I have to say that this movie worked for me. If I could express my views about Bush's response to terrorism since 11SEP2001 in a movie, this movie would be it.
It can clearly be said that I went in with a pre-existing political attitude that would agree with the message of the movie. I don't have specific examples, but I certainly learned things I hadn't already known, and those things only reinforced my pre-existing political attitude.
As a movie, Celsius didn't have the humorous bits that Fahrenheit did (Wolfowitz combing his hair), but it was every bit as entertaining and capable of moving the audience. (Which I feel is a shortcoming of FahrenHYPE, it was good for being informative but not so good for being entertaining)
Personally, I find it interesting that Celsius seems as powerful as Fahrenheit, yet it achieves this affect with true facts rather than deceit.
I also wanted to distinguish Celsius and FahrenHYPE. While both would most likely never have been made without Fahrenheit, FahrenHYPE is a direct response to Fahreheit (I call it the anti-Michael Moore movie), whereas Celsius does very little to acknowledge Fahrenheit, it is built more as a pro-Bush movie.
The movie takes on a list of key points of the 'anti-Bush' movement, and refutes them one-by-one. That basically sets up the format of the movie. The movie provides bits from Bush and Kerry, the 9/11 Commission and Blair (and plenty more). Here's some of the synopsis that I think is relevant from the movie's web site:
http://www.celsius4111.com/4111/c4111_contents/about/ Quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------- Celsius 41.11 is not a point-by-point refutation of "Fahrenheit," but corrects the record on the important misleading themes in Moore's movie, including the 2000 Florida presidential vote, weapons of mass destruction, intelligence failures and the war on terror.
In addition, the film documents Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry's 20-year Senate record, from his flip-flopping on important issues to his intent on reducing funding for America's military and intelligence community, even after the first terrorist attack on American soil. The film also covers the first term of President Bush, his record as a leader in the war on terror, and the stark contrasts between the President and Senator Kerry. -------------------------------------------------------------------
I went to see it at the Star Southfield, one of two theaters currently showing the movie in Michigan (the other being in Flint). The turn-out was actually the same as when I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11, although that was a Saturday matinée, and Fahrenheit had broader distribution. It seems about what was to be expected, given that Celsius got a lot less publicity than Fahrenheit.
I also suspect the small audience was pretty much Bush supporters anyway. One guy had a Bush Cheney button on, and a couple of the other groups I saw leaving after the movie had Bush Cheney bumper stickers on their car.
It can clearly be said that I went in with a pre-existing political attitude that would agree with the message of the movie. I don't have specific examples, but I certainly learned things I hadn't already known, and those things only reinforced my pre-existing political attitude.
As a movie, Celsius didn't have the humorous bits that Fahrenheit did (Wolfowitz combing his hair), but it was every bit as entertaining and capable of moving the audience. (Which I feel is a shortcoming of FahrenHYPE, it was good for being informative but not so good for being entertaining)
Personally, I find it interesting that Celsius seems as powerful as Fahrenheit, yet it achieves this affect with true facts rather than deceit.
I also wanted to distinguish Celsius and FahrenHYPE. While both would most likely never have been made without Fahrenheit, FahrenHYPE is a direct response to Fahreheit (I call it the anti-Michael Moore movie), whereas Celsius does very little to acknowledge Fahrenheit, it is built more as a pro-Bush movie.
The movie takes on a list of key points of the 'anti-Bush' movement, and refutes them one-by-one. That basically sets up the format of the movie. The movie provides bits from Bush and Kerry, the 9/11 Commission and Blair (and plenty more). Here's some of the synopsis that I think is relevant from the movie's web site:
http://www.celsius4111.com/4111/c4111_contents/about/ Quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------- Celsius 41.11 is not a point-by-point refutation of "Fahrenheit," but corrects the record on the important misleading themes in Moore's movie, including the 2000 Florida presidential vote, weapons of mass destruction, intelligence failures and the war on terror.
In addition, the film documents Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry's 20-year Senate record, from his flip-flopping on important issues to his intent on reducing funding for America's military and intelligence community, even after the first terrorist attack on American soil. The film also covers the first term of President Bush, his record as a leader in the war on terror, and the stark contrasts between the President and Senator Kerry. -------------------------------------------------------------------
I went to see it at the Star Southfield, one of two theaters currently showing the movie in Michigan (the other being in Flint). The turn-out was actually the same as when I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11, although that was a Saturday matinée, and Fahrenheit had broader distribution. It seems about what was to be expected, given that Celsius got a lot less publicity than Fahrenheit.
I also suspect the small audience was pretty much Bush supporters anyway. One guy had a Bush Cheney button on, and a couple of the other groups I saw leaving after the movie had Bush Cheney bumper stickers on their car.
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