reviews had a lot of critical things to say. I suspect in an attempt to make themselves appear neutral and as if they were not all a bunch of liberals and all in against Trump.
There are similarities between Moore's two documentaries however. One of them is the focus on the ruinous job our media does. In "Fahrenheit 9/11" Moore claimed journalist didn't do their job and served as mouthpieces for the Bush administration's desire to go to war with Iraq. This time around Moore points the finger at the media showing they were lap dogs for Trump. While the media tried to manipulate the public (and maybe themselves) into believing Trump should not have been taken serious as a candidate for either the GOP nomination or the White House, they sure spent a lot of time showing him on television, because of ratings. The media treated Trump with kid gloves.
Moore contrasts Trump's media coverage with Bernie Sanders. Sanders, who was able to draw crowds just as large as Trump, was ignored. Even the so-called leftist media (i.e. the New York Times) purposely avoided him. They tried to diminish his campaign when they did choose to cover him. Moore interviews Sanders who explains how institutions like the New York Times do not serve the needs of the public by reporting on events in their interest. They serve the establishment.
Moore places an emphasis on how the needs of people weren't met when he documents the events that unfolded in Flint, Michigan with regard to the water crisis there. This takes up a large percentage of screen time in "Fahrenheit 11/9" as a means to show how public officials have let down society.
To Michael Moore a comparison should be made between Donald Trump and the Republican governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder. Both rode into town telling people they would run government like a business. Snyder, elected in 2011, was chairman of the board for Gateway, and founded a venture capitalist firm. Neither man had any experience in public service and the public has paid the price since. In the case of Snyder, in 2014 the water source for the city of Flint was changed from Lake Huron to the Flint River to make way for an unnecessary piping project, which benefited some of Snyder's corporate donors. The water was contaminated with lead, exposing approximately 12,000 children and causing an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, which resulted in 10 deaths and affected 77 other people. Snyder still serves as the governor of the state.
When government officials blatantly disregard the public in such a manner, why should citizens vote? Why should they be enablers of a broken system? That is the link to Trump. According to Moore 100 million eligible voters did not show up at the polls during the 2016 Presidential Election. Voters were suppressed and depressed. Some wanted to send a message and Trump was their outlet.
Not all the blame goes to the Republicans however. Moore is an equal opportunity offender. He takes aim at the Democratic party as well. They depressed voter turnout during the primary with the DNC's clear preference for Hillary Clinton over Sanders. Barack Obama let down the people of Flint when he traveled there and engaged in a publicity stunt, drinking a glass of water, as a way to tell people the water is okay. He didn't stand up for the people. And the old Democratic guard (Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Steny Hoyer) deny new voices from emerging within the party, discrediting them as "too left". As once again the media does their bidding echoing those sentiments.
For me, the most troubling and frightening moments in "Fahrenheit 11/9" are when Moore compares the events of today to Germany of the 1930s. Some will cry, bitch, and complain Michael Moore is taking a cheap shot comparing Trump to Hitler. Their political loyalty (brainwashing) makes them miss the larger point that Moore is illustrating. No one is suggesting Donald Trump will be responsible for the death of 6 million Jews. It is the environment in which Trump emerged and his style of governing that is comparable. Trump divides people pitting us into "us versus them" camps. He has turned the public against the media. Only his words are to be believed. He has devoted followers, whom he conned, with his false promises of making America great again while he converges government with business interest. He has a thirst for power. His tactics are dangerous.
To expand on these points Moore interviews the last surviving prosecutor during the Nuremberg trials, Ben Ferencz, who explains he sent men to their deaths for taking actions similar to those enacted by the Trump administration.
Of course you will hear the standard arguments against Moore and "Fahrenheit 11/9" that you have heard before (not only does history repeat itself, so do Moore's critics!). Moore is playing fast and loose with facts. He glosses over history. He has a political agenda..etc, etc. I ask however, what are the lies? Expose them. The right wing movie critics couldn't. As far as glossing over history, is that Michael Moore's job, to teach you history? His job is to inform and entertain. Read a book to learn about history. He has an agenda? Of course he does! A documentary has to have a point of view. Why was it made in the first place?
Yes, Moore is guilty of theatrics but that is all he is guilty of. In one sequence he shows footage of Hitler giving a speech and removes the sound, dubbing in one of Trump's speeches. At another moment he drives to the governor's office to make a citizen's arrest. Finally he goes to the governor's mansion to hose his lawn with water from Flint.
But these moments don't abate the larger social commentary Moore is making. His ultimate message is democracy is fragile. It is an idea. If people don't stand up and defend it, it can go away. Just as it did in Germany and various other countries that have fallen to dictatorships over the course of history. History is not a straight line. We don't face an issue, tackle it, and move forward, never to deal with the issue again. History is a circle. History repeats itself. The mistakes of the past will be made again.
Hope is presented in the various social movements that have occurred since Trump. The teacher's strike in West Virginia and others states, the student protests that emerged from the Parkland school shooting. And, all the first-time candidates running for office, who felt a duty to become active. But hope is misleading to Moore. Hope provides comfort and people cannot get comfortable. Don't rely on others to fight your battles.You must act. Such as in "Fahrenheit 9/11" Moore wants people to vote. Vote in the midterm elections this November.
"Fahrenheit 11/9" has been called scattershot by its defenders and critics alike. That isn't true. Moore is focused here. He is linking large themes together. It is ambitious but not undisciplined. Those are just the words of people grabbing at straws, looking to take down the movie any which way they can.
It is saddening to know the public abandoned this documentary. There is a lot of important information here. It is a rallying cry. Maybe it will gain traction on DVD. Maybe after reading this some of you will hunt down a nearby theatre to see it. I hope so.
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