If there were a prize to award to a filmmaker who could correctly assess, diagnose, provide an accurate etiology and prognosis if corrective action is not taken by a community or group of people, there is but one recipient who could win it outright multiple times over. There are few in the business who can observe, evaluate and seemingly get stories as consistently spot-on correct regardless of whatever the issue may be the way Michael Moore can. Like his foreboding and uncomfortably accurate prophecy in the runup to the 2016 General Election with his work , any political operative who takes the time to watch Mr. Moore’s latest work, regardless of party stripe, ignores its message at their own peril.
Consistent with a seemingly recurring theme the postings to this blog have reflected in this election year, I found myself while watching this film not only thinking about what kind of nation I WANT to live in but what kind of nation I DO live in. As a political operative myself, it is much easier to lend credibility and trust to investigators and researchers who willingly tell me the things I DON’T want to hear. Hearing someone from the locality where the story began and ended, that being Flint, Michigan, home town native Moore exposed all the ugly truth of how the residents of this American City were poisoned via their water supply when their safety and well being, per actions of state government, took a back seat to the interests and bottom line of corporations. To add insult to injury, a popular President who the locals thought was on their side ended up losing their confidence during a visit in the runup to Election Day 2016 when he failed to validate their reality that the town’s water was still not fit to drink or otherwise use due to its verifiable and measurable toxicity. It was very unsettling to learn that it was not the GOP candidate’s campaign that won the state of Michigan in the Electoral College. It was disillusioned Democrats and Progressives who failed to show up on Election Day. That failure of turnout lost Candidate Clinton a critical electoral swing state by two votes per precinct. That was not the only sobering statistic Moore highlighted.
True to form, Moore pulls no punches for anyone. Included in the relevant history of 2016 that I myself was oblivious to at the time, the GOP candidate was so prepared to concede defeat that he did not have a clue as to how to deal with the news of his victory. It seems like the opponent and her supporters were not the only ones sobered by the results. I also was unaware that later on 11.9.16 the President-elect filed for candidacy in 2020. All these details aside, this movie was not about the incumbent President. His supporters are the same as they always were and do not appear to be daunted or swayed by growing discontent with chaos government be it actual or perceived. It was comforting to know that in traditionally conservative working class enclaves like West Virginia that grass roots candidates were motivated, making headway and finding enough of a constituency to make a credible challenge.
Looking ahead to the 2018 midterm election and on to 2020, Moore also addresses the rise of the newest voting block, teens who are tired of suffering from government inaction on banning assault weapons. It remains to be seen if this block will be the ones who make the ultimate difference but they certainly are making a lot of noise and getting a lot of attention.
As was previously noted, the film ends where it begins, in the city of Flint. The message’s bottom line is that the major political parties had better begin to give the people what they are demanding, basic core services like fresh and clean water for a start, or they may end up on the scrap heap of history sooner than later. As with most of Moore’s movies, I am not rating this one. It is my hope that any viewer could take in all the information contained in the film’s message and draw their own conclusion. In the larger scheme of things, it is going to take more than just hearing the message and processing it. If something is not done and soon the White House incumbent could be the last President of the United States. Fahrenheit 11/9 is currently playing at Tulsa’s Circle Cinema.