Three more US soldiers have died in Iraq. For what? A
neo-con wet dream and a Three Stooges Reich...Would
you have believed that a political documentary could
have grossed $60 million already, and be second only
to Spider Man #2, after two weeks in the theatres?
Yes, there is an Electoral Uprising coming...
Damian Fowler, BBC: Ivan Medina fought back tears during a recent screening of Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. A former marine who fought in the first wave of the war in Iraq, he lost his twin brother in an ambush on the streets of Baghdad. The documentary, which raises questions
about the decision to invade Iraq, has fired up Mr
Medina's anger towards the Bush administration. "This
film portrays the truth," he says. "It asks the hard
questions that need to be asked. Why did we go to
Iraq? Why did we forget al-Qaeda? Why did we forget
Osama Bin Laden?
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Moore film fires up America
By Damian Fowler
BBC correspondent in New York
Ivan Medina fought back tears during a recent
screening of Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit
9/11. A former marine who fought in the first wave of
the war in Iraq, he lost his twin brother in an ambush
on the streets of Baghdad.
The documentary, which raises questions about the
decision to invade Iraq, has fired up Mr Medina's
anger towards the Bush administration.
"This film portrays the truth," he says.
"It asks the hard questions that need to be asked. Why
did we go to Iraq? Why did we forget al-Qaeda? Why did
we forget Osama Bin Laden?
"They haven't clarified why we went to Iraq; they
haven't given us the reasons. They hid and hid."
The White House has already branded the film
"outrageously false".
Outrage
Mr Medina was joined by other military family members
who shared his outrage.
Until recently, voices such as these - not typical
die-hard liberals - have been less than conspicuous in
challenging the government.
Anything that moves votes is significant, especially
in an election like this where margins are not great
Henry Sheinkopf,
Campaign strategist
Fahrenheit 9/11 has occasioned a robust political
debate. It is a piece of agitprop which its supporters
hope will translate into a definitive defeat for
President Bush in November.
But could it really have an impact?
"It will have a political effect," says Henry
Sheinkopf, a veteran campaign strategist who advised
Democratic political campaigns including the
Clinton-Gore run in 1996.
"The film itself is effectively one long television
commercial which uses propaganda to make its point.
So, anything that moves votes is significant,
especially in an election like this, where margins are
not great," Mr Sheinkopf says.
Negative campaign advertisements tend to have more
impact than positive ones, he adds.
And given the massive amount of hype the film has
received, not to mention the record box-office take,
it does seem possible that a film on this scale might
reach undecided voters.
Rallying cry
The liberal political action committee MoveOn.org has
used Fahrenheit 9/11 as a rallying point to organise
more than 4,000 supporters to hold house parties - at
least one in each of the 50 states, plus Washington
DC.
MoveOn said that 50,000 partygoers celebrated the
documentary and collectively listened to a nationwide
conference call with Michael Moore.
"These parties are to celebrate the film's success,"
Eli Pariser, the executive director of MoveOn, told
the New York Times.
"But they are also to take the momentum gathered
around the movie and direct it towards activities that
will have a concrete effect on the election."
Amongst other forms of practical politicking, Mr Moore
urged supporters to "adopt five non-voters and bring
them to the polls."
Voter registration drives have appeared outside
cinemas across the country urging people to
participate.
'Fact and fiction'
But the Bush camp says it is not concerned.
"The American people can tell the difference between
fact and fiction," campaign spokesman Terry Holt told
the Washington Post.
"This election is about serious issues, and I don't
think most American voters consider Michael Moore a
serious analyst of American politics."
Meanwhile, a conservative group called Move America
Forward have set up their own screenings of a Disney
documentary called America's Heart and Soul, which
celebrates American patriotism.
Conservative websites such as Moorewatch.com assert
that "Moore is a disingenuous danger to this country,
and his assumptions and assertions should not go
unchallenged."
And a book called Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid
White Man, by David T Hardy and Jason Clarke, is
generating interest, according to bookseller
Amazon.com.
The title plays on that of two liberal best-sellers,
Mr Moore's own Stupid White Men and Al Franken's Rush
Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot.
There is also a documentary in the works called
Michael Moore Hates America, directed by filmmaker
Mike Wilson.
He promises that it "will challenge our audiences to
rethink the documentary and will reinvigorate their
passion for the possibilities that the United States
offers us all".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/3860303.stm
Published: 2004/07/05 12:00:06 GMT
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