The Movie Fahrenheit 9/11 - Essay Example

The social, economic, and political pursuits in the United States came to a standstill, following the September 11 terrorist attacks. While this attack caught the American citizens by surprise, many films that were produced after the attacks depict a situation that the attacks were way expected.

According to Michael Moore, the Bush administration used the tragic September 11 incident as an excuse to engage in unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (Moore, 2004). The plot of the documentary revolves around the September 11 incident. This is a critical account of the history of the United States. Michael Moore pursues a very critical topic and issue in this film, expressing social, economic, and political concerns that surrounded the United States after the terrorist attack. This means that Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) is centrally located in the heart of the American people, thereby being likely to capture a massive audience. Michael Moore successfully establishes a strong audience base by pursuing an issue that many just took as a terrorist attack. To Moore, the aftermath of the attack took a new perspective that laid the ground for unjust practices by Bush and his administration.

Michael Moore’s analysis of what happened after the September 11 incident leaves so much to be desired. For this reason, the setting of the film is critically positioned. The film was produced three years after the attacks, a time when wounds were still fresh in the minds of many and the political debate of the incident was still exacerbating. This timing in this film is perfect, given that all aspects of American life had been affected by the incident.

The highlighted interviews, and the collected views and opinions of the American people show that different people had a different understandings of the events that followed the attacks. In this regard, Michael Moore gets those who argue alongside his claims, as well as those who dispute the claims outlined in the film. This film is, therefore, two-sided, meaning that it encompasses both propositions and oppositions to the issues raised. In other words, the tragic events that befell the United States on September 11 are clearly outlined before Moore expresses his view on the matter. After these events are highlighted, a critical evaluation of the matter is done. In so doing, American society has wholly associated itself with part of the film in one way or another, whether they agree or disagree with Moore’s views.

While Moore has successfully tried to account for what happened after the September 11 terrorist attacks, some of his views are exaggerated. While his allegations against the Bush administration are true, some of them are way too much personal. The fact that the United States is the world’s superpower gives it a significant reason to engage in war at what it deems it necessary. Moore disputes the Bush administration’s reason to engage Afghanistan and Iraq in war, terming the action unjust (Moore, 2004). However, Osama and his terrorist group Al Qaeda admitted to carrying out the attacks. This was not the first time that Osama and his team had engaged in terrorism. Other states around the world had also experienced terrorist attacks before the United States did. Even if the United States could not have engaged in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on her behalf, it was right to do so, on behalf of the weaker world communities that had previously been targeted by terrorist groups.
Michael Moore wrote the script for the film and subsequently directed it. He, therefore, delivers a quality film about the information that he sought to pass on to his audience. The film was produced in a way that engages American society which is primarily the targeted audience in this case. Moore combines pre and post-events in the United States regarding September 11 terrorist attacks (Moore, 2004). With this in mind, interpreting the film is aided by both the pre and post-events that characterized the United States in the September 11 context. This places the film in a position where the interpretation is highly understandable from more than one perspective.

The Bush administration can also be evaluated for effectiveness and justice based on this film, meaning that it captures more details than just Michael Moore’s views on the September 11 incident. Positioning the film in the United States context opens up an insight into the incident over and above that presented by Moore. Setting the film in an environment of mixed reactions is an element that the production critically captures in an American social context. Read More