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July 11th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Feeling Inspired to Write a Little Poetry?
July 2nd, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: 2014 Old Florida Celebration of the Arts
June 27th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Summer Art Program at Cedar Key Arts Center
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June 3rd, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: CALL TO ARTISTS FOR 2014 DESIGN
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Arts and Entertainment: Sign Up Soon for the Cedar Key Art Center Children and Teen Art Program
April 29th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Come Join the Fun at the CKAC Kids and Teens Summer Art Program
April 15th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: 2013 Cedar Key Art Festival Full of Hearts and Winners
April 15th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: CEDAR KEY ARTS FEST OFFERS HEART STICKERS FOR VISITORS TO MARK THEIR FAVORITE ART
April 2nd, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: CKAC Gallery Opening Saturday, April 6th 4-6
April 2nd, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: Workshops at Cedar Key Arts Center
March 25th, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: April Shows at the Arts Center
March 21st, 2013

Arts and Entertainment: "Little Shop of Horrors" HELD OVER FOR ONE MORE WEEK!
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Arts and Entertainment: Cedar Keyhole Artist of the Month: Connie Starks
March 10th, 2013

More

Satire or Documentary?

Satire or Documentary?

Susan Seyfarth

In "Fahrenheit 9/11," director Michael Moore`s purpose is similar to that in most of his work: to create an awareness of the "little people" who are exploited by the privileged class, be it corporate America or political Washington, D.C. Here, Moore traces events leading to and continuing through the U.S.`s presence in Iraq. But this is not a documentary because the facts are not presented objectively. They are interpreted by Moore, and there is never doubt about what he wants us to feel--rage, indignity, sadness, and naiveté over what he sees as the Bush administration`s lying about the war--why it started(oil), who fights it (young unemployed minorities), who profits from it (the Bushes, their buddies). This is precisely what the creator of effective satire does; point out human vice and folly in order to change society for the better. The satirist`s tools include sarcasm, ridicule, and irony, applied gently or harshly, whichever it takes to wake up an audience.

In Moore`s hands, these tools craft a tough, funny movie in the tradition of TV`s "Saturday Night Live." We see the gruesome shots of limbless victims of explosions, harsh indeed. Ridicule and irony appear in the superimposing of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld on the bodies of the TV Western "Bonanza`s" cast. Accompanied by the show`s theme song, they appear to be having a swell time rounding up the bad guys and roping in the money resulting from their ties to the Bin Laden family. Then, Moore gently but sarcastically asks U.S. Senators to sign up their kids for active duty in Iraq. They don`t get the point but we do: they will not consider his request. From their perspective, it simply is not a sensible one.

Is "Fahrenheit 9/11" effective satire? Most likely, yes. Whether you love it or hate it, Moore causes you to react, to respond. Whether for the good of society or not is up to the judgment of each respondent, each moviegoer.


Caution: graphic violence, language.

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