Christopher Hitchens, probably the only man on earth who is a fan of George W. Bush yet despises Ronald Reagan, has dropped a bunker busting MOAB on Michael Moore's propaganda piece Fahrenheit 9/11. But rather than simply attack it's artistry or point of view, Hitch goes after the substance of the film, the factual inconsistencies and outright lies that Moore uses to back up his arguments. Hitch's final conclusion - that the film simply is not a serious piece of work. Though it is being taken seriously by many on the left.
So, I challenge any left wing blogger, editorialist or even movie fan to post the entire Hitchens piece on his website, with a point by point rebuttal.
If you think that Fahrenheit 9/11 is a serious contribution to political discourse and that it "is worth seeing, debating and thinking about, regardless of your political allegiances", then you must deal with Hitchens' argument that the film is not serious.
If you think that this film "signals [Moore's] transition from political entertainer to political thinker, from propagandist to idiosyncratic journalist, from colorful gadfly to patriot", then you must dispense with Hitchens arguments.
If you think that Moore's "biggest accomplishment here is putting the factual pieces into (a frightening) perspective", then you must refute Hitchens charges of fabricated facts, lies and logical contradictions.
So, give it a shot and drop me a line to let me know and I'll make a note of it here.
And a side note. At least Harry, despite his glowing review (heck, he cried at Armageddon), understands it is propaganda. But I really enjoyed one of the comments at the Aint-it-cool message board:
Now you have Moore editing FAHRENHEIT to make it look like Bush does nothing but play golf juxtaposed against war footage. As if f***ing Clinton never played golf...or worse, how about Michael Moore editing the footage of Clinton getting his d**k s*cked by Monica and juxtaposing THAT with the arrivals in the country (and under Clinton's nose) of the actual 9/11 conspirators...or we can juxtapose Clinton shooting his load on Monica's blue dress with shots of the hijackers taking their piloting lessons (also done under Clinton's nose). Gee, this "documentary" filmmaking stuff is pretty f***ing easy when you do it the Michael Moore way...Would that move have to be seen and discussed? Will the same people quoted above have to see a documentary that tells the truth about a great nation, Michael Moore Hates America?
We'll see.
