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Politics : Fahrenheit 9/11: Michael Moore's Masterpiece -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: redfish who wrote (505)	6/26/2004 6:26:12 AM
From: redfish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2772

Reno moviegoers line up for political film Anticipation of seeing “Fahrenheit 9/11” was so great in Reno on Friday that tickets at the Century Theatres Riverside 12 downtown sold out for at least four shows. Donica Mensing had hoped to bring her children, Hannah, 17, and Alex, 15, to the 7:30 p.m. showing, but it was sold out by 6 p.m. “Generally I don’t let my kids see R-rated movies,” the Reno resident said. “Fahrenheit 9/11” opened in 868 theaters nationwide Friday. The 110-minute film has graphic scenes of war, but “there are a lot of PG-13 movies with tasteless gratuitous violence,” Mensing said. Alex Mensing had wanted to see the film after hearing and reading about the controversy in the news. “This would really show somebody’s opinion like mine what (President) Bush is doing wrong,” Alex said. Reno resident Kathy Gerard said the film has inspired her to become more politically active. “It was very disturbing and tragic,” Gerard said. “It’s sadness our country is involved with something so horrible,” she said. She did not vote in the 2000 election but has been inspired by the film to vote for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in the Nov. 2 presidential election. The film has been described as sad, funny at times and touching by fans. Chesa Keane, also a Reno resident, said “my heart feels heavy,” after seeing the film. “This is a turning point for anyone on the fence. It is a decision-maker to the Kerry camp,” Keane said. “They (some conservative Republicans) can call it propaganda, but they can’t deny the truth.” Verdi resident Mary Pat Downing said every seat at the 2:15 p.m. showing was filled. She plans to bring her sister to see the film next week. “It’s really hard to watch,” Downing said. She noticed people crying in the audience when “Fahrenheit 9/11” depicted images of Iraqi children seriously wounded during the war. “I’m ashamed that my country is involved in this horrible war,” Downing said. The documentary depicts Bush as lazy and oblivious to warnings in the summer of 2001 that al-Qaida was poised to attack, according to an Associated Press story. MSNBC said critics have questioned parts of “Fahrenheit 9/11” linking Bush family members and business associates with the Saudi Arabian elite, including Osama bin Laden’s extended family. But Bill Brainard, 69, president of the Reno/Sparks Republican Men’s Club, called the film propaganda. “It wouldn’t be entertaining for me because it’s just a pack of lies,” said Brainard, who doesn’t intend to see the film. “People who are going to see the movie are being manipulated,” he added. Neil Hirshman, a Reno resident, walking near the theater, won’t see the film either. “He’s prejudiced,” said Hirshman of director Michael Moore. “I don’t know why the Democrats follow him.” “Fahrenheit 9/11” seemed to be a popular pick for movie fans as they lined from the ticket admission area to the door at the Riverside. An MSNBC report said online ticket service Fandago.com reported the movie was making up 48 percent of advance-ticket sales for the weekend compared with the current No. 1 box office movie “DodgeBall.” Reno resident Rick Michaelson and his wife, Natalie, bought their “Fahrenheit 9/11” tickets online. “I was sure it was going to be sold out,” said Rick Michaelson, who came to pick up his tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show at 6 p.m. “We don’t know if the show is good or not, but we’re going to see it anyway,” said Natalie Michaleson, who considers herself an independent voter. “I’m a lot more interested in politics now than I’ve ever been. There’s a lot more at stake now. I’m tired of our president.” Outside the Riverside, members of the Reno chapter of moveonpac.org hoped the film would inspire people to vote come November. They passed out leaflets for a national online town meeting with Moore at 7 p.m. Monday at Truckee Meadows Community College and registered voters. Brainard called it political move. “First of all, people gullible enough to believe the movie would be gullible to join the anybody-but-Bush-movement,” he said. “I think they’ve selected their target audience of people who really don’t know what’s going on.” But moveonpac.org volunteer Katy Chandler said it’s an opportunity to get more Americans to vote. “…We’re using this wonderful opportunity for people that have seen the movie,” Chandler said. “They see something new and take that anger and do something about it.” Although she was without tickets, Mensing plans to take her teens to see the film today. She hopes that “Fahrenheit 9/11” will have an impact on them. “I want my kids to be politically active, and there’s not enough political venues for kids,” Mensing said. rgj.com

To: redfish who wrote (505)	6/26/2004 8:42:42 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 2772

`Fahrenheit 9/11' to capitalize on no-news culture chicagotribune.com Published June 25, 2004 Not since Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" have I heard so many people talking about flocking to see a movie that doesn't have "Harry Potter" in its title. The movie behind all the buzz is Michael Moore's hotly controversial anti-Bush administration "Fahrenheit 9/11." It opens nationwide Friday. "Fahrenheit" has been called a scathing look at the Bush administration before and after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The film takes its name from "Fahrenheit 451," the Ray Bradbury tale about a book-burning future society. Moore, who won an Academy Award for his 2002 documentary "Bowling for Columbine," has said that his first mission was to make a fine movie. Clearly his second is to inspire voters to send all those in the Bush administration packing in November. Though I haven't seen the movie yet, I predict it's going to be an important one, particularly among a younger population that gets its election news more from the Internet and comedy TV shows than from television news or even newspapers. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press says young people, that elusive 18-to-29-year-old segment of the electorate, have abandoned many mainstream sources for election news and rely on television shows such as "The Daily Show" and "Saturday Night Live" for election coverage. Part of the draw is the fearless humor, satirical wit and invective. Which is why Moore's "Fahrenheit," said to employ all of the above, undoubtedly will appeal to young and old alike. Certainly the bulk will be Bush detractors. But Moore also is hoping to pull in young people and others who haven't yet chosen a candidate, along with a few converts--those conservatives who may be losing faith in the Bush administration. I've been waiting to see "Fahrenheit" ever since Moore cagily announced in a public relations stunt that Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax division was prohibited from releasing the movie. I became even more interested in "Fahrenheit" after seeing the recent trailer that shows President Bush on a golf course and saying into the camera quite emphatically, "We must stop the terror. I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive." The kicker is as telling as it is frightening. Another trailer shows Bush reading to elementary school children on the morning of Sept.11. An aide walks over and whispers into his ear, reportedly telling him a second plane has flown into a World Trade Center tower. Bush sits paralyzed while the children continue to read a book about a goat. Moore reports that Bush spent 42 percent of his first eight months in office vacationing, playing golf and putting his feet up. Movie reviewers say there's no shortage of footage that casts the president in an unflattering and, some say, unforgiving light. And yet, as much as "Fahrenheit" may reveal--albeit in that way that's vintage Michael Moore--there's a danger in people thinking they can be well informed by simply watching movies or television comedy shows or even listening to the Rush Limbaughs of the world. For example, the Pew study, which was released earlier this year, found that only about three in 10 Americans, no matter their age, who regularly learn about election news from entertainment programs could correctly identify Wesley Clark as the Democratic presidential candidate who had been an Army general. Only 26 percent knew Richard Gephardt was once house majority leader. Indeed, "Fahrenheit" will take its toll on the Bush administration. But it will do so by taking advantage of an America today that is content with empty-calorie news and easily swayed by sound bites and sensational headlines. It is the same America that the Bush administration, with the help of the media, has been deft at tailoring its message to for some time. The administration has done such a profound job that some still believe in a strong link between Iraq and the Sept. 11 attacks. Moore and Bush are political adversaries, but here they are at the same table, sipping from the same cup. ---------- Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune