Connections
Today, we were supposed to meet up with Ron and Liz to see Fahrenheit 9/11 in NYC. After some scheduling conflicts, and then finding out that every showing in NYC from 2:00 until 11:00pm was sold out, we decided it would be easiest for Craig and I to see it up in CT and they saw it when time was available down there.
So Craig and I researched the movie showtimes. Bethel Cinema and Loews were carrying it. So we decided since Bethel had the most showings we’d hit them up, and a 4:50 showing wouldn’t be too packed. Well we were wrong. Bethel Cinema was packed and people were parking in other parking lots and walking over to it.
So we decided nope, not gonna do this. We drove back over to Loews, but it was only 4:40. I ran in and got two tickets for the 6:00 showing. We took a trip over to Borders, browsed the new books, and then at 5:15 headed back over. We lucked out, a few movies were getting out, so we got great parking. We went in, got a bag of popcorn and a drink, and noticed a line. We asked what movie the line was for, and it was Fahrenheit 9/11. Everyone was very friendly and calm in the line. We ended up running into some friends from church.
They let us all go through, and we filed into the theater. Very good crowd for this movie, people were very respectful. Funny thing, by the 4th movie preview, people were actually moaning “Come on let’s get to the movie already”.
And so it began. Great opening to a movie. The movie was actually much better than I had expected. There were very poignant moments, very funny moments, and very enlightening moments. I was very impressed with Michael Moore’s research he put into the movie and covering both angles. He also did not exclude Democrats from being criticized for their lack of action. This truly was a movie raising questions and asking the masses to think twice before they blindly accept what they are being shown and told on the news. The point of the movie I think was well hit, you left wanting to do more, make a difference, or at least help someone who can’t themselves. The movie put together many connections, that many of us may have been thinking but didn’t have the time to research their validity.
This is the only movie I have ever seen where people applauded at different scenes. One scene I loved was this one person from Congress, adamantly defending something, and saying you can call my 800 number and tell me straight up. Below in subtitles it said “He doesn’t actually have an 800 number, but he does have an office, and here’s his office number (202) XXX-XXXX [I can’t remember it now]”. That was so funny. The end of the movie came, and everyone applauded for a minute or two.
No matter what side your on, you can not discredit people from wanting to be more active in the political process. And if this movie inspires one person to have done that, then it succeeded. There is no denying Moore is out against Bush. But he leaves you not with a “vote for John kerry” (actually he never mentions his name once) but with a feeling of wanting to ask more questions and discover the truth for yourself. Which is the roll of a good teacher.
Personally I can not wait to see it again, it was an amazing movie. The media has definitely hyped it up. The gore and graphic scenes were not bad at all, nothing that CNN.com or TIME hasn’t shown you in a photograph. And actually this was far better, because it was for a fraction of a second.
It’s a very interesting time we live in. Go see the movie 🙂
