Intermission: 'Fahrenheit 9/11' worth seeing for discussion's sake

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.

As both a student of film and a person who gets some sort of perverse pleasure when the mighty squabble I guess I listen to Don Imus too much I have been waiting for the national release of "Fahrenheit 9/11" with great relish. In a year rife with film-related controversy "The Passion of the Christ" hubbub, the way "Saved" has been attacked by people who haven't even seen it Michael Moore's latest cinema verite offering has raised hackles on both sides of the political fence.

Those on the right attack the film for being an obvious piece of liberal, elite media propaganda. Those on the left take it as gospel. The truth lies somewhere in between.

It definitely is propaganda, but no more so than Sean Hannity's or Rush Limbaugh's radio programs.

Fair and balanced? Despite a famous news channel using that slogan, hardly anything lives up to the claim.

Moore makes no pretense to do so, and the Bush fan club members can gnash their teeth all they want about the director's "manipulation of the facts," but the on-screen events are real, even if taken out of context. Many are hilarious. Hilarious until the viewer realizes what he is seeing is not something set up for a film, but excerpts from real life.

While I shall do my best to keep my personal politics out of this review, it's impossible to discuss "Fahrenheit 9/11" without discussing politics.

The biggest flaw with the film is that Moore is preaching only to the converted in an America that is arguably more polarized than it has been since the Civil War.

Politics aside and focusing more on the way the film gets people upset hats off to Moore once again. As he did in "Roger and Me" and "Bowling for Columbine," Moore manages to start out getting laughs, moves to getting uncomfortable laughs and finally gets down to the simply uncomfortable.

Some call it a cheap shot, but it seems reasonable enough to approach members of Congress and ask them to sign up their offspring for military duty. They (Republicans and Democrats alike) approved the war in Iraq, but only one Congressman has a son actively involved the "mission accomplished" military action.

Defenders of the Bush dynasty also claim that Moore misrepresents the family's ties with the Saudi monarchy, the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in 9/11 were Saudi nationals and that members of the Bin Laden family were allowed passage out of the USA at a time when other air travel was prohibited. Regardless of who made the rules, this is what happened.

It's also true that George W. Bush was on vacation 42 percent of the first seven months of his presidency leading up to 9/11, according to various media outlets. That has to be a record. Don't get me wrong; I'm as lazy as the next guy and if king or president, I'd take off as much as I could. In Bush's defense and as he explains on camera this president can get a lot of work done while vacationing. "Now watch this drive," he says to reporters as he tees off.

The fact that Saudi money owns roughly 7 percent of the American stock market is somewhat disturbing, and Moore points to figures that say the Bush family has profited by some $1.4 billion from relations with the Saudis, including members of the Bin Laden family. These folks, admittedly, disowned Osama.

The most poignant moments of the film occur in the final third, where Moore interviews Lila Lipscomb, whose son was serving in the Iraqi war. Lipscomb is a textbook example of Middle America, and when she is first on camera she's a supporter of the war. As time goes by, and her son is killed in action, her views change and she's as powerful as any anti-war activist who has ever spoken. She reads her son's final letter from Iraq and makes a subsequent trip to the White House. These scenes give "Fahrenheit 9/11" its greatest gravity.

Moore's film will not change anyone's mind and ultimately will prove to be neither a cause, nor an effect, of the further polarization of our country. Only after Nov. 2 will things begin to level out. We'll either send a vote of confidence to the powers that be or vote in a new regime.

Whatever your political leaning, see "Fahrenheit 9/11" if for no other reason than to be equipped when the inevitable discussion with a friend or co-worker ensues.