I saw two movies this weekend: “Fahrenheit 911” and “The Corporation”. (My way to celebrate July fourth.) There are many parallels to be made between the two films. They both aim to sensitize and inform the viewer about goings-on in today’s (American) society.
Before I went to see Fahrenheit I was concerned about the fact that, even though Michael Moore has said it is not a documentary, the film did win an award in the documentary category in Cannes. According to the Oxford dictionary, a documentary means: “ 1) consisting of documents 2) giving a factual report of some subject or activity” while propaganda is: “ publicity that is intended to spread ideas or information which will persuade or convince people”. This film sounds more like propaganda than documentary. Sure Moore used real film clips, but like a sentence taken out of context, the way they are put together does not feel very objective or factual. Although I applaud Moore for making the movie and addressing these topics I am a bit insulted by the techniques he uses. He seems to think that his audience is very impressionable and is not overly bright. His film is a bit messy. I don’t know if this is done on purpose to give it a more “truthful and believable” look but it comes over as shoddy. The numerous images of Bush between serious scenes…also are easy shots…. we KNOW the man looks idiotic…but that is not the point. There are tearjerker scenes, gory, bloody scenes. This is war…the USA went to war…don’t they know war kills people? I guess some people need to be reminded daily what war is…but I am not one of them and making me cringe or cry will not help. There is little in this film that I did not already know or suspect and there are many things that are not even addressed…
People here wonder if it will have an impact on the presidential elections…somehow I doubt it because, once again, the people who do not want to see will not open their eyes.
The other movie is closer to my idea of a documentary at least in the sense that it strives to inform us of what corporations are in a more structured and seemingly objective way. I learnt a lot about sweat-shops, about pollution, about profit making, about conflict of interest… This film uses a much more didactic technique with “chapters” developing different themes. It is much more polished. I am impressed that the filmmaker succeeded in keeping my interest with little more than people talking and short film clips. The thesis is interesting: they argue that corporations are like human entities and that they are thus accountable for their behavior, which can be assessed like human actions, can be. This film was more informative and thought provoking. It leaves you with the feeling that there is hope, that each one of us can make a difference…You walk out of there wanting to take action while I walked out of Fahrenheit a bit depressed.
It is interesting that Michael Moore is interviewed in this film and explains how come his film will get shown in US theaters. It is not so much freedom of speech (although there is something to be said about that) but it is because there is money to be made. By the way I found Moore to be much more likeable in this film than in his own…
Here is a link to the film’s information such as where it is being shown in the UK and the USA: