Michael Moore’s new film, Fahrenheit 11/9, is a political documentary that examines the United States’ current political and social climate and how it came to be. The film itself looks at events before, during, and after the 2016 Presidential Election. It first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2018, and was released in the United States on September 21, 2018.
Although the film is mainly critical of Donald Trump, it does not only focus on him. In fact, Trump is not necessarily the main focus of the movie. Much of Moore’s criticism in the film is directed at those who allow a corrupted system that mistreats the poor and disenfranchises its voters to form. He doesn’t play favorites when it comes to political parties, as he criticizes Obama for his poor handling of the Flint water crisis.
Moore’s film then moves to various movements and issues that he is passionate about and believes others should get behind as well. Most notably, his film brings the Flint water crisis back into the spotlight, since it has faded from the headlines, even though nothing has been done to fix it. The focus of this movie is entirely unsurprising because Moore was raised in Flint.
He also points to the teacher’s strikes in West Virginia and the movement the Parkland students began. These events are presented as movements that people should support, not because of party lines, but because people should care.
While Moore’s film presents many extremely relevant issues and commentary on past and present events, the manner in which it was done can seem overwhelming. Information is more or less thrown at you in the beginning, leaving the viewer confused as to what Moore’s point is. However, the film becomes more coherent once he returns to Flint. With the amount of information contained in the documentary, it is possible that some of it could be made into separate films. However, despite some of its shortcomings, the film’s message is still a strong one and should not be ignored.