PEN-L message, Fahrenheit 911

Yesterday - 7/16 .. . was the wife birthday and among other things we had planned on going to the movie and hanging out in celebration of her first birthday in a new city and state many miles from Detroit. Both of us are native Detroiters, having recently left the children (all adults) and relocated to Bryan/College Station Texas . . . about 90 minutes from Houston.

We ended up watching Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, although my first suggestion was "I, Robot" with a promise that we would do "Fahrenheit" the next day. Given the media event Fahrenheit has stirred, she was adamant is seeing Moore's documentary on the Bush Jr. administration.

When Fahrenheit first opened it was not scheduled in our neck of the woods and when the kids back in Detroit found out, volunteered to send us a bootleg copy of the movie. After the first weekend numbers of Fahrenheit's profitability it was scheduled in our location. We went to the first showing of the movie and perhaps 30-40 folks were in the theater . . . with us being the only African Americans.

During the showing the wife was strangely quiet and several times seem to be on the verge of tears. Every now and then . . . almost imperceptibly . . . she was say "rotten mutherfuckers" . . . and finally "that's why you a communist . . . I really get it now."

As the movie was coming to an obvious end she said "baby I do not want to talk about this." I had notice that folks in the theater were strangely silent and at one point in the movie I remarked to one of Bush ignorant utterances . . . "boy this guy is stupid, dangerous and a fucking fascists . . . with Congress kissing his ass." Several folks turned around and looked at me and I was not talking loud but the theater was strangely silent.

When the movie ended we left the theater with everyone strangely silent. It made me wish that I had a leaflet or something to pass out explaining some of the detail of the movie and why corporate power and dominance was the meaning of bourgeois power and capital as a living embodiment of absolute greed and debasement of that which makes us human.

Leaving the parking lot of the theater in silence I reached to turn on the radio and she said, "I do not want to listen to any music." I had notice that walking to our vehicle her eyes was watery.

"Let's go and get something to eat and start celebrating your new freedom."

She nodded in agreement and several minutes later said "How can a human being be that ignorant?" I said nothing and nodded slightly. We pulled up to a joint to eat and inside the discussion began on a strange note. While placing her order she mentioned to the waitress that today was her birthday and we had just come from the movies. The waitress asked, "What did you see?"

"Fahrenheit 911"

"How was it?"

"You have to see this one for yourself because Bush is crazy and the war was for money."

The waitress looked at me for a response and to take my order. I asked about the menu and ordered some fish and between looking over the side dishes said . . . "as long as people think they are doing all right no one thinks about things. Bush represent the most narrow money interest in the country . . . everyone knows he stole the election and for my money can go straight to hell."

The waitress took the rest of my order and stated she had not seen the movie yet and asked if we had seen "Spiderman?"

The wife replied "Of course and it was good." I smiled in agreement. The waitress left the table to place our order and the discussion began.

"That's why I am becoming more spiritual because if I was in some political group I would want to kill all those mutherfuckers."

I waited a moment . . . "yea it does make you crazy to get an eye full of truth but killing an individual won't change the system. This shit's deeper than that. Baby you having a spiritual and political awakening on your birthday."

"That stupid flag waving bitch in the movie had to have her son killed in Iraq to have a clue about the country?"

The "flag waving bitch" she was referring to was MS Lila Lipscomb whose transformation is recorded on film from a decent, God fearing supporter of the American military to a person unable to come to grips with her own concept of our bourgeois democracy because of the death of her son. Early in the documentary Lila proudly explains the military tradition in her family and how she had hated the "war protesters" and only recently began to understand that protesters did not hate the troops by government policy. Apparently she strongly believed in bourgeois democracy . . . American style . . . and conceded that other have the right to have an opinion different from hers.

In front of the camera Lila speaks proudly of how everyday since Gulf 1 she had put up outside her home a rather large American flag and during Gulf 1 prayed to God for the safe return of her daughter . . . and then adds in everyone else sons, daughters and loved ones.

Michael Moore has a hit on his hands and the power of Fahrenheit 911 is that it almost exactly matches and alters the social consciousness evolving in our country. As an index and framework that can be measured and gauged Fahrenheit 911 raises the bar and makes communist propaganda a lot easier.

My wife is not a Marxist but an objective communist because she subscribes to the political philosophy and ideology that states "to each according to their need . . . from each according to their ability." She has heard of Moore but is not familiar with his body of work and form of industrial logic.

Most upsetting for her were the scenes in Iraq and the appeals of African American representatives falling on deaf ears in the halls of Congress. My hunch is that most viewers share a similar view.

The formation of a mass social consciousness that allows people to take a political stand on behalf of the working class is fundamental to the evolution of mass class consciousness.

Fahrenheit 911 shattered something in the consciousness of my wife that is similar to an addict hitting bottom and having to face the consequence of his actions and belief system. The transformation of the consciousness of the peoples of the American Union has the potential to be changed at lightening speeds.

Fahrenheit 911 opens another space for intense political discussions in America. Moore provides a visual description of the proletariat and the rest of the working class . . . and Bush Jr. as representative of a ruling class clique . . . and the subtle interactions and interplay of consciousness . . . of the individual and groups . . . in an economic context . . . that matches the social consciousness of his audience.

Strangely . . . the wife wants Fahrenheit 911 on DVD . . . already. "Bowling for Columbine" is going to fuck her up.

I personally enjoyed and like the documentary.

Melvin P.